Gary Buckenara analyses Melbourne’s list after the 2018 season
JESSE Hogan’s days at the Demons are over, with the club essentially trading him for Steven May and Kade Kolodjashnij. List expert GARY BUCKENARA looks at the big decisions Melbourne made in the trade period to take the next step.
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THE long wait for Melbourne fans finally came to an end this year as the Demons tasted finals action for the first time since 2006 in one of the best stories of the year.
After completing rebuild after rebuild, the club and its recruiting and list management departments finally got it right and developed a list capable not only of playing finals but pushing for a Grand Final berth.
I saw the potential in this Melbourne list back in 2016 when I wrote at the end of the season those long-suffering supporters could finally start saving for finals tickets ahead of the 2017 season.
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The Demons were unlucky to miss September last year but it’s clear that experience and disappointment held the group — and their leaders like co-captains Nathan Jones and Jack Viney — in good stead and was used as motivation to come back better and more determined in 2018.
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Once that finals spot was locked in it was as if the shackles were released and the players could play with freedom and without the pressure of the finals burden on their shoulders. They played with that freedom — and the flair, aggression and confidence — in their elimination and semi-final victories before falling at the second-last hurdle.
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While there is no doubt the poor performance in the preliminary final loss to West Coast will hurt, that feeling must be used by every player on the list, regardless if they played in that game or not, as motivation to train hard and get back into that position in 2019.
This must be the new expectation at Melbourne — to play in and win finals.
When I look at this Melbourne list it is full of talented players and has that star quality you need for sustained success. Players like Angus Brayshaw, Christian Petracca, Viney, Clayton Oliver, Tom McDonald, Jesse Hogan (if he stays), Jake Lever and Christian Salem are the present and the future of this club. This is one of the most talented groups of young players in the AFL and they’re starting to hit their peak.
They will form the nucleus of a side I expect to build a successful era for this football club.
Add them to the experience of Jones, Max Gawn, Michael Hibberd, Jake Melksham, Neville Jetta and Jordan Lewis and it’s a very nice group of 14 players for which the sky is the limit in what they can achieve together.
Then there’s Sam Weideman, Charlie Spargo, Mitch Hannan, Bayley Fritsch, Oscar McDonald and Joel Smith, who are developing players who have come into the system at various stages, looked comfortable at the level and played key roles for the team.
Regardless of that preliminary final result, there is so much to look forward to for Melbourne in the very near future and with the finals monkey off the back, who knows where the Demons can go next season.
But while there is that positive angle, there is also the negative and what clubs must be wary of after a successful season (albeit without silverware). We’ve seen with the Bulldogs that when players get satisfied with a good year they can drop away the next and not be as hungry. That is the big challenge not only for the players but for the coaches and club as a whole.
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Melbourne can’t be satisfied with playing in a preliminary final. The hurt of the loss must be the catalyst for a committed and hardworking pre-season and year where every player is willing to sacrifice and work together to be the best player and team they can be.
In a sense, the work starts now for Melbourne’s players, coaches, development team, list managers and recruiters and the administration.
Melbourne supporters will be disappointed to see Jesse Hogan traded but the Demons did well during the trade period. May will help bolster the defence and with Oscar McDonald and Jake Lever, that’s a really solid group who can take the big forwards at opposition clubs. To get May and Kolodjashnij for pick No.6 could be one of the great deals if he can get over his injury issues. He’s a very good player, I really rate him. He can be an excellent rebound defender and play similarly to Grant Birchall at the Hawks. The Preuss addition is puzzling — they needed a forward/ruckman, not a guy who is a No.1 ruckman and that’s it. I would have instead targeted a state-league player who has a big body to play the forward role as well.
Even with the departure of Hogan, who has had injury and off-field issues, Melbourne has improved its list. May is the big recruit — it means Tom McDonald now knows he is a key forward and won’t be moved into defence if required.
MELBOURNE’S LIST NEEDS
The biggest list need at the Demons is still a forward/ruckman who can help Gawn. While he thrives as the No.1 big man, if he gets injured then they’re in trouble because there’s no experienced back-up ready to step in if required — I believe there are better options than Preuss in the state leagues. Finding a player who can play predominantly forward but spend 5-10 minutes in the middle per quarter to give him a chop out would be ideal.
I think the Demons are also lacking a dynamic small forward. Jeff Garlett fell out of favour this season for reasons only the club would know but that quick type of player who can apply forward pressure inside 50 is lacking.
Melbourne has one of the deepest midfields in the league but adding a silky outside ball-user would complement their stocks nicely.
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Viney has had his last two seasons interrupted by injury, so getting a full season out of the co-captain will be vital to the team’s chances of having another good season. We saw how important and how good he is during the finals series, so putting measures in place to sort out the issues with his feet over the off-season and pre-season will be critical.
Sam Frost helped fill the void left by Lever’s ACL injury and displayed some really good form in the back half of the year. That is the level the Demons need him to perform at every week next year — there is a spot in the defence for him if he wants it enough.
CRYSTAL BALL
Melbourne boasts enough top-end talent and scope for rapid improvement to be a top-four and premiership contender in 2019 but it will need its best 22 fit and firing on a regular basis as I’ve got some queries over their depth in critical positions.
Originally published as Gary Buckenara analyses Melbourne’s list after the 2018 season
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