MANY football observers were surprised when Angus Brayshaw was not named in Melbourne's round one team against Geelong.

Brayshaw was instead named as an emergency and spoke about his disappointment at not getting picked on AFL.com.au's AFL Exchange podcast.

"It's a good reflection of where Melbourne's at. I think Goody (coach Simon Goodwin) said we had 30-odd blokes who were up for selection," Brayshaw said.

"It's a tough pill to swallow, everyone wants to play round one because there's such a big build up to it.

"Certainly watching the game, you feel like sitting on the sidelines, you would give something to the team if you were out there."

Brayshaw and fellow onballer Dom Tyson are pushing hard for a recall for Saturday's game against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba.

"It was tough to watch and we got close (against Geelong), but it's a long season ahead and to win a flag you need more than just the 22 blokes out there every week, you need blokes putting pressure on who aren't in the side.

"I'm positive about it and I've been getting some good feedback over the pre-season."