MELBOURNE regained one of the most lethal weapons in its arsenal on Sunday.
In Tom McDonald, the Demons have a forward, defender, ruckman and wingman rolled into one – and all of his football personalities were on display against Essendon.
He is one of only two players (with Brisbane's Josh Walker) to spend at least 30 per cent of game time as a defender, 10 per cent as a ruckman and 30 per cent as a forward since the start of 2017.
McDonald, 25, has long been regarded as Melbourne's time-trial king, a remarkable feat given he is 194cm tall, and his combination of height and endurance is the key to his versatility.
What started as a way for the Demons to cope in All Australian ruckman Max Gawn and star forward Jesse Hogan's respective absences last year is now their trump card.
Percentage of time McDonald spent in each line
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin beamed at the mention of McDonald after the win over the Bombers and it was no surprise to hear him say how his return added "great flexibility".
Goodwin and the Demons dearly missed the swingman's unique presence as he recovered from a lingering toe problem after post-season operations on both his ankles as well.
McDonald, who Champion Data rated as one of Melbourne's four 'elite' footballers entering the season – with Jake Lever, Christian Petracca and Jayden Hunt – has proven valuable in each position he plays.
He spent the summer continuing his transition into predominantly a forward after starting his career as a key defender and spending all of his time there in the first six rounds in 2017.
Tom McDonald's heat map v Essendon
McDonald is a smash hit in attack, with the Demons scoring a goal 31.5 per cent of the time he is targeted inside 50, ranked ninth of the top 75 targets in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
His overall goalkicking accuracy of 74.2 per cent is also second-best of the 195 players with at least 20 shots, behind only Hawk Paul Puopolo at 76 per cent.
For the sake of balance, McDonald had the third-worst loss rate in defensive contests last year, but he somewhat countered that with his intercepting ability.
He was not only 'above average' for intercepts as a defender, but Melbourne went on to score from 26.5 per cent of them, which ranked eighth of the top 50 interceptors.
McDonald also averaged the most rating points of any key defender in 2016, 0.8 per game more than Richmond's four-time All Australian Alex Rance.
His positive impact on the Demons' offence continues as a ruckman, with his team scoring 14 per cent of the time he records a hit-out, ranked seventh of the top 60 hit-out winners.
McDonald is a restricted free agent at season's end and he confirmed on SEN this week that contract negotiations had started with Melbourne.
