IF YOU’RE a hardcore footy fan like yours truly – I’m happy to call myself a footy nerd – you’ve probably produced a library worth of ‘best 22s’ over the years.
You know the loose bits of paper featuring your best team?
They’re done pre-season, in season – each week of the year. Dare we say it, each day! ‘Best 22s’ – and ‘best XIs’ for cricket nuts as well – have been a staple diet for many over the journey, including yours truly.
In doodling teams on notepads in the lead-up to 2016, I found selecting Melbourne’s best 22 a really difficult task. And I suspect many who bleed the red and blue would’ve too.
And four rounds in, I still do.
With the likes of Jayden Hunt and Josh Wagner joining the side in the past two weeks – and showing plenty to like about their game – they have added to a growing depth and options for Melbourne in 2016 and beyond.
For example, on the weekend, Melbourne did not have its reigning best and fairest winner out on the park. Nor did it have a dynamic goalsneak who has kicked 39 goals or more in four AFL seasons, a versatile tall forward/midfielder or a No.2 draft pick, who has yet to debut, but is more excited at the prospect of playing than a Labrador chasing a tennis ball.
That’s not to mention a key forward premiership player and two former co-captains who haven’t played this season.
It’s all pointing towards a great problem to have at Melbourne.
There is also a host of youngsters pushing through the ranks and some senior/mature types eager for recalls.
A great example of this on Sunday was the performance of Dean Terlich, who didn’t play a match in 2015, but dropped eight kilos over the pre-season and had 41 touches for Casey against Collingwood at the Holden Centre.
He keeps putting his name up – and that’s exactly what the club wants.
There are other senior types that didn’t play on the weekend for various reasons, including Colin Garland, Jake Melksham and Jake Spencer; youngsters such as Jay Kennedy-Harris, Alex Neal-Bullen and Billy Stretch and the ‘next wave’ like Max King, Liam Hulett and Joel Smith. These are just a sample of players on the club’s list who didn’t play in round four, but make-up Melbourne’s list for the now, intermediate and the future.
For coach Paul Roos, he is adamant Melbourne’s list has grown – even if it tested him not having the suspended Bernie Vince in the side against the Pies.
And when he also lost Jeff Garlett in the lead-up, due to ankle injury, Roos needed the likes of youngsters Angus Brayshaw and Jayden Hunt to help cover the load.
“Going into the game, you’re nervous when your best and fairest winner (Vince) is sitting in the coaching box – it’s not ideal,” Roos said.
“And when Jeffy pulls out [on Friday] because he couldn’t train – there’s two highly quality players of experience [out of the side], so you’re replacing them with Brayshaw and Hunt – a 23-gamer and first-gamer [respectively].
“But he (Garlett) told me before the game that he was going to play next week – so that’d be handy.”
Still, part of Roos’ role has been to take Melbourne’s list to a place that will be ready for future senior coach Simon Goodwin to run with. And he’s doing everything to make it happen.
“Melbourne supporters can now see the depth of talent we’ve got on the list, but we’re still young and it’s still going to be a bit rocky,” Roos said.
“We still need to coach them really well and coach them hard. I think that’s a credit to our coaching staff, and they’re working really hard at the moment to educate [the players] as fast as they can, and they’re doing a terrific job.
“Our seconds had a terrific win as well [against Collingwood], so the good thing is that we’re able to bring in guys who are in form, which is really, really important. It’s really important for our development – how our seconds’ team goes and Casey is doing a fantastic job and our coaches down there are doing a great job as well.”
The fact that Casey sits on top of the VFL ladder, undefeated after two rounds, is another great sign of Melbourne’s list.
Roos has stressed that the youthfulness of his squad means that there will be blips along the way – and that must be remembered.
But the fact there is now genuine quality out of the ‘best 22’ means that the club is in a strong situation.
It’s just the scenario Melbourne wanted.
An alternative Melbourne team made up of 2016-listed players who did not play for various reasons against Collingwood in round four
B: Terlich, Garland, Grimes
HB: Neal-Bullen, O.McDonald, Melksham*
C: Trengove, Petracca, Stretch
HF: VandenBerg, Dawes, Newton
F: Kennedy-Harris, Weideman, Garlett
FOLL: Spencer, Vince, Michie
I/C: White, Max King, Mitch King, Hulett, Smith
