Dom Tyson says second trade of his career wasn’t a surprise after switching from Melbourne to Kangaroos

Richmond asked about a Dom Tyson trade one season into his AFL career. The next year he moved from GWS to Melbourne. So the new Kangaroo could see the signs during 2018 another deal was coming.

New Kangaroo Dom Tyson. Picture: Michael Klein

DOM Tyson realised 12 months into his AFL career that his childhood pastime was suddenly a business when Richmond came calling with a trade request.

A year later he was a Melbourne player as the Demons and GWS tried to broker a win-win deal that also involved Josh Kelly, Christian Salem and Jayden Hunt.

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So when the 25-year-old inside midfielder spent the early part of this season playing on a wing or in the VFL, Tyson was well aware how the next step might play out.

Tyson is now a fortnight into the pre-season as a North Melbourne player after that early-season inkling turned into a certainty after his exit interview with coach Simon Goodwin.

The equation was this: finish your contract next year then see what happens, or move to North Melbourne on a guaranteed three-year deal.

Tyson says the decision to “pull the trigger” wasn’t all that hard, especially given North Melbourne’s sales pitch.

“Basically for me last year I was aware of the fact my inside midfield time was decreasing and I was a makeshift winger and in and out of the team a little bit,” he said.

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North Melbourne recruit Dom Tyson in his new kit at Arden St. Picture: Michael Klein

“They have got some really good younger players at Melbourne playing as inside mids and I could do the maths that my opportunity there was limited. Simon Goodwin was really good, he was honest.

“He and the list manager Tim Lamb said while your value is still there and you have some runs on the board, if you want to explore your options this season, we are giving you the green light to do that.

“We rate you as a person and we see a future for you next year, but we probably can’t guarantee you much more opportunity.”

So Tyson finds himself at his third club in seven seasons after Brad Scott’s assurances that the Kangaroos value him as that inside ball-winner.

Tyson also met Gold Coast and could have accepted a four or five-year deal there but felt after moving from a premiership contender he could still play finals at the Roos.

“When North presented to me I liked the feel of the club straight away and there was an opportunity to play as an inside mid again.

“It was a difficult decision and you think, ‘Do I stick around and hopefully see some success?’.

“But footy can be a business at times and North felt good. I didn’t want to overthink it.

“North Melbourne explained there was a little bit of a gap in the list for 25-year-olds with around 100 games and they said we value your strengths as a player, which sat well with me.”

Dom Tyson says Simon Goodwin was honest during his exit interview about his likely opportunities at the Demons.

Tyson comes to the Roos fresh from his first three finals, fitting reward at Melbourne after five years of toil.

A broken arm in Round 23 against old side GWS gave him only nine days to recover for the first final against Geelong yet he made it, with some help.

“The doctors put a titanium plate across the break so the bone was still broken but the plate acted as (reinforcement) across the bone. I was in discomfort early and it just get better every day so I could play that Friday night against Geelong. I was glad I got the chance to play and it turned out to be one of the better games we played all year.”

The season ended with a horror loss to West Coast in a preliminary final, but at 25 and with 107 games to his name, Tyson’s best football should still be ahead of him.

He was eventually traded from Melbourne in a swap with ruckman Braydon Preuss, the Roos initially lukewarm on him before Andrew Gaff rebuffed their free agency advances.

North Melbourne would love to add Josh Kelly to this list in 12 months’ time, but for Scott the hard-nut left-footer is a perfect addition to a midfield that needs inside strength.

Jack Ziebell can continue to play deep forward and the likes of Ben Cunnington, Jed Anderson and Luke Davies-Uniacke get valuable support.

“I have been really impressed with the training standards and the midfield mix,” Tyson said.

“I didn’t know much about guys like Trent Dumont but watching him train for a couple of weeks, he’s really impressive.

“Jy Simpkin is really fit, Shaun Higgins and Cunners (Cunnington) are training really well.

“I am excited about fitting into that group and impressing as best I can.”

Originally published as Dom Tyson says second trade of his career wasn’t a surprise after switching from Melbourne to Kangaroos