NATIONAL recruiting manager Barry Prendergast says Melbourne had several options at No.52, after new Demon Josh Tynan slipped further than expected.
Prendergast indicated that Tynan was in the mix at No.36 - Melbourne’s first pick, which ended up being Rory Taggert - but he was available at the red and blue’s second choice.
This resulted in Melbourne calling for extra time to consider its options at No.52, as it had already earmarked former Crow James Sellar at No.54.
“There were a couple [of options] and we didn’t think we’d get huge choice there, but there was another player we were pretty keen to get hold of,” Prendergast told melbournefc.com.au.
“It was also that we were going to take James at No.54. Knowing that we were going to do that at No.54 and weighing up the options - when we went into the huddle, you go in for two reasons.
“One is ‘how are we going here and who do we like?’ Instead, it was a pleasant huddle. We had choices that we probably didn’t think we’d have. We just wanted to make certain that everyone was ticking that off.”
Prendergast said because Melbourne had rebuilt its list in recent seasons with young talent, it was able to add an experienced player to its squad. But it still created some discussion in relation to No.52.
“Because we’ve been in a rebuild with the list, we haven’t taken a player like James at No.54 [in recent years]. But once we committed to that, it was then ‘who do we want at No.52’?” he said.
“There was a bit of debate, and it was probably only the second time we’ve huddled up in my time - I don’t like to huddle up, I like to rip them out.
“When you’ve some choices, you want to make sure you get it right and everyone is comfortable. You want to walk away on the same page, which we always do.”
Overall, Prendergast said that it was difficult to know exactly how this year’s Draft would pan out.
“Last year’s draft went pretty much as we saw it, but this year there was a fairly diverse opinion on the draft table,” he said.
Prendergast indicated that Tynan was in the mix at No.36 - Melbourne’s first pick, which ended up being Rory Taggert - but he was available at the red and blue’s second choice.
This resulted in Melbourne calling for extra time to consider its options at No.52, as it had already earmarked former Crow James Sellar at No.54.
“There were a couple [of options] and we didn’t think we’d get huge choice there, but there was another player we were pretty keen to get hold of,” Prendergast told melbournefc.com.au.
“It was also that we were going to take James at No.54. Knowing that we were going to do that at No.54 and weighing up the options - when we went into the huddle, you go in for two reasons.
“One is ‘how are we going here and who do we like?’ Instead, it was a pleasant huddle. We had choices that we probably didn’t think we’d have. We just wanted to make certain that everyone was ticking that off.”
Prendergast said because Melbourne had rebuilt its list in recent seasons with young talent, it was able to add an experienced player to its squad. But it still created some discussion in relation to No.52.
“Because we’ve been in a rebuild with the list, we haven’t taken a player like James at No.54 [in recent years]. But once we committed to that, it was then ‘who do we want at No.52’?” he said.
“There was a bit of debate, and it was probably only the second time we’ve huddled up in my time - I don’t like to huddle up, I like to rip them out.
“When you’ve some choices, you want to make sure you get it right and everyone is comfortable. You want to walk away on the same page, which we always do.”
Overall, Prendergast said that it was difficult to know exactly how this year’s Draft would pan out.
“Last year’s draft went pretty much as we saw it, but this year there was a fairly diverse opinion on the draft table,” he said.
