NATHAN Jones couldn’t hide his delight after teammate Angus Brayshaw produced one of his best AFL matches against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Brayshaw collected a career-best 32 disposals in Melbourne’s 39-point win, and Jones said his protégé was “unreal”.  

“There was some criticism leveled at him – the fact that he didn’t break into the team in the early days, but the way that he’s put in over the last five weeks in particular [has been excellent],” the co-captain told Melbourne Media.

“He got challenged in a couple of areas and I’ve been strongly involved in that, but I think it’s a credit to him.

“The work that he’s put in behind the scenes – for me, there is no surprise that you start to see the form that he’s strung together in the last couple of weeks. It’s not too dissimilar to most of the players on our list.

“It’s funny, the game’s got a way of repaying you, with the amount of work you put in and how much you invest into your own footy, individually and the team. Gus is getting rewards along with many other boys.”

Jones was also delighted with how the talls Jesse Hogan (three goals), Tom McDonald (two) and Sam Weideman (two) combined in attack.

“The versatility of our forward line – that’s what I really like,” he said.

“Tommy Mac is really good in the air and at the ground, along with Hoges.

“To see big Sammy Weideman come in and play a role in the ruck and then have a presence up forward – again, he’s another guy who has put a lot of work behind the scenes.

“He had a huge off-season and the form I was watching him play, earlier this year for Casey – he’s just brought that out here.

Jones added that “rangy types” like Bayley Fritsch, Jake Melksham and Mitch Hannan had added plenty to the forward line mix, along with another dynamic player switching between midfield and attack.  

“We’ve got a pretty dynamic forward line there and ‘Trac’ (Christian Petracca) is another one … but we’ve got guys who are strong in the air and on the ground, which makes us hard to match-up against,” he said.

In assessing the win, Jones said it was another step in the right direction.

“I think early days [this season], the first month of footy – we were actually doing a lot right,” he said.

“Some of our rankings in some key areas and the style of footy we’re trying to play – contested ball, clearances and midfield turnover – we were in the top two in the competition.

“But for us, it was all about that connection. Our offense was falling apart and we weren’t really testing teams and we saw that really fall down against Hawthorn.

“Then there were some steps forward against Richmond, but again, we didn’t really challenge them on offence. You’ve got to play all three phases of the game to get them connected. We did that last week, particularly in the second half against Essendon, and the challenge was to back that up.

“We reviewed the game with confidence and saw how that flowed and credit to the boys today – I reckon from the first minute we went out there, it really got going early and we came away with a solid win.”

Jones said Melbourne now enjoyed playing at Etihad Stadium – a venue that was previously a nightmare for the club.  

“I reckon we love playing here now to be honest,” he said with a laugh.

“I think it suits the style of game that we play, particularly as we get a lot of reward for the style of game that we play out on this ground.

“We’re on a bit of a roll here now and we actually enjoy playing here, so it was good to get a couple of results two weeks in a row.”

As for his own form, the triple best and fairest winner said it had “been all right”, although his season has been much-underrated.

“I’m ticking along. I’m managing my body and making sure I can keep playing to the level every week.

“I’m pretty confident with my form at the moment and I’m just loving winning.

“I’ve spent a long time here and to finally be in the team where I actually genuinely believe every single week we’re capable [of winning] and anything’s possible – I just love my footy and love the footy club.

“To have a group of boys that’s passionate about getting better – that makes me come in to training every Monday with a spring in my step to keep pushing them, but also pushing myself. Hopefully some good things really come of it.”