MELBOURNE has reshaped its list with the right type of people, according to coach Mark Neeld.
Reflecting on a significant recruiting period for Melbourne, Neeld said the club targeted and ultimately secured the characters it wanted in the club.
“We went into it (the recruiting period) with a few goals. We wanted to get some people in from successful footy clubs and successful organisations,” he said.
“We were looking for competitive people, which we think we did at the top end with Shannon Byrnes, David Rodan, Chris Dawes and Cam Pedersen. They’ve all come from really strong clubs and they train in a particular way.
“We wanted to use the draft picks at the pointy end - guys like Jack Viney, Jimmy [Toumpas] and Jesse Hogan. And we got Dom Barry.
“We got a mix of ages and also a mix of experiences, so most importantly, those guys are coming out of successful footy clubs and have played in premierships or at least played in finals series.”
Melbourne was a key player in the free agency, trade and NAB AFL Draft periods. It also acquired players via ‘alternative’ methods (eg. Jesse Hogan via the GWS pre-listed trade incentive scheme and Tom Gillies as a delisted free agent).
Neeld said the fact it turned over 15 players and has already added 11 to its list, with two more to come via the NAB AFL Rookie Draft, was not as dramatic as it appeared.
“Sydney won the premiership and they had 10 players turn over. I think there has been a lot made of the changes to our list and maybe in the past we haven’t been a football club to do that,” he said.
“When Sydney turns over 10 and West Coast with similar and Collingwood is similar - then that’s the way of the modern game.
“We knew going into the free agency period that there was a fair bit of movement and I think that will become commonplace across the League.”
Reflecting on a significant recruiting period for Melbourne, Neeld said the club targeted and ultimately secured the characters it wanted in the club.
“We went into it (the recruiting period) with a few goals. We wanted to get some people in from successful footy clubs and successful organisations,” he said.
“We were looking for competitive people, which we think we did at the top end with Shannon Byrnes, David Rodan, Chris Dawes and Cam Pedersen. They’ve all come from really strong clubs and they train in a particular way.
“We wanted to use the draft picks at the pointy end - guys like Jack Viney, Jimmy [Toumpas] and Jesse Hogan. And we got Dom Barry.
“We got a mix of ages and also a mix of experiences, so most importantly, those guys are coming out of successful footy clubs and have played in premierships or at least played in finals series.”
Melbourne was a key player in the free agency, trade and NAB AFL Draft periods. It also acquired players via ‘alternative’ methods (eg. Jesse Hogan via the GWS pre-listed trade incentive scheme and Tom Gillies as a delisted free agent).
Neeld said the fact it turned over 15 players and has already added 11 to its list, with two more to come via the NAB AFL Rookie Draft, was not as dramatic as it appeared.
“Sydney won the premiership and they had 10 players turn over. I think there has been a lot made of the changes to our list and maybe in the past we haven’t been a football club to do that,” he said.
“When Sydney turns over 10 and West Coast with similar and Collingwood is similar - then that’s the way of the modern game.
“We knew going into the free agency period that there was a fair bit of movement and I think that will become commonplace across the League.”
