After the horrors of recent years, Melbourne managed a slight improvement in 2015. However, they still look a long way off the pace.
Will they surprise a few people in 2015?
1. The 1967-1923 Connection
It is never a good thing in modern football when a team is being compared to their 1967 or 1923 alter egos, however for Melbourne the reality is that this was the club’s worst offensive performing season since the 1258 points they scored in 1967.
It gets worse when you consider that 1967 was an 18-game season. You have to go back to 1923 to see a year when Melbourne averaged 60 points a game like they did in 2014. Historically Melbourne’s 2014 has to rate as one of the worst offensive seasons in AFL/VFL history.
2. Late season blowouts
Despite Paul Roos stating heading into 2014 that his game plan was designed to eradicate blowouts as a way to try to help rebuild morale around the club, Melbourne still suffered heavy defeats across the year, especially late in the season.
While the losses were not on the scale of 2013 and years past, the reality still is that this was a club that was still uncompetitive for large parts of the season.
They suffered heavy but forgivable losses to league leaders like Hawthorn and Fremantle but thrashings against non-finalists like West Coast and GWS were unforgivable. Given the negative attitude that Melbourne displayed to attacking play last year – despite claims to the contrary – it could still be argued that morale is no better off.
3. Free them up
Historically bad offenses out of the way, the good news for Melbourne is that there were signs last year that when some of its young players are given some attacking freedom they could thrive under that system.
Dom Tyson was outstanding all year and the drive he was able to give from the midfield was an exciting look at things to come. Christian Salem from limited opportunities showed some poise beyond his years and looks like having some real forward capabilities.
Dean Kent and Jimmy Toumpas were another two who showed some flair at various points and this group make up a portion of those that will really benefit from a more attacking style.
4. Keeping up with the Joneses
After years of being an under the radar of most fans, Nathan Jones has risen to prominence over the past couple of years as his consistent and hard working approach has endeared him to Melbourne and opposition fans alike.
With Nathan Jones now regarded as one of Melbourne’s best and most recognisable faces, it seems almost fitting that another Jones is slipping under the radar of fans – Matt Jones.
Matt Jones has played 42 of a possible 44 games in the past two seasons and has become a consistent contributor who like his namesake has shown a tendency for the hard side of the game.
As a mature age recruit drafted late in the 2012 draft Matt Jones is one of a group of players that Melbourne have had real success with late on draft days.
They have taken some much called for heat on their top selections, but the performance of the Melbourne recruiters late in drafts has been underrated. Matt Jones headlines this.
5. 2014 recruits backing up
It was a mixed bag for the 2014 recruits, with both Bernie Vince and Daniel Cross exceeding expectations as veteran influences in the team. Tyson was a revelation, nearly capturing the club best and fairest.
While these three were successes, injury played a part on the seasons of Vic Michie and Aidan Riley who both struggled to have an impact. Whether Vince and Cross can play any better is probably questionable, but hopes should still be high for Melbourne fans that Tyson can still improve and that Michie and Riley have better luck and are able to cement a place in the team in 2015.
6. Capitilising on the start
Melbourne has a friendly start to the 2015 season with games against Gold Coast and GWS. Though they struggled against both in 2014, it is a good test to see how much the Demons have developed under Roos to go against these young and rapidly improving sides.
Following this duo of games, Melbourne has matches against Adelaide and Richmond, two teams they beat in 2014. It is unlikely that they will start favourites in many, but a win or two in this first month is likely pivotal if the club is going to surprise the competition and win six or more games.
7. The Goodwin stamp
With Simon Goodwin anointed as the next coach of the Melbourne Football Club, it will be interesting to see what impact and what responsibility Goodwin will be given this year.
Coming in fresh to the club with a reputation for being a good teacher of youth and unrelenting in his desire to win, Goodwin will bring a different approach to many of the young Melbourne players.
The easiest model to track Goodwin’s path into AFL is the Leon Cameron example at GWS. With Paul Roos adamant about the direction that he was looking to take the club on, what direction Goodwin wants to go and whether these two directions align is an intriguing subplot of Melbourne for the next season or two.
Don Freo
Guest
Can't say I know where you're coming from.
TomC
Roar Guru
We understand each other.
Don Freo
Guest
I'm not sure you have understood me. This is a Melbourne article and I think they will be a big improver this year. Viv Michie, BTW, finally got a chance at the end of last year and did really well...commentators often confusing him with Dom Tyson. Can't see the troll here.
