IF YOU were offered Jack Grimes, Mitch Clark, James Frawley, Jordie McKenzie, Michael Evans, Jack Viney and Jesse Hogan as ‘recruits’ in one hit, you’d take them every day in a heartbeat.
In fact, you’d be lauded as a recruiting genius.
Given those seven players did not play for Melbourne in its first match under new coach Neil Craig – it immediately pricks the ears in terms of how the team could be shaped, sooner rather than later in 2014 and beyond, given stability, an injury-free run and a fresh start.
Add co-captain Grimes, midfielders McKenzie and Evans, Viney in the engine room, Clark and Hogan as tall marking forward options and All-Australian Frawley to the backline and immediately those areas are strengthened. Those players are all short to longer term prospects, capable of having an impact at the club over at least the next four seasons.
When you consider Chris Dawes was subbed from the past two matches due to injury and illness, and add to the fact that Colin Sylvia, Sam Blease, Tom McDonald and Jimmy Toumpas have only just come back into the side after periods out for varying reasons, it only adds to Melbourne’s potential in the ensuing seasons.
No question, plenty of work needs to happen from here, but it’s a genuine starting point.
The aforementioned players offer a spark for the red and blue, along with several others.
It’s critical that the club has realistic hope at a time like this, particularly after the recent departure of Mark Neeld as coach and the remarkable events and issues that have clouded the club in recent years.
There’s no escaping that it’s been a dismal and tumultuous period for the Demons, on and off the field, for a whole host of reasons, but don’t be fooled into thinking that the list is a disaster.
Yes, it’s far from perfect, but a visualisation of the future shows that there is a nucleus of players, which can take the club into the future.
If a picture is painted of how this team could come together from next season – based on the 44 listed players from 2013, plus the pre-listed Jesse Hogan and international rookie Maia Westrupp – it’s far from doom and gloom.
For example, Colin Sylvia, 27, has the ability to remain one of Melbourne’s most important players over the next four seasons. Granted, he will be 31 in 2017 – and is also a free agent at the end of this season – but he could play an integral role in the club’s turnaround.
The pleasing aspect for Melbourne’s future team is that McDonald, Toumpas, Viney, Hogan, Evans and Dean Kent will be 24 years old or younger by 2017. Hogan and Viney will only be 22 by then, meaning they have plenty of years ahead of him, all things being equal.
There are also a handful of current Demons not named in the team below that could also push their way into the side and remain part of club’s plans for the next four years and beyond. But there are also some who must capitalise on their opportunity now. It only reinforces the importance of the remaining 10 weeks under coach Neil Craig, proving this time will be far from wasted.
Realistically, the team won’t look like this in 2017, but given the players mentioned in the side (see below) are already at Melbourne, the opportunity is with the player and club to at least keep the bulk of this side together. How that pans out remains to be seen, but any person with red and blue running through their veins would surely be pleased to see a line-up like that, given further games experience and maturity.
Although it’s impossible to predict how Melbourne will look in a season, let alone four years – given additional recruits and changes – there is enough talent on the list to suggest that the core can remain until at least 2017.
And when you consider Melbourne will claim another early draft pick this season – at the moment, it would have the second selection in the NAB AFL Draft, based on its ladder position – the club has the ability to turn it around.
Of course, once a reinvigoration of the club has taken place, Melbourne must remain stable and hold its nerve in the rebuild. Laying the right foundation is critical to the club’s prospects over the next four years. But just as important is Melbourne’s ability to lure, recruit and retain talented players, which is arguably the most critical thing ‘to get right’ in its business.
At a time when optimism might be hard to find at Melbourne, this team offers a realistic perspective of how the team could be built right now and where that journey could take them through until at least 2017 and towards the end of the decade.
It’s a ride worth getting on board.
Melbourne from 2014-17?
The composition of this team is based on 2013 Melbourne players and how it could evolve from 2014-17 (as a guide, ages are taken from March 22, the equivalent date of when this year’s AFL season started)
B: Dean Terlich (24 to 27 years old from 2014-17), James Frawley (25-28), Colin Garland (25-28)
HB: Jack Watts (22-25), Tom McDonald (21-24), Jack Grimes (24-27)
C: Jimmy Toumpas (20-23), Jack Viney (19-22), Sam Blease (23-26)
HF: Jeremy Howe (23-26), Jesse Hogan (19-22), Colin Sylvia (27-31)
F: Dean Kent (20-23), Chris Dawes (25-28), Mitch Clark (26-29)
FOLL: Max Gawn (22-25), Jack Trengove (22-25), Nathan Jones (26-29)
I/C (from): Jordie McKenzie (23-26), Luke Tapscott (22-25), Matt Jones (26-29), Michael Evans (21-24), Jake Spencer (24-27), Mitch Clisby (24-27), Dom Barry (20-23)
