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Opinion

Why Ben Brown is the wrong trade for Melbourne

Roar Rookie
9th November, 2020
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Roar Rookie
9th November, 2020
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I’m sure a lot, if not all, footy fans can see that Ben Brown is a great full forward.

He’s a full forward that should get attention during trade week, however, he isn’t the forward that Melbourne should be targeting with their current game plan.

Having kicked 287 goals across his 130 games, an average of 2.2 goals a game would be a handy addition to any side.

Putting this together with the fact he had three consecutive years with 60 plus goals before this year makes it look like a no brainer that the Demons should pick Brown up during the trade period.

But the simple fact remains which is he simply won’t fit into Melbourne’s game plan and style of fast-paced carnage in getting the ball forward as they bomb it inside the forward 50.

Something which helped the demons reach the preliminary final in 2018 but has proven their downfall in 2019 and 2020.

Ben Brown has been shown as a genuine full forward who leads up at the ball and can kick bags of goals on his day.

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Brown is a methodical player who thrives off the ball being put out on a string, taking his long run-up and kicking.

This is something which wouldn’t work with Melbourne’s current game plan. Their plan isn’t methodical, they just try and get it forward, with kicks inside 50 being erratic, a key thing to fix going forward and something which Ben Brown’s arrival won’t fix.

While Ben Brown is a great full-forward, he would be a bad player for Melbourne and individually if a trade were going to happen.

But the way this is going, Melbourne is going to be paying overs for a player who won’t help the team and won’t fix actual problems which Melbourne have.

Some of the current problems Melbourne have are the efficiency going inside 50, turnovers (ranked second for most turnovers with an average of 63.5 per game) and clearances (ranked 15th for total clearances with an average of 28.2 per game).

These are the things Melbourne needs to be focused on for success (and for the long-suffering fans), not a Ben Brown trade.

Tom McDonald was the perfect forward when the Dees were firing in 2018. With his ability to be versatile in the forward line and become a backman if needed, they should be looking at keeping him at the club instead of trying to recruit Brown.

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A knee injury in 2019 as well as an injury this year have kept him from playing his best, but if he is fit and firing in 2021, it would be the same as having a new recruit.

Melbourne also has Luke Jackson and Sam Wideman to complement several medium-sized forwards such as Jake Melksham, Bayley Fritsch and Jayden Hunt and any given midfielder who is rotated through the forward line.

Ben Brown would be an unnecessary addition to a team which really needs to improve their inside 50s, turnovers and clearances.

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