Melbourne recruit Braydon Preuss wants to play in same side as Max Gawn and not underneath him
When former Roo Braydon Preuss nominated Melbourne as his preferred trade destination, people raised their eyebrows. But the ruckman hopes Max Gawn’s presence won’t hamper his own prospects.
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Melbourne recruit Braydon Preuss says he’s switched AFL homes believing new teammate and All-Australian Max Gawn wants to play with a second ruck next season.
Preuss left North Melbourne for the Demons in the trade period in a deal that sent midfielder Dom Tyson in the other direction.
The 23-year-old Preuss didn’t play senior football in 2018 after a breakthrough 2017 in which he displaced another All Australian, Todd Goldstein.
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Given Gawn’s standing as the league’s pre-eminent tapper, plenty of observers believe the 206-centimetre ruck will find game time limited at the Demons. But Preuss says his own ambition and chats with Gawn led him to back himself into the move.
“I want to play beside Maxy. Everyone thinks I want to play underneath him and play backup. I want to play beside him,” he said.
“I met him at the end of the season and we got along pretty well.
“He was all for playing the two ruckmen approach.
“I wanted his thoughts on it because that was probably the most important one and he’s all for it.”
Preuss said he also saw Melbourne’s development regimen as superior, citing “the club and its culture” as the driving force for choosing the preliminary finalists.
“Especially their midfield, there’s a lot of players my age ... you can tell there’s going to be a lot of sustained success,” he said.
Joining Preuss on his first day of training was ex-Gold Coast halfback Kade Kolodjashnij.
The Tasmanian arrived from the Suns after five seasons, with reduced matches each season since 2015.
The 23-year-old said he was confident his concussion issues would be the past after a diagnosis from a specialist.
“Turns out it’s more neck related, so I’ve been smashing a lot of neck exercises over the off-season, really trying to strengthen up my neck” Kolodjashnij said.
“It had a lot to do with the whiplash I was copping.
“I managed to get back last season and play a few games and I’m really confident in my body now.”
Ex-Suns captain Steven May was the third and final arrival through the trade period, with Jesse Hogan, Dean Kent and Tyson heading out of the club.
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