With just over a month until the 2014 AFL draft, every Melbourne supporter is dreading a time which should be an exciting one for the club.
This is the opportunity to add some of the most talented youngsters into the mix and hopefully (how many times have we said that word since 2006) get some consistency, wins and movement up the ladder.
I think that for any Demons supporter the excitement of trade week gets washed away when draft day comes.
We all know what draft day feels like as we all sit by our TV screens or radios waiting for the player announcements and contemplating if he will be ‘the one’ or one of the many that have failed.
The Demons have made mistakes and the club, the playing group and the members have paid for it year after year. We are sick of the negativity, and even though hope is a dangerous word we can never lose sight of it.
Yet as we edge closer to draft day, you would have to expect one of those articles reminding the football public of the Melbourne Football Club’s failures in selecting high-school dropouts instead of A-Grade students. It is the equivalent of the model posing with the horse during the spring racing carnival: you know it is coming.
The article on the AFL’s official website titled “They Could Have Been Demons” is another example of the media kicking us when it hurts most, and highlighting the sheer number of cock-ups we have made.
Mind you though, the article does put together a team I was jealous of. But that isn’t the point. Go off and find another easy target to write about besides us. At least we have a coach (looking at you Adelaide and Western Bulldogs), and aren’t embarrassing the league off the field (hello Essendon).
The improvement of the playing squad under Paul Roos and his merry men was significant compared to the rabble that represented the red and blue in 2013. Losing can never be accepted and for the first time in years the playing group looked like they would not accept it either. Just erase the last 10 rounds from your memory bank.
The club have never looked more stable off the field, and it is starting to translate into on-field performances. The additions of Sam Frost, Heritier Lumumba and Jeff Garlett will bolster our playing stocks, yet adding two more class acts to the group would take focus off the Demons. We just have to make sure we stick to the basics and pick up ready-made and not project players.
This will be the year that the Melbourne Football Club gets their drafting strategy right (fingers, toes and eyes crossed) and hopefully the last time we hear about our mistakes and hear about our success.
Radelaide
Guest
I think that article on the AFL website was unfair in that they pictured Gray, Tippett and Fyfe since every club passed up on those 3 at one stage although the Wines overlook was bad since he was well known by the Viney's and he had a big body already and had also made a pact with Jack to pick MFC up as they thought they would both be picked by the Dees.
Radelaide
Guest
Don't worry I think Richmond (and maybe Carlton) are up there with you, look at Richmonds draft in 2004.
deach
Guest
It's more about development. I'll go out and say that most of the top draft picks by Melbourne would be A Graders if they were selected by A Grade clubs. If the Cats, Hawks ... Swans had picked the aforementioned rookies, they would be good, if not great. There's probably 1 senior player that these rookies can look up to... Nathan Jones. Just an example, in the period when St kilda picked up Hayes, Roo, Kozy ... Nick Del, Goddard (2000 - 2002). Harvey, Bourke, Lowe, Everitt, Hall were they seniors at the club.
Olivia Watts
Roar Guru
Gecko, as much as I've liked the little I've seen of him play for us, I hope the Dees can do a deal with my Swans next year that sees Zak Jones join his brother at Melbourne. Zak is a real goer, quick, hard and wins his own ball but we are already well served by mids. I think he could have a 10 year career at the Demons and is the type they genuinely need. I think most Swans fans would wish him well if he were to return home. He cost us a 1st round pick and will be a better player for his time with Sydney, so I think a first or high 2nd round pick would get the deal done. I agree with the comments folk have made about player development too. I honestly believe that if Jack Watts went to Fremantle they could create a superstar of him and I was surprised he attracted little attention in draft week. The guy has obvious talent but needs confidence and football smarts and it seems Melbourne hasn't been able to provide either. For the sake of club and player I think a move would be beneficial, unless Roos can work a miracle with him in 2015
Gecko
Guest
I'm not convinced that Melbourne drafted badly. Perhaps the problem was the environment they went into (ie.Melbourne's lack of leadership). Perhaps Watts, Trengove, Clark etc might have proven to be good recruits if they'd gone to Hawthorn or Port Adelaide, The club's leadership group looks a little better nowadays with Nathan Jones, Daniel Cross and a maturing Grimes but they probably need to recruit one or two more on-field leaders. I'm not sure Bernie Vince last year or Lumumba this year could bring leadership.
Andrew A
Guest
It's unknown how much Melbourne's standard of player development has contributed to the under performance of top draft picks. Plus these players are coming into a losing environment and are expected to immediately be the team's best players. I don't think Ollie Wines was a significantly better junior than Jimmy Toumpas, yet Wines came into a club that got its act together, while Toumpas is surrounded by mediocrity and negativity. Koch and Hinkley turned Port's fortunes around. The same can happen for Melbourne with the right people in place. Not sure if the temporary nature of Roos' appointment helps Melbourne much. It looks like he's an outsider that will never really embrace the club and is there to collect some big $s.
Christopher Pepper
Roar Pro
Fair point. I actually forgot at the time of writing the article. Thankyou.
Damien
Guest
The “They Could Have Been Demons” was a ridiculous article because you could do the same exercise for every club and their best 22 would end up looking very different to what it actually is. Even Hawthorn's best 22 would be very different by selecting players with the benefit of hindsight. Would James Hird have gone pick 79 if every club knew what sort of player he would turn out to be? What about Adam Goodes? Every club passed on him at least twice before he was taken. Players taken in the top 10 are picked for a reason. They were outstanding juniour players. Tom Scully and Jack Trengove were always going to be taken at picks one and two. One phantom draft had Luke Tapscott being selected with pick 8. But now Melbourne are being rubbished for taking him with pick 18? What a joke! Development plays a huge role in how a player turns out. Clearly, Melbourne have failed in this area. So don't blame Melbourne's current predicament on who they didn't select at the National Draft.
Olivia Watts
Roar Guru
Sadly for the Dees the proof is in the pudding and, let's be honest, some of their draft picks in recent years may as well have been spent on puddings, for all the good they have done. Although not a Melbourne supporter I do wish them well and I am hoping that Brayshaw ans McCartin are both available to them, assuming StKilda will do as everyone expects and takes Petracca at no.1. Not only are they quality players but they each seem to be very classy young men, and Melbourne needs character every bit as much as it needs talent. Roos will insist on that, too. Good luck DemonsI
Mitch
Guest
Adelaide have had a coach for almost three weeks now.
Christopher Pepper
Roar Pro
I hear you Tony. It is quite pathetic as you could find a similar case for most clubs.
Richard French
Roar Rookie
Well said, surely every club had the option of picking those stars every season not just the Dees. Moreover, the article makes little sense, if we had of picked up a couple of those early stars we wouldn't of finished bottom 2 and therefore wouldn't of been able to get first pick the following year. I agree I'm sick of it.
Tony Tea
Guest
If that stupid article had highlighted failed Melbourne picks followed by the very next pick being a star it would be a lot less stupid. Lazy footy media has "Melbourne's rotten drafting" on auto-print.
Bob Gooch
Guest
Wow - what a massive ask ! As a MFC member for over 30 years I have seen incompetence at this club like no other. If the club was a business it would have bankrupted itself time and again. And now they have just demonstrated again that level of incompetence with the " Trengrove saga ". Add Mitch Clark Tom Scully and Liam Jurrah to the mix of monumental suff ups of recent times and " wallah " - who could guess what's next. Still we can dream I suppose, hope its not just another nightmare !