TomC
Roar Guru
You've had your fun. Stop trolling easy targets.
Don Freo
Guest
I think Melbourne can win at least 10 games this year. I'm assuming they are playing all of the lower teams twice... haven't checked; That's 2 wins against Carlton, 2 against the Doggies ( a bit tougher than the Blues), 2 against the Saints, at least one each against Collingwood and Geelong and should scrape a few from The Crows and a few of the Northern states sides.
TomC
Roar Guru
I actually really appreciate that counter-intuitive approach, Cam, although if I'm perfectly honest I sometimes get the impression you have to stretch a little to find seven untold stories for each team. I probably tend to zero in on the points I disagree with, which makes me seem more critical than I mean to be. Apologies if that's the case. Ladder predictions serve a slightly different purpose than these sorts of articles: there's no nuance or analysis in a ladder prediction, it's just a chance to make some pretty simple guesses and see how well they hold up over the season.
Cameron Palmer
Roar Guru
TomC, Thanks for taking the time out to read and to reply, appreciate the time and effort that you have given to my thoughts. I think without really going in with the intention of doing so, I have gone against the grain on most clubs. Eg, I have been pretty complimentary on Carlton, Melbourne and Fremantle, yet have been a little hard on teams like Western and Adelaide. I probably put this down to the premise of these pieces which is "7 Untold Stories" hence a lot of what I have been saying is things that are not really out in the mainstream media. Sometimes the sheep effect means that you hear the same vanilla analysis on every team and as such it all seems the same. For me these pieces are all about trying to give fans a slightly different spin or thought process on what is going on at the club. Depending on what feedback I get, I might do up a ladder prediction on the edge of the season, but in honesty, I think pre-season ladder predictions really mean nothing in telling the story of a season. I am a big fan of the narrative of an AFL season and hopefully that is what comes across in my writing. Again appreciate your time to reply.
PartTimeZombie
Guest
Melbourne are in some ways one of the more interesting clubs in the AFL to me. They are the foundation club, with potentially massive support, but for the last 10 years they have been a disaster on the field. Their last 10 years have been almost exactly the same as Fitzroy's last 10 in terms of wins and loses, and their percentage over that time is 79.06% v 78.52% for Fitzroy. 1336 points scored last season, for the lowest ever total in a 22 game season, where will their points come from in 2015?
Blake Standfield
Roar Guru
They clearly went backwards last year. A couple of good wins early in the season but that loss to a second string GWS lineup, and the way they lost was as bad as anything in their history. I lost what little sympathy I had left for them that day. They've ruined a lot of talent over the last ten years and now they're somehow managing to tarnish the reputation of Paul Roos.
Tony Tea
Guest
Toumpas only played a handful of games in 2014 and didn't show much in any of them. He has a massive amount of ground to make it before Demon fans forgive the footy department for picking Toumpas ahead of Viney's best mate Wines. Fingers crossed Jimmy has what it takes, eventually, but at this stage he is in Lucas Cook territory as far as the fans are concerned and we get progressively more agitated every time Wines plays a blinder.
Avatar
Roar Guru
"Melbourne has a friendly start to the 2015 season with games against Gold Coast and GWS." Both expansion clubs have vamped up their playing lists (and in the case of the Gold Coast Suns, a new and experienced coach has arrived), so no longer are games against the Suns and/or Giants considered easy. The same goes for St Kilda, who also play both the expansion clubs (GWS at home and Gold Coast away) in the opening two rounds. Other than that, a commercially tough (but otherwise travel-friendly) fixture means Melbourne won't win as regularly as the middle-tier teams do, but I think they should aim for about 6-10 wins in 2015.
TomC
Roar Guru
Maybe I'm just a negative person, but again this reads like a pretty positive spin on this team's position. Take the section on freeing up the youngsters: Tyson has been excellent, fair enough, but Salem, Kent and Toumpas all have a long way to go. Showing 'signs' really isn't enough. I think the rather depressing untold story of 2014 for Melbourne is that most of the players who carried the load for Melbourne last year are probably unlikely to play any better in future seasons. Cam mentions Vince, Cross and Jones, but also Dunn, Jetta, Watts and Pedersen probably all had career best years and it still didn't translate into many more wins. Melbourne need to start phasing out many of these limited players in 2015 and replace them with more promising, inexperienced players. Building a new team will take years and they've barely even begun.