DAVID Rodan says he’s “pretty passionate” about gaining the respect of his teammates on the eve of his first official match for Melbourne, against North Melbourne and Richmond in the second week of the opening NAB Cup round.

Speaking at a joint media conference with former Port Adelaide teammate and new Tiger Troy Chaplin, Rodan said he was eager to show his wares in the red and blue this year.

“[I] want to gain respect from the players who are already there and show them that I deserve my spot and I’m sure [experienced recruits] Dawesy (Chris Dawes) and Shannon Byrnes will be the same,” he said from the MCG on Thursday.

“I’m looking forward to playing some good footy, and the players haven’t seen my dance moves yet as well. Port Adelaide knows all my dance moves, so hopefully I can get some new ones for the club.”

Rodan said it will be “very interesting to see what happens” with Melbourne this year, given almost a third of its list is new to the club.  

“We’ve had 14 new players (including Jesse Hogan, who is eligible to play in the NAB Cup but not in the premiership season until 2014) come through and with that, you get a new playing list getting used to playing with each other,” he said.

“We’re looking forward to tomorrow night, and we’ve been training pretty hard. There have been improvements, and we’re under no illusion that we finished towards the bottom of the ladder - hopefully we can see some improvements by guys that have there for a few years.

“There’s not too much expectation, but there are a few young guys that have shown pretty promising form and hopefully they can play some good footy as well this year.”

Rodan, who made 65 appearances for Richmond from 2002-06 and played 111 matches for Port Adelaide from 2007-12, indicated that as soon as his time had come to an end at the Power, the Demons were the most eager for his services.

“It was interesting times when I finished up at Port Adelaide,” he said.

“I wasn’t sure how other clubs would react and if they’d be keen, but it was comforting to know that there were a few clubs interested and Melbourne stood out.

“I’m very happy with where I’m at, at the moment, and I didn’t know that a few months ago. But I’m very happy to be at the Melbourne Football Club and I’m looking forward to the season.”

Although injury will keep Chaplin from lining up for his new team on Friday night, he said it was great to have his mate close still by him – albeit at opposing clubs. 

“We’re pretty close mates and with our young families as well, the girls like to get together and chew the fat a fair bit, so it’s good to know that someone else is over here that we can catch up with,” Chaplin said.