Bernie Vince may have only played 33 games for the Melbourne Football Club, but he is already one of their most important players.
He led from the front once again as Melbourne recorded an upset win over Geelong by 24 points.
Vince was best on ground with 38 disposals and two goals as Melbourne continued on their path of going from from easy beats to a competitive AFL outfit.
The rebuild for Melbourne was always going to take time and Paul Roos stressed the need for the club to trade in ready-made AFL players into the worst midfield in the league.
With draft sanctions in place for the Adelaide Crows in the wake of the Kurt Tippett saga, they had no choice but to look at trading a player to bring in draft picks, and Bernie Vince was the sacrificial lamb.
Vince had no intention of leaving Adelaide; he was under contract for another year and was a previous best and fairest winner at the club.
However, Melbourne was able to sell the the club and convince Vince that they were headed in the right direction.
Vince made the move to the Dees with pick 23 going to the Crows in return. At this stage it certainly looks like a massive tick for Melbourne.
2014 saw Vince enjoy a productive first season finishing third in the Melbourne Club Champion award. Vince averaged 24.1 disposals per game, the highest in his career.
What was also apparent was his leadership abilities, as he embraced a new football club and played an important role in transforming both the culture of the club and the on-field performances. It would have been easy to remain in Adelaide but Vince made a brave decision to join Melbourne at rock bottom. The increased responsibility has brought out the best in him.
At 29 years of age, Vince has matured from the larrikin at Adelaide to an on-field general. Melbourne’s last three games has seen Vince collect 34, 38 and 38 touches.
It is obvious he is well-loved by his teammates. There would have been those questioning the decision to join Melbourne, and he has certainly been in the news with some of his close checking tactics, but his output speaks for itself.
Always a classy user of the ball, his efficiency and decision making was just what Melbourne needed. Melbourne have some quality youngsters coming through the ranks and it doesn’t seem that farfetched Bernie Vince may play some finals football before he hangs up the boots.
Many may have thought Vince joining Melbourne was a pipe-dream, but the Dees are a team on the move and Vince is a key cog in the Melbourne engine.
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