Check out what the assistant coaches thought of every Melbourne player this year in the first of an exclusive nine-part season review

Jamie Bennell
After a promising pre-season, Jamie demonstrated at VFL level that he is able to be a rebound defender who takes the game on with his run and carry. While this form didn’t translate regularly at AFL level, Jamie was just starting to play with the speed and energy required to make his mark in the senior team when he was cut down with a season ending knee injury. - Andrew Nichol (backline development coach)

	G	Rank	K	H	D	DE%	CP	UP	M	G	SA	I50	T	C
2012	6	29	3.2	2	5.2	77.4	2.2	3	2.2	0.5	0.2	0.3	2	0.3
Career Average		47.9	5.8	4.6	10.4	75.4	4	6.6	2.9	0.4	0.5	1.7	1.9	0.5

James Frawley
James had a very solid season.  He took on the key forwards, week in, week out, and predominantly held his own.  James suffered from some niggling injuries throughout the season, which he handled particularly professionally, and was still able to perform under duress.  James is striking the balance between how to defend and how to attack - he needs a good rest.  He will benefit from the eight weeks’ rest, and will really throw himself into the pre-season. - Jade Rawlings (backline coach)

	G	Rank	K	H	D	DE%	CP	UP	M	G	SA	I50	T	C
2012	19	75	11.3	4.2	15.5	80.3	4.6	9.7	5.1	0	0.3	1.4	2.4	0.2
Career Average		67.2	9.3	5.8	15.1	79.6	4.4	9.9	4.8	0	0.1	1	2	0.3

Jack Trengove
Jack played 22 games, and by his own admission, he was probably disappointed in his early form.  There’s no doubt that, being a first up captain of the Melbourne Football Club, he put a lot of pressure on himself, which at times probably affected his on-field performance.  However, I thought that as the season went on, Jack coped with this far better, and certainly his on ground performance improved enormously.  Jack really focused heavily on the defensive aspects of his game, because as a leader he felt that he needed to lead in this area.  I was really pleased with Jack’s attitude throughout the course of the season, particularly as a leader of the Melbourne Football Club. - Brian Royal (midfield coach)

	G	Rank	K	H	D	DE%	CP	UP	M	G	SA	I50	T	C
2012	22	74	9	8.6	17.7	66.6	6.7	10.6	4	0.4	0.7	2.4	4.5	1.8
Career Average		79	9.5	9.5	19	69.3	7.6	11.3	4.1	0.5	0.7	2.5	4.6	2.3

Cale Morton
Cale Morton broke into the AFL side and played eight games this year.  He put together a real block of consistency, playing as an inside mid around Rounds 4, 5 and 6, and showed some real glimpses that he could develop into an inside midfielder.  His ability to run and spread, and to get out in space, is as good as any player on our list, and Cale just needs to continue to develop his contested areas.  Unfortunately he sustained a shoulder injury against Gold Coast, which interrupted the end part of his season, but Cale will have a strong summer, working on getting his strength back and getting his body ready again for an AFL season in 2013.  Cale played a number of roles in the VFL - back, midfield, as a tagger - and again, just showed his versatility.  Cale just needs to keep developing that consistency in his game. - Aaron Greaves (midfield development coach)

	G	Rank	K	H	D	DE%	CP	UP	M	G	SA	I50	T	C
2012	9	57	10.1	6.3	16.4	66.9	4.7	11.7	3.9	0.2	0.3	2.4	2.2	2.2
Career Average		70	11	8.3	19.3	72.6	4.6	14.8	5.9	0.5	0.7	2.3	1.7	1.1

Mitch Clark
Mitch was in great form before getting injured. His ability to compete and mark the footy was a highlight, and he kicked multiple goals in most of his games. As well as being in the leadership group in his first year, Mitch was a real leader with actions on the field. He is working very hard on his rehabilitation in order to be ready for another good pre-season. - Leigh Brown (forward line coach)

	G	Rank	K	H	D	DE%	CP	UP	M	G	SA	I50	T	C
2012	11	83	9.8	2.8	12.6	62.6	6.9	5.8	4.8	2.6	0.6	2.2	1.9	1.3
Career Average		76.4	8.1	5.3	13.5	72.2	5.6	7.8	5	1	0.7	2.3	2.6	1.6

Games = G, Champion Data Ranking = Rank, Kicks = K, Handballs = H, Disposals = D, Disposal Effeceincy = DE %, Contested Possession = CP, Uncontested Possession = UP, Marks = M, Goals = G, Score Assist = SA, Inside 50 = I 50, Tackles = T, Clearances = C