Melbourne Season Review

[BB67th]

Hi guys, continuing on with my season reviews for all 18 clubs, today I have done Melbourne.

Melbourne Season Review

Season in a Snapshot

Ladder Position: 16th â€" 4 wins, 18 losses (67.49%)
Most Disposals: Nathan Jones (516)
Most Goals: Mitch Clark (29)
Played Every Game: Jack Trengrove, Jared Rivers, Jeremy Howe, Colin Garland
Debutants: Josh Tynan (2 games), Thomas Couch (3 games), James Magner (17 games)

Stat Leaders:

Kicks: Jack Grimes (301)
Handballs: Nathan Jones (251)
Tackles: Jordie McKenzie (116)
Hit Outs: Mark Jamar (453)
Clearances: Nathan Jones (118)
Marks: Jeremy Howe & Jack Grimes (122)
Contested Possessions: Nathan Jones (217)
Uncontested Possessions: Jack Grimes (309)
Inside 50s: Nathan Jones (73)
Rebound 50s: James Frawley (73)

Best & Fairest:

1. Nathan Jones (368)
2. Jack Grimes (348)
3. Tom McDonald (314)
4. Jordie McKenzie (312)
5. Jared Rivers    (310)
6. Colin Garland (297)
7. Jeremy Howe (293)
8. Jack Trengove (275)
9. James Frawley (266)
10. Lynden Dunn (257)

NAB Rising Star Nominations:

Tom McDonald â€" Nominated for his round 13 performance against the Greater Western Sydney Giants. McDonald enjoyed a good first season in defence for the Demons where he handled many different tall forward opponents. He kept number 1 draft pick Jonathon Patton fairly quiet, as well as playing an important rebounding role out of defence in only Melbourne’s second win of the season, as they beat the Giants by 78 points.

Sam Blease â€" Nominated for his round 20 performance against St Kilda. He played an important role as a high half forward rotating through the midfield and sparked his side to be very competitive in defeat by kicking 5 goals. It was Blease’s second nomination after previously receiving one in round 23 of 2011.

How did the Season go:

To put it in simple terms, this was the season from hell for Melbourne and I really don’t see how it could have been any worse. It all started back last year when the Cats beat the Demons by over 180 points and Dean Bailey was sacked as coach. Experienced assistant Mark Neeld came in, and wanting to make a statement straight away, told all of the senior players they were not up to the correct standard and made youngsters Jack Grimes and Jack Trengrove co-captains (with Trengrove being the youngest captain in the history of the game). Then, on the eve of the season, we were all hit with the tragic news of the passing of Jim Stynes, who lost his battle with cancer. The passing of the legend affected everyone at the club. They then had one of the worst starts to the season and were not competitive in any of their matches, being soundly beaten by all their opponents. It was around then that the Liam Jurrah allegations emerged, and it would now look as though Jurrah could face jail time for his actions. Then the Demons’ major sponsor was accused of false advertising and their CEO tarnished the company name with racist comments on social media, meaning Melbourne dumped them as a sponsor. This left them with considerably less money than they would like as well. To cap it all off, they only finished with 4 wins for the season. 3 of these came against GWS and Gold Coast, with the other coming in an amazing low scoring affair against Essendon in a match where the Demons showed they at least had some pride. But with several games with losing margins over 100 points, it was clearly not a good season for the Demons, either on the field or off it.
Many of the players seemed disinterested and looked like they didn’t really want to be playing for the club during the season, and for many of them, their hearts just weren’t in it. Look at players like Aaron Davey and Liam Jurrah, who now probably won’t get any other opportunities at AFL level. Mark Neeld also highlighted players such as Brent Moloney as no longer in his plans for the future at the Demons and didn’t give them regular games. It was an interesting way in how he went about his coaching, and as a first year coach, I don’t know if it was the right way. Still, he did things his way, made some bold statements early on, and now faces the huge job of rebuilding a club that is really struggling.

Excitement of the Season:

The excitement of the season has to be the leaping Jeremy Howe. Howe stood up in the forward line this year when no one else did, and while he wasn’t a goalkicker, he was a human highlight reel. Almost every week, Howe would take a speckie that looked like it deserved mark of the year. He ended up having 2 of the 3 short listed marks for the award as he went on it win it, as he will most likely do every year for the next decade. He picked up a bit of possession around the half forward area, and was second on Melbourne’s goal kicking table, averaging close to a goal a game. What he really brings to the team is an X-Factor that it has been missing for too long. Even though his team has had a terrible year, and they are facing a large defeat, Howe would be able to bring out one of his amazing marks, and it would give the team a bit of hope and still make some games worth watching. He will be a star.

Disappointment of the Season:

There are a few that really deserve this title at the Demons, but for me it has to be Aaron Davey. The goal sneak had been a regular at the Demons for half a dozen years, and was known, like his brother Alwyn at the Bombers, for putting pressure on the opposition defence in the forward half and kicking a goal or two every now and then. It is funny to think that at the start of the season, he put his hand up and said that he should be Melbourne’s next captain, when he has had a terrible season. He played in the losing side in round 1 to the Lions, and was one of the senior players cut for round 2 by Neeld. He returned and played from rounds 3-8, but had next to no influence on the contests, with his best game only returning 13 touches. He only played one more game for the season, which was in the win against GWS. All season, he lacked intensity, effort and the desire to play AFL football. He had taken his spot in the team for granted, and now with his age and the position he is in at the club, his AFL future would have to be clouded at best.

Where is the club heading next year:

Who knows where the club is headed next year really? We all thought that they would be pushing for top 8 contention this year, and look where they ended up. Still, it has to be fair to say that they will not do as bad next season. In trade news, the club has already lost Brent Moloney to the Lions through Free Agency and Jared Rivers is likely to go the Cats in the same way. The club has attracted Chris Dawes, who has named Melbourne as his club of choice and a trade is currently being worked out. Melbourne are also after another hard bodied midfielder, and Farren Ray has been identified as a man of interest. They were successful in gaining Jack Viney as a father-son pick with their second round selection, which means that they are set up well going into this year’s national draft and should be able to pick another few quality kids. Next year they will be looking for some improvement in the midfield, as well as a few more people to stand up in defence. Hopefully they can get a deal done for Chris Dawes and have a fit Mitch Clark, which would mean that they would have a forward line that is capable of doing some damage on its day. I think that after only 4 wins this year, the Demons would be looking for around double that as they continue to rebuild.

Final Say:

The season from hell for the Demons, not much more could have gone wrong. Only 4 wins, 3 of those against the expansion clubs and none against top 8 sides is not a good scorecard for a side that was in finals contention last year. You wonder whether sacking Bailey was actually the right move…… I give the Demons an E+ for season 2012.

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[Purple 77]

Awesome write up! Summed us up pretty well.... besides a few little things that I can't help but point out lol (no offence or anything)

We only had 2 games where the margin exceeded 100 points, I wouldn't say that is several

James Magner and Tom Couch were also debutants

I would say Mitch Clark not only stood up in the forward line, but was the WHOLE forward line in the first half of the year lol. Think Howe played more in the mid IMO

But all in all, that was a fantastic write-up and that would have taken a lot of effort, I'm sure all who read it will appreciate it  :)

[BB67th]

Thanks for pointing that stuff out Purp. My list of debutants only included the senior list, forgot to check the rookie :)

[silky]

These are good reads bb67. keep up the great work :)