IN HIS FIRST interview with melbournefc.com.au, key recruit Chris Dawes talks to Matt Burgan about his decision to join the Demons, the lure of playing under coach Mark Neeld and teaming with Mitch Clark, and how he wants to help the club return to the finals …

Chris, you’ve had two weeks at the club since returning from annual leave. What are your first impressions of Melbourne?

CD: The first couple of weeks, I’ve just been settling in and finding my feet. My first impressions of the club are that I think footy clubs are all pretty similar, but one thing that really strikes me about this group is the high standards they’ve set for themselves.

What standards have caught your eye so far?

CD: They’re really set some high benchmarks in training and everybody seems to have come back in great shape. Speaking to the coaches and players, it sounds like we’re really breaking those targets that we’ve set, which is a really positive sign.

Does it seem surreal that you’re now based at AAMI Park, given you were ‘up the road’ at Collingwood? Have you had to check yourself and remember you’re a Demon now and not a Magpie?

CD: I think the only thing that I noticed, when Leigh Brown was giving me a tour on my first day, was with the facilities. I asked him: ‘where’s the bootstudder’s room?’ He said: ‘you’ve got to look after your own here’. That’s one of the biggest changes.

How difficult was it to make the move and was there a particular moment when you decided you wanted to play for Melbourne?

CD: It took me a bit by surprise, when I got a phone call, which effectively told me that Collingwood was willing to trade me. So my decision-making process was to try and take the emotion out of it. Because when it was raw, I was going through a whole range of emotions, so I took a few days and spoke to my family, my partner, my close friends and Collingwood about it. It was just to try and sort out what was best for my football going forward. It didn’t happen until I was overseas for about a week with my girlfriend and we talked about it. We had my manager talking to a few clubs down here and it ended up that I met with a couple of clubs and Melbourne seemed the most attractive prospect. So we went from there and made sure that a trade could be done for me to get here.

What’s it actually like to be a player involved in being traded to another club?

CD: I didn’t think it would affect me that much until I went away. I would sleep for about two hours and then I’d be wide awake. I couldn’t stop thinking about football and where I was going to be playing my football next year. I also had to choose between clubs, one of which was Collingwood. There was a strong case to say that I was better off staying at the club that I’d been at, where I’d declared my loyalty to a year before. Given I was able to think about it for so long, it ended up being the best decision to come to Melbourne, which has a young, fresh, playing group. And I hope to have a really positive influence on. The chance to work with Mitch Clark up forward, I think we’ll create a very strong tandem up there.

On Clark, Melbourne supporters are pretty excited at the prospect of seeing you and him playing together up forward. How have your early dealings been with him?

CD: I can see why they’re excited about him, because I thought he played some fantastic football [in 2012] until he got injured. Prior to that, I thought too much of a deal was being made of him and Melbourne had paid over for him. But when I saw him come out and play in a side that was struggling, I was really blown away. So that was a big part in me wanting to come to Melbourne and playing alongside such a talented forward, such as Mitch. He and I have been in a similar boat – we’re not quite back on the track fully yet, but hopefully we can develop a bit of synergy around the rest of the pre-season and come round one, we’ll be fit and firing.

Have you and Mitch had much discussion yet about the way you’ll work together up forward?

CD: In this early stage, it’s not even worth going down that track. It’s mostly been about doing a few rehab sessions and comparing that side of things. There’s plenty of time to work on the footy side of stuff and to talk about it. At this time of the year, it’s about getting to know each other and getting through the tough summer months.

You worked closely in different capacities with Mark Neeld and Leigh Brown at Collingwood. In your words, can you talk about your relationship with them?

CD: At Collingwood, Leigh Brown, who is now my forward line coach, we played in a premiership together, so there is a strong connection there. When I looked at potential new clubs, during the trade period – one of the biggest things [I considered] was being able to work with Neeldy. I also looked at working with Mick Malthouse again, who I would say, was one of the modern day greats of coaching. To get someone like Neeldy, who was a pupil of his (Malthouse), for a number of years, as his most senior assistant, was just too good an opportunity to miss.

Can you offer an insight into the conversations you had with Mark Neeld, which led to you joining the Demons?

CD: Certainly being able to speak to him – we had a great relationship as it was. It wasn’t about trying to reconnect in any way – the conversations were much more about playing lists and my role within [the club], because we already had that strong relationship to begin with.

You mentioned that you could offer leadership at your first media conference, when you joined the club. Given your age, experience and achievements at Collingwood, would you like to push into the leadership group?

CD: When I first spoke about it, it was day one at the club, so I didn’t want to be saying too much, other than to say that I’ve always had an interest in leadership. I feel that if there is something I can offer this group – then I’ll put my hand up for that. At this stage, it’s been two weeks [since I arrived at the club] and I haven’t been training with the main group all that much. That said, I’ve been trying to lead as best I can, with whatever it is I’ve been doing – whether it’s in meetings or in rehab sessions. Later on, probably closer to Christmas, the leadership group will get worked out and formed and we’ll just see what happens from there.

At the moment, you’ve got a calf niggle. How is the injury coming along?

CD: It’s just frustrating because being at a new club all I want to do is get out there on the tracking track and getting to know the boys and trying to earn their respect. The only way you can do that is by training well and then next year, it’ll be about doing the right things in games, so it’s frustrating, but it’s certainly not anything to worry about too much. It’s just the time of year and we’ve got to take a really cautious approach. There is no use in getting back into training and risking further injury with it.

Looking ahead to 2013, what are you personal goals?

CD: The number one thing will be getting this team to finals. And personally, I’ve just got a responsibility to look after my own game and my own body as best I can. And then, in terms of influence on the group, it’ll all be about leading the group and playing my role and trying to drag the best out of people that we can. And getting this group back up to finals, where I think we belong.