The 2021 Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period and Free Agency Period have officially come to a close and while Melbourne wasn’t necessarily very active, we thought we’d get you up to speed on the movements that occurred within the club.
The Free Agency Period opened on Friday October 1 and by Wednesday 6 October, Melbourne had bolstered its midfield signing Luke Dunstan as an unrestricted free agent.
The 26-year-old played 116 games for St Kilda before making the move to the Dees and will be some added experience within the group, something that Melbourne list Manager Tim Lamb said was the club’s focus.
“We came into this trade period looking to re-stock the midfield area and Luke fits the bill perfectly,” Lamb told Melbourne Media.
“We are really happy that Luke has chosen to make the move to our club.”
Dunstan said he felt that his best footy was still ahead of him and was excited to get started in the red and blue.
“There’s obviously things I want to still improve on and that was part of the reason why coming here was so attractive. You guys have a massive focus on still improving and developing,” Dunstan told Melbourne Media.
“I’m looking forward to getting stuck into it.”
Following on from the signing of Dunstan, Melbourne made their first move within the 2021 Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period on that same Wednesday.
The Demons were part of a four-club pick swap in which they were able to improve their 2021 draft hand receiving Picks 17, 37 and 49.
In return, Melbourne gave up Picks 33, 45 and a future first round selection.
This deal sees the club slot back into the First Round of this year’s draft, which Lamb said was the plan heading into the period.
“It has always been our philosophy to try and improve our draft hand every year with a focus on the first round and this deal is in line with this strategy,” Lamb said.
“This selection sees us having a total of five first round selections in the last three seasons. We have also maintained a strong position in the middle section of this year’s draft.”
