Heading to Whitten Oval from St Kilda, key forward Josh Bruce adds much-needed support to young Aaron Naughton and his army of medium-sized forwards. In his last season at Moorabbin, he was able to put back stress fractures and a broken leg from 2018 behind him, finishing with 36 goals. A six-goal haul, while eye-catching, was his only 100+ outing in an otherwise fantasy-irrelevant season. Bruce approaches his first year at the Kennel full of intent and could be the man they need to finish off the work of a dominant midfield. Unless we see a complete role change into a high half-forward to allow Naughton to stay deep, Bruce is unlikely to reach the scoring baseline to be draft-worthy. Bench cover at best.
Bruce spruces up Dog attack
Heading to Whitten Oval from St Kilda, key forward Josh Bruce adds much-needed support to young Aaron Naughton and his army of medium-sized forwards. In his last season at Moorabbin, he was able to put back stress fractures and a broken leg from 2018 behind him, finishing with 36 goals. A six-goal haul, while eye-catching, was his only 100+ outing in an otherwise fantasy-irrelevant season. Bruce approaches his first year at the Kennel full of intent and could be the man they need to finish off the work of a dominant midfield. Unless we see a complete role change into a high half-forward to allow Naughton to stay deep, Bruce is unlikely to reach the scoring baseline to be draft-worthy. Bench cover at best.
They call him Josh
Josh Bruce played just the first three games of 2018 before breaking his leg. In seasons prior to that, Bruce has been a productive key forward but not a relevant fantasy football scorer. With his role unlikely to change, Bruce should not be considered draftable, even in deep leagues.
Spruce space for Bruce
It was about the same set of numbers for Josh Bruce in the last two years, lacking enough accuracy in goalkicking and quality supply to get him past the 40-goal mark into the top echelon of full forwards. He had zero bags of five goals or more last season, down from one the previous year and four in his 50-goal peak of 2015. That one excellent season from Bruce came when Nick Riewoldt was out with injury, and with no Rooey in 2018 and beyond there is a chance for him to enjoy a greater number of targets, especially if the young Saints midfield gets better with natural progression. His lack of accumulation makes him a flier pick at best, nevertheless.
