AFL 2015: Melbourne Season Preview

Paul Roos

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They were a renovation job under Dean Bailey, which came apart after club infighting. Mark Neeld’s revolution was horribly planned, with an even worse execution. Paul Roos in year one has made slow progress, but the task facing those at the Melbourne Football Club is still enormous. 

This rebuild is not just about teaching a team to play football well. It’s about having to re-teach an entire organisation how to function as a stable unit, therefore allowing the club to carry on in the right headspace. 

Salvaging positives out of 2014 isn’t the difficult and torturous task that many make it out to be. The Demons have tightened up defensively and work a lot harder off the ball. There’s also a range of players outside of Nathan Jones who have improved like Neville Jetta, Dom Tyson, Lynden Dunn and Tom McDonald. 

Jack Viney is a future star, with a fair amount of promise in players like Christian Salem, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Angus Brayshaw and the unfortunately injured Christian Petracca. 

For all the positives that can be found about Melbourne, there are still some pretty harsh realities that need to be accepted. A lot of their disposal and general decision making is not up to AFL standard and is at times almost sub-state league. Players are still - whether through a lack of experience or bad habits - making the wrong decision at just the wrong time. One unnecessary handball puts a team-mate into trouble; one wide kick doesn’t find a team mate in the corridor and instead puts everyone behind the eight ball. 

Also for all their defensive improvements, the Demons often find themselves drowning in their own flood and are struggling to kick 10 goals a game. 

There is no need to single out individuals, because it’s an entire organisation that has strangled the life and confidence out of past -and current- players with incredible potential. Paul Roos’ job is not just to have players believe in themselves again, but to have them believe in a higher plan and cause. 

At least this is a vision with sustainable improvement, rather different from the band-aids of previous rebuilds. It’s a steady climb, but the patience should be worth it.

Having a mostly fit squad to pick from will help list management decisions come the end of the season, but most of the victories for the Dees in 2015 will come in the form of in-game progress rather than results. 

Players to watch: 

Dom Tyson
Could be Melbourne’s best player in 18 months. If anyone needs convincing of this, watch the Demons win against Adelaide last season. He was nearly best on ground and did everything required to get the result. He tackled, he chased, he won the ball and was creative. It’s the kind of improvement that would warm the coldest of Demon hearts.  

Heritier Lumumba 
The former Magis brings the experience Melbourne need. No dynamic game breaker by any means of the imagination, but he’s a player confident within his own abilities. If the Dees look better on transition and are able to be more creative while remaining defensively solid, Lumumba will be a catalyst. 

Chris Dawes 
Unlucky not to have played a full season yet, but Dawes with his frame can be formidable on his day. Supply should improve as the midfield group establish themselves, so a tally of around 35 goals must be the aim for another ex-Magpie. 

Key games 
Round 1 v Gold Coast – Can’t stink it up on the first day of the season, otherwise there’s a lot of unnecessary pressure put on everyone around the club. Stay competitive, push the Suns as far as possible and who knows what could happen. 

Round 8 v Western Bulldogs – In the month preceding this fixture, there’s a run of Richmond, Freo, Hawthorn and Sydney all at the MCG. This is the most likely win out of the five game run at home, especially as Melbourne have a score to settle with the Dogs after two close losses last season,. Richmond too can be vulnerable – the Dees beat them in the Tom Hafey game last year – but it’s still best to take the opportunity for a victory when it arises. 

Round 21 v Carlton – Knocked over the Blues in one of their better performances last season. Pushing mid-table teams all the way is a sign of improvement, and Melbourne are more than capable of pinching a few of these fixtures over the course of the season. 

Finishing position – 16th

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