MELBOURNE has allocated its first lot of guernsey numbers for 2015, with ruckman Max Gawn switching from No.37 to No.11 – the number made famous by the late, great Jim Stynes.
Gawn is the only Melbourne player from 2014 to change numbers for 2015.
Recruits Heritier Lumumba (No.8), Billy Stretch (No.15), Sam Frost (No.17), Ben Newton (No.19) and Jeff Garlett (No.36) have also been given their new numbers.
Gawn takes over No.11 from key forward/ruckman Mitch Clark, who crossed to Geelong in the off-season.
Other Melbourne greats to have worn No.11 include Greg Wells and Laurie Mithen, who are both in the club’s Team of the Century, along with Stynes.
Harold Ball, who played in Melbourne’s 1939-40 premierships, before he tragically lost his life serving Australia in World War II, also wore No.11. His name is now honoured in the club’s best young player award each year.
Lumumba, who played in Collingwood’s 2010 premiership, will take over from James Frawley, who switched to Hawthorn as a free agent during October. He wore the number from 2007-14.
‘Tassie’ Johnson, who was named at full-back in Melbourne’s Team of the Century, wore No.8 in his 202 matches.
Father/son selection Billy Stretch will wear No.15 – three numbers lower than his dad Steven, who wore No.18 with distinction from 1986-93, which included the 1987 best and fairest.
Former Giant Sam Frost has snapped up No.17 and former Power midfielder Ben Newton will don No.19.
Frost inherits a number worn by 1980s/90s star Brett Lovett for most of his career. Bert Chadwick, Melbourne’s 1926 premiership coach, and Allan La Fontaine, who captained the club in the 1939-40-41 flags and won an equal club record four best and fairest awards, also wore No.17.
Newton’s No.19 was worn by Ray Biffin, who played 170 matches from 1968-79, and full-forward Darren Bennett, who later became a superstar punter in the NFL.
Garlett has been awarded No.36 – a number made famous by another electrifying forward Aaron Davey, who holds the record for the most games (178) by an Indigenous player at Melbourne.
The remaining numbers will be allotted after Melbourne selects six more players via the NAB AFL Draft (four players) and NAB AFL Rookie Draft (two players).
No.10, No.26, No.28, No.30, No.32, No.33, No.34, No.35, No.37 and No.41 are vacant at this stage with Jesse Hogan wearing No.1 and Jack Fitzpatrick wearing No.48 again.
2015 Melbourne numbers
1 – Jesse Hogan
2 – Nathan Jones
3 – Christian Salem
4 – Jack Watts
5 – Jimmy Toumpas
6 – Chris Dawes
7 – Jack Viney
8 – Heritier Lumumba
9 – Jack Trengove
10 –
11 – Max Gawn
12 – Dom Tyson
13 – Jordie McKenzie
14 – Lynden Dunn
15 – Billy Stretch
16 – Dean Kent
17 – Sam Frost
18 – Daniel Cross
19 – Ben Newton
20 – Colin Garland
21 – Cameron Pedersen
22 – Viv Michie
23 – Bernie Vince
24 – Jay Kennedy-Harris
25 – Tom McDonald
26 –
27 – Aidan Riley
28 –
29 – Jayden Hunt
30 –
31 – Jack Grimes
32 –
33 –
34 –
35 –
36 – Jeff Garlett
37 –
38 – Jeremy Howe
39 – Neville Jetta
40 – Mark Jamar
41 –
42 – Jake Spencer
43 – James Harmes
44 – Rohan Bail
45 – Matt Jones
46 – Dean Terlich
47 – Max King
48 – Jack Fitzpatrick
