Stanton has speed, poise and looks to be a long-term prospect in the Essendon midfield. He is averaging around 10 possessions per game – not a huge return - but he has spent large chunks of time on the bench. He is also capable of kicking goals – his best effort coming after a long run down the outer wing against West Coast at Subiaco Oval.
Essendon assistant coach Robert Shaw has liked what he has seen thus far.
""You have to remember he has only played eight games of football and is the youngest player on our list. But all of us who are watching his development are witnessing the beginning of what I think will be an outstanding career as an Essendon midfielder over the next 10 years,"" Shaw said. ""I don’t like pushing them up too much but I think Essendon fans can be genuinely optimistic about his future.""
But you won’t hear Brent Stanton shouting about what he has done. And it didn’t take his teammates long to pick up on this young man’s quiet ways. He soon earned the nickname Humphrey.
""I’m new around here so I have been pretty quiet. I am just feeling my way a bit … I’m actually quite loud around my friends,"" Stanton said.
He might not show it but Stanton has experienced all the emotions of a typical first-year player. ""It has been pretty exciting but unfortunately we haven’t won enough games recently,"" he said. ""I was really nervous before my first game (Round 1 v Port Adelaide) but I’m not too bad now.
""I have had some more ground time recently which has really helped. They have left me on the wing and let me run. At the moment I think that is my best spot – when I get stronger I would like to get into the centre, that is where I played most of my junior football. I need to get my kicking right as well.""
