NEW DEMON Chris Dawes will be a focal point in attack, rather than play as a forward/ruckman, according to general manager of list management Tim Harrington.

Speaking on SEN 1116 on Wednesday morning, Harrington said Dawes had been recruited to Melbourne for a specific role.

“There’s no secret that we needed to really provide more of a physical presence in our forward half, and Chris does that for us,” he said.

“We think we’ve got that relief ruckman/forward covered in Mitch Clark, so Chris just plays the traditional bullocking, strong competing aerialist in our forward half.

“To provide that presence for our smaller forwards, together with the athleticism of Mitch - we think that’s a really good combination for us.”

Meanwhile, Harrington said Melbourne will continue to be active players in the free agency/trade period, having already netted dual Geelong premiership player Shannon Byrnes, father/son midfielder Jack Viney, 17 year-old Jesse Hogan and Northern Territorian Dominic Barry.

“There’s nine days of the trade period to go and we still have the opportunity - because we’ve done some trading early in proceedings, we’ve still got the ability to work more deals.

“We’ll sit back now and see what’s available.

“We’re still interested in players out there - there’s no doubt.”

Harrington said the future of free agent defender/forward Jared Rivers remains unclear.

“The ball’s in Jared’s court still, so he’s being courted by some clubs and I’ve said as a club repeatedly that we’re very respectful of Jared and what he wants to do,” he said.