Melbourne 2014 List

[Mootsy11]

Thought i would do a best 22 for Melbourne next year so here it is. There are a few factors that will have an impact on side which i've mentioned at the bottom:
FB: Garland, Frawley, Terlich
HB: Grimes, McDonald, Watts
C: Toumpas, Trengove, Aish (likely pick 2/3, gun kid from SA. Good decision maker, inside/outside player. Perfect for dees)
HF: Howe, Clark, Syvlia
FF: Dawes, Hogan, Blease
Fol: Jamar, Viney, N. Jones
Bench: Fitzpatrick/Gawn/Spencer, M. Jones, Kent, McKenzie
Emg: Nicholson, Clisby, Ruckman of 3 above

Summation of the list.
Forward line- Really strong, Clark, Hogan and Dawes along with howe jumping on player's heads would scare any opposition coach. Clark NEEDS to stay healthy though. I think Blease, Barry and Kent are potentially good small forwards who will help the talls. Flash Davey unfortunately looks gone.
Midfield- Pathetic but if Trengove and Grimes live up to their potential and Toumpas, Viney, Evans and hopefully Aish continue to improve, along with older guys like the Jones boys and Colin Syvlia it isnt as grim as some might think.
Defence- Strong, Frawley, if he stays is a gun, McDonald has some serious potential due to his running capacity, Garland has been one of the only players at Melbourne to improve this year and looks set for a top 2 finish in the B and F. Running backman like Terlich, Nicholson and Clisby have potential but if Melbourne wants to be a finals contender in 2-4 years they will need to bring in a player to break the lines, Watts has that ability but if he stays and where he plays is another question/argument.
Rucks- Ok, Jamar will last a couple more years and the threesome of Gawn, Fitzpatrick and Spencer look alright. A high draft pick traded for a quality ruckman would not be wasted at all.
Not to bad on paper IMO. A few things to contemplate.
1- Priority pick talk heating up with some saying this week (vs GWS) will have a big say on where the pick is. If pick 1, Melbourne will trade to another club as forward line of Watts, Hogan, Clark, Dawes, Howe, Fitzpatrick is too big. Will likely try to bring in a kid and an experienced leader. This will have a dramatic effect on the list as if Melbourne could bring in an A-grade mid it would do wonders for their pathetic midfield.
2- New coach/ head of football. Eade's name has been strengthening as coach whilst now that Walsh has left Collingwood he is a major chance as he and CEO Peter Jackson are old colleague. A Eade/ Walsh duo might work nicely as they are both from Collingwood and successful. All that us dees fans ask for is an experienced coach who knows how to develop kids.
3- Trading, i think Melbourne will be once again a major player in trade week (especially if we get a priority pick) as i think Watts might get traded to a Freo/Adelaide. Other possible trades might be with the draft picks, I would guess we have Pick 2 and about 21 at minimum but if we get priority pick, 1,3,22. These picks i would suggest would be traded for pure midfielders who have leadership abilites. Taylor Adams' (GWS, 19 y/o pick 13 from a few years ago) name has been circling as a possible trade for the Dees. Other players who i think may be on the outer at the Dees via trade might be Frawley and a big tall, possibly even cult hero "Fitzy" or 29 y/o Mark Jamar who i believe would benefit a top team.

In summary, Melbourne Fans need to keep and have hope. I think the list is going to be ok but 2014 is a very important year, especially for the likes of Trengove, Grimes, Tapscott, Watts and Blease, these kids need to be the ones who push the Demons forward.
Whatever happens with the Coach/picks/ head of football/ chairman/board, i think the Melbourne side of 2014 will be much more competitive.
I hope you enjoyed the read and please leave some feedback.

[nrich102]

Gawn > Jamar

[Big Mac]

You make a few good points but i'd have to add some things

Players we don't need

- Jamar (his best years are past him and Fitzpatrick/Gawn are our strongest ruck combo.)
- Blease (Doesn't get much of the ball and can't really break lines well enough to warrant a spot)
- Watts (Isn't good enough as a backmen and we have enough talls including Clark and Hogan next year)
- Davey (Too old and doesn't tackle)
- Pedersen (A disgrace)
- Dunn (Horrible kick)
- Byrnes (Too slow)

- Unless we get pick 1 through our own incompetence, I don't think we'll be able to get an A grade midfielder in a trade. Why would a club trade a star midfielder for a potential star midfielder? The only thing we'd be offered for pick 2 would be a Bernie Vince type who isn't exactly worth it. We could try to attract Dale Thomas or David Mundy through free agency but that's a very unlikely outcome.

- We also need to start getting games into some of our Casey players now. Guys like Tynan, Taggert, Strauss, Davis and Magner are part of our future and deserve to get a game more than most of the players in the team last Saturday.

[Cicjose]

Sylvia is going to need to play extremely well for the rest of the year and in preseason
to get his spot when next season approaches

[Toga]

Yeah I think Jamar should be moved on, Gawn/Fitzy doing a good job IMO.

[Mootsy11]

You make a few good points but i'd have to add some things

Players we don't need

- Jamar (his best years are past him and Fitzpatrick/Gawn are our strongest ruck combo.)
- Blease (Doesn't get much of the ball and can't really break lines well enough to warrant a spot)
- Watts (Isn't good enough as a backmen and we have enough talls including Clark and Hogan next year)
- Davey (Too old and doesn't tackle)
- Pedersen (A disgrace)
- Dunn (Horrible kick)
- Byrnes (Too slow)

- Unless we get pick 1 through our own incompetence, I don't think we'll be able to get an A grade midfielder in a trade. Why would a club trade a star midfielder for a potential star midfielder? The only thing we'd be offered for pick 2 would be a Bernie Vince type who isn't exactly worth it. We could try to attract Dale Thomas or David Mundy through free agency but that's a very unlikely outcome.

- We also need to start getting games into some of our Casey players now. Guys like Tynan, Taggert, Strauss, Davis and Magner are part of our future and deserve to get a game more than most of the players in the team last Saturday.

I agree with most things here, especially about the Casey players playing now but i think with a pick 1 we could definitely get more than a Bernie Vince, a player like Gibbs from Carlton, a Fyfe from the dockers. Clubs want this pick 1 so badly that they will over-pay for Tom Boyd. And it terms of the player reviews, they are all correct except for blease, i think he could become a very good player, his ability to move the ball quickly is very underrated

[its me lads]

The only 2 from Big macs list that have any value at the trade table is Jamar and Watts. Could definately get something good for Watts and also Jamar is only 29 so I think another club would happily take him. Sylvia will be traded won't he?

[Mootsy11]

The only 2 from Big macs list that have any value at the trade table is Jamar and Watts. Could definately get something good for Watts and also Jamar is only 29 so I think another club would happily take him. Sylvia will be traded won't he?

Sylvia is a free agent who can leave the club if he wants and we can't trade for him unfortunately. Unclear as to whether he will stay or go, to me its not really a problem, just hope he doesnt get overpaid

[Goolahbah]

I'm a saints fan, but agree totally