Rodan, now Melbourne’s most experienced player with 176 AFL matches to his name (he played 65 with Richmond from 2002-06 and 111 with Port Adelaide from 2007-12), believes he can make an impact with the red and blue.
“It’s my third club now, but I’m fortunate to get another chance, and I still feel I have a little bit left to offer,” he said.
“I’m happy to be a part of it and there are some things that come with it as well, so hopefully I can prove to my teammates that I deserve my spot on the list.
“I want to help another club rebuild and hopefully fast track some younger players to play some good footy and climb that ladder.”
Rodan said he was “super impressed” with coach Mark Neeld and his plans when he initially met with the club last year.
“They explained to me the plans of the club and the future,” he said.
“They were pretty adamant about finding some success around the corner and they spoke to me, and it appealed to me, and I wanted to be a part of it.
“I’m very happy that I got another opportunity - hopefully we can go with that plan that they have and hopefully we can see some success real soon.”
Having been around the AFL for more than a decade – he was originally drafted by Richmond at No. 33 in the 2001 AFL Draft after winning the Morrish Medal in 2000-01 – Rodan said he was impressed by the standards being set at Melbourne.
“I didn’t realise from an outside perspective [how] Nathan Jones, [Jack] Grimes and [Jack] Trengove … they really set the standard of what the place should be and where it should strive to be,” he said.
“They train really hard and set really good examples around the club and those guys stand out.
“Young guys like Jack Viney and [Jimmy] Toumpas … guys in their first year, they’ve only been here for a few weeks, but they’ve been super impressive as well in what they can offer. Their leadership will show that they’ll be part of the club for the next few years.”
Rodan said he had enjoyed playing a mentoring role at the club, particularly with some of the young midfielders. His work was particularly noticeable on Melbourne’s pre-season camp in Darwin, when he worked closely with the likes of Viney.
“Jack’s had a great pre-season. He’s been first class in the way he applies himself to training, with his intensity and ferocity as well,” Rodan said.
“I’m looking forward to going to war with him, so to speak, on the weekend and seeing him develop as a player, because he’s been really impressive.”
Rodan is hoping to spend most of his time in the midfield, helping out with the contested ball and clearances. But he is also hoping to push forward and kick some goals as well.
The 29 year-old said he was desperate to be part of round one, particularly against his former team, Port Adelaide, at the MCG on March 31.
“It’s something I’m pretty excited about. Hopefully I’m in the team for that and hopefully I can play every game this year and then we’ll go from there,” he said.
“Where we’re at as a team – we’re still rebuilding and developing from where we’ve come from last year.
“So we’re pretty realistic in the footy world where we stand, but at the same time, we’ve trained pretty hard this pre-season and we’ve got a lot to prove as well.”
Rodan played eight matches against Richmond when he was at Port Adelaide but conceded lining up against the Power would be a “weird feeling”.
“I know the blokes quite well, because I had six years there and I’ve got some really good mates at the club,” he said.
“But it’s a game and you’ve got to put friendships aside and when the siren goes, you just play footy. It will be weird at first, but then when the ball’s bounced, it’ll be on for young and old.”
