COACH Simon Goodwin interviewed several of the key recruits at Melbourne’s annual general meeting at the MCG on Thursday night. Here is what they had to say …
Michael Hibberd
“To begin with [the 12-month suspension] was a lot of shock and sadness to miss a year of football. I went away and had a lot of fun, but the thing I learned was that I missed football more than anything. The hunger I got from missing it grew the longer I went without playing and being around my teammates and competing. That’s something that I learned – football means a lot more to me than I thought it did. You take this for granted sometimes and I’ll make sure I don’t do that for the rest of my career because it’s something I missed so much. I got to travel to Europe for two months and see things I’d never get to see before. I thought that was a good learning experience for me and I grew up a lot over the year and hopefully being at the club – I’ll grow up even more, being in a new environment.”
Mitch Hannan
“I value [this opportunity] a lot more [than I would’ve if I was younger]. I’ve had full-time work experience, study experience and some travelling experience, so I think it’s been worth going through that and then coming into an AFL environment. I’m looking forward to it.”
Dion Johnstone
“Jack Viney has really come up to me and worked on a bit of craft, touch and body work with me. He’s jumped right on board with that.”
Jordan Lewis
“Initially [I chose to come to Melbourne] because of my connection with Todd Viney. I started at Hawthorn in 2004 … and it was my connection through that, as he was my midfield coach first of all at Hawthorn. Since he left the club to go to Adelaide and then Melbourne, we remained in contact. When [Hawthorn coach] Clarko (Alastair Clarkson) came over to my house and gave me the option to search for a career post-Hawthorn, he (Viney) was really the only person that came to mind. I knew people at other clubs … but I wanted a club that I think, in the time I’m going to be here, is going to be successful and Melbourne was the one that stood out to me. I’ve been really impressed by the environment that I’ve walked into. I can honestly say that – it’s not just because I’m here and part of it now. You spend 12 years at a club and things become boring and mundane, and as a player you can’t wait for the season to come around – and more importantly finals. When you come to a new environment, training is new and the people you’re listening to are new. The season comes around and you’re playing with new teammates … I watched highlights of the previous year and I just imagined myself playing with these guys and I can’t wait to get out there and be a part of it and start this journey.”
