Recruiting guru Gary Buckenara analyses Melbourne Demons’ list after the 2020 AFL season
Melbourne is a team full of B-graders with only one player in the elite category, according to list guru Gary Buckenara. He reveals what the Demons must do to improve their squad in his expert analysis.
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Melbourne’s current list isn’t capable of winning a premiership and until four key aspects missing from the playing list are addressed, the club won’t be in a position to challenge.
Competitiveness, skills, footy smarts and character are the four characteristics every recruiter should be looking for and the Demons don’t have anywhere near enough players who embody those traits.
Competitiveness is the one that is seriously lacking at Melbourne.
How often have we heard Simon Goodwin talking about the need to be ruthless on the field?
Surely after three years that message should have sunk in. Clearly it hasn’t and that means there’s a systemic problem.
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If you’re not a fierce competitor at AFL level then you won’t be successful. It’s as simple as that.
So who’s to blame for Melbourne players not having that ruthless competitiveness? It starts with the recruiting of players who bring that every game.
It’s not a statistic, so you won’t find it on a Champion Data stats sheet.
It’s something you see and observe when watching games live – how hard does each player attack the contest, where you can see that desire to beat their opponent and will to win regardless of the scoreboard?
These traits were seen in Michael Voss, Luke Hodge, Glenn Archer and many more champions of the game, while they’re currently seen in the likes of Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield and Ben Cunnington.
But you don’t need to be a star to have it.
Look at Ed Curnow, Campbell Brown, Kieren Jack and Paul Puopolo to name a few – they’re not superstars, but they’re the players you’d love to play alongside because you know exactly what you’re going to get.
Who at Melbourne brings that fierce competitiveness? Maybe Jack Viney. Anyone else? It’s a hard question to answer and this is my point.
Maybe the Demons have recruited too many ‘nice’ players who don’t bring it. Competitiveness is a non-negotiable.
Until the consistency of effort very good teams – like Richmond and Geelong – provide is instilled in the Demons, they will continue to be a team that fails to deliver when it counts.
Goodwin and the leaders talk about wanting to have a ruthless resolve, but actually doing it is the hard part.
As for the skills and footy smarts, Melbourne’s top-end talent is too thin.
I see only 12 A and B-ranked players and just three players aged 21 or under – Luke Jackson, Kysaiah Pickett and Trent Rivers – with the potential to develop into A or B-graders.
But I suspect that’s a long way off where the players are ranked internally.
They have too many middle-of-the-road players who are role players but they won’t win you a premiership.
Melbourne is suffering from ‘Rose-coloured Glasses Syndrome’ – the list has been severely overrated by those within the club.
LIST NEEDS
Melbourne’s list has stagnated. The Demons need another key forward to help Sam Weideman and after just seven goals this year and 18 the year before, Tom McDonald isn’t the answer. They also need another key defender so Jake Lever can be freed up to play his natural role as a third tall who zones off his player to intercept and be third-man up. Midfielders with good kicking skills continues to be an area of concern, as it has been for a number of years.
TRADE TARGETS
Jeremy Cameron should have been their No. 1 target but it seems they were never in the picture. Ben Brown would be a good fit for the Demons as they have tried hit and miss options like Tom McDonald and a combination of either Braydon Pruess and Gawn as tall targets. Brown can help straighten them up going forward and would give them a genuine key forward as Sam Weideman continues to develop. The Demons currently hold pick No.23, which would be a fair trade for Brown, so I’d have no hesitation offering that pick to North Melbourne.
Isaac Smith would be a great fit to inject some pace and good ball use into the midfield, he’s also a great competitor who knows how to be ruthless to achieve success.
MORE GARY BUCKENARA:
Gary Buckenara analyses North Melbourne’s list after the 2020 season
Gary Buckenara analyses Essendon’s list after the 2020 season
UNTOUCHABLES
I wouldn’t have any Melbourne player as untouchable if the right offer was on the table. Time to make a statement and show the players the club the message of being ‘ruthless’ isn’t just talk. Put them on notice. At the moment this club is a ‘Players Club’. Send a message that no player is bigger than the club.
TRADE BAIT
Melbourne has to decide whether this group can win a premiership in the next five years. I say no, but the club probably believes it can, so are unlikely to do anything bold like seeing what offers would come in by putting Clayton Oliver on the trade table.
That would shock some people, but clubs need to think outside the box – you never know what possibilities and opportunities will present to improve your list and get the types of players you need to take the next step.
Oliver is a great player but there are a few knocks on his game. He handballs too often and puts his teammates under pressure.
So, he doesn’t really hurt the opposition like the great midfielders do. I think he can be replaced.
You obviously wouldn’t do the deal unless an offer too good to refuse came up, but it’s food for thought. Be bold because this list has stagnated.
McDonald is definitely a player who’d create some interest from rival clubs looking for a key position swingman and is on the outer.
I think a pick in the 30-40 range would be fair compensation.
RATING THE LIST
A-grade: Gawn
B: Brayshaw, Fritsch, Lever, May, T. McDonald, Melksham, Oliver, Petracca, Salem, Viney, Weideman
C: Baker, Brown, Hannan, Harmes, Hibberd, Hore, Hunt, Jetta, Jones, Kolodjashnij, Langdon, Lockhart, O. McDonald, Neal-Bullen, Preuss, Smith, Tomlinson, Vandenberg
Developing (with A-B grade potential): Jackson, Pickett, Rivers
Developing: Bedford, Bradtke, Chandler, Jordan, Nietschke, Petty, Spargo, Sparrow
WHAT THE RATINGS MEAN:
A-grade: Elite player on any AFL list
B: Top 10-18 player on most lists
C: An 18-30 player on a list
Developing: Aged 21 or under
CRYSTAL BALL
I was wrong about Melbourne. Since 2018 I’ve been waiting to see them kick on since making the preliminary final, I thought they were ready to challenge for a premiership in 2019 and 2020.
But I now believe this group can’t win a premiership and a major change in direction is needed in their list management and recruiting strategies, and a big list cull and rebuild to find players that bring those four non-negotiable traits – skills, footy smarts, competitiveness and character.
MORE GARY BUCKENARA:
Gary Buckenara analyses Carlton’s list after the 2020 season
Gary Buckenara analyses Gold Coast’s list after the 2020 season
Gary Buckenara analyses Hawthorn’s list after the 2020 season
Originally published as Recruiting guru Gary Buckenara analyses Melbourne Demons’ list after the 2020 AFL season