JASON Taylor says the Demons have achieved their goals of bolstering their midfield and adding to some specific needs at the conclusion of the 2013 recruiting period.
Taylor, Melbourne’s national recruiting manager, said the club had been working towards this point all year and was pleased with its outcome.
“We wanted to target the midfield area and we’ve been able to do that through the trade period, the trade and rookie draft,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“We also wanted to add that small forward and we did that with Jay Kennedy-Harris coming through and we wanted to add a developing tall player to stiffen up our defence and we’ve done that through both [Max] King and [Alex] Georgiou.
“So I think overall, as a collective, we’re happy with how we’ve gone and the result, but it’s always an ongoing process.”
Overall, the Demons added 11 players to their list and 12 departed the club.
The Demons brought in Viv Michie (Fremantle), Dom Tyson (Greater Western Sydney) and Bernie Vince (Adelaide Crows) during the trade period; Daniel Cross (Western Bulldogs) and Aidan Riley (Adelaide Crows) as delisted free agents; Jayden Hunt (Brighton Grammar), Jay Kennedy-Harris (Oakleigh Chargers) and Christian Salem (Sandringham Dragons) via the NAB AFL Draft and Alex Georgiou (Norwood), James Harmes (Dandenong Stingrays) and Max King (Murray Bushrangers) from the NAB AFL Rookie Draft.
Jesse Hogan (17-year-old trade incentive selection via Greater Western Sydney) was claimed last year, Mitch Clisby was elevated from the rookie to primary list and Neville Jetta was redrafted in the Rookie Draft, after he was delisted from the primary list, following the second list lodgement.
Taylor, who completed his first recruiting period in the role, said he had relished the opportunity, after serving as recruiter Derek Hine’s right-hand man at Collingwood for the past five drafts.
“I’ve really enjoyed the year, just working with everyone,” Taylor said.
“I think the way that we’re going about things is really good. It’s a joy to come to work every day in what’s a competitive industry and it gets the juices going and you learn something every day.”
But there won’t be much rest for Taylor, who said preparation for next year’s draft would start almost immediately.
“We’ll probably have a break in January and take some time off,” he said.
“I think from this next phase, we’ll just reassess how we’ve gone this year and do a bit of a handover of the players to the coaches and the welfare staff.
“I’ll try and utilise December to start getting under way for next year’s crop to be honest, so we can have a bit of a break in January and go again in Feb. We’ll start in another couple of days.”
