MELBOURNE coach Neil Craig says any team near the bottom of the ladder would gladly accept a priority selection.
Speaking at AAMI Park on Friday, Craig said he understood why other clubs would have strong opinions on Melbourne potentially receiving a priority pick, but he was only interested in what the AFL commission had to say on the matter.
“If you ask any club that resides towards the bottom of the ladder, they’d say ‘yes please’. Teams that sit down near the bottom of the table have an opportunity to present a case to the independent commission,” he said.
“There will be commentary from other clubs, as I would expect there to be. But the most important aspect is your presentation to the independent commission, because they make the decision.
“The value of having an independent commission is that they’ll receive information and they’ll look at it and they’ll make a decision to see if it’s appropriate to provide that or not.”
Craig, who is set to coach his second Melbourne match this weekend, said the first two weeks back in the top job had been “hectic”.
“All of the memories from my previous job in Adelaide have come flashing back in terms of the time and those aspects, but the players have made it really enjoyable,” he said.
Craig, who is contracted until the end of 2014, said his role next year would “unfold” over time.
He said he had not had discussions with chief executive Peter Jackson about coaching the club next year.
“I haven’t spoken to Peter at any length about this, but I would think that the club is still in the process of getting the appropriate people involved, in terms of making a decision on what type of coach is appropriate for the Melbourne footy club,” Craig said.
“So they’re probably just looking for the correct people to start with.
“Then I would think that one of their first ports of call would be ‘what sort of coach do we actually need for the Melbourne footy club? That takes a fair bit of discussion to work through. Until that occurs, any discussion with certainly myself or any other coaches would be irrelevant.”
Looking ahead to Saturday night’s clash against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG, Craig welcomed the return of leader James Frawley, but was frustrated at losing ruckman Jake Spencer, who was suspended by the match review panel for three matches after last round’s clash against the Saints.
“He’s (Frawley) been a key defender for us all year and he adds to our side. He makes our side better in that area of the ground,” he said.
“Jake Spencer goes out and we’re disappointed to lose Jake, because I thought his performance last weekend was very, very good – probably the best AFL game he’s played, I reckon.
“So it’s disappointing for him, but that’s the rules.”
