COACH Paul Roos says Dom Tyson’s performance against the Western Bulldogs further enhanced Melbourne’s decision to recruit him from Greater Western Sydney.
Although the Demons fell short by 16 points to the Bulldogs at the MCG on Saturday night, Tyson was a standout for the Demons, winning a game-high 27 disposals and booting two goals.
The Demons claimed Tyson after trading selection No.2 to GWS, but they also acquired pick No.9, which resulted in the drafting of outstanding young talent Christian Salem. The Giants claimed young-gun Josh Kelly with No.2.
From the original deal, the Demons also secured exciting prospect Jayden Hunt (No.57), as the Giants also gained No.22 and No.76. GWS then ontraded No.22 to the Brisbane Lions and was also involved in a deal with Port Adelaide to trade and secure other picks/selections.
Ultimately, Roos said it was a win/win for both clubs, but he added that the Demons were rapt to secure Tyson and Salem.
“I’m surprised that the comparisons [to Greater Western Sydney’s] Josh Kelly keep coming, because I’ve said a few times that we wouldn’t have taken Josh Kelly with pick two. And that’s nothing against Josh Kelly – we think pick two is going to be a really, really good player – so people can keep comparing Josh to [Tyson], but we wouldn’t have taken Josh Kelly with pick two,” he said.
“I’ll say Josh will be a terrific young player and he will be a terrific player, but we’re more than happy with Dom.
“Dom had 27 [disposals] and kicked two goals on the back of his [performance] last week. From day one, I said it was going to be a win/win and it’s going to be a win for us with Christian [Salem] and Dom. It was also going to be a win for them because they got their player and who we were going to take is irrelevant.
“We thought there were probably nine or 10 high quality midfielders at the top end, so I think the Giants have done well out of the deal and we’ve done really well out of the deal.”
Roos said Salem, who has already shown plenty to like about his game in his first three matches, despite starting as the substitute, was progressing strongly. But he said it was a balancing act managing first year players.
“It’s always a fine line with kids coming in. We saw Jay [Kennedy-Harris] start like that and work his way in. It’s a really hard one,” he said.
“As much as I’m not a massive fan of the sub to be perfectly frank – it is a good way to bring young guys in. Often what you do with young guys is bring them in for two or three weeks and then they’re back in the seconds and that’s part of their [development] … and you see that a lot with young players.
“The danger is if you’re sub for three weeks, you’d probably have to go back [to the VFL], because you have got [to find] some fitness, but they’re all the things that come into it. But it is a good way to introduce young players into the game.”
Meanwhile, Roos laughed at speculation that Essendon coach Mark Thompson could be on Melbourne’s radar as his coaching successor. But Roos said if Thompson was available, he’d be an incredible asset for the club.
“Yeah, apparently [he’s coaching Melbourne after me]. That was an interesting one,” he said with a smile.
“That’ll play itself out. As a club we’ve got a process put in place and it’s an important role for us and ‘Bomber’ has unbelievable credentials.
“I don’t know whether he’d be interested or not.”
