Melbourne
Coach – Simon Goodwin
2023 –
Points For – 6th
Points Against – 2nd
Top 5 Best and Fairest
1 – Christian Petracca
2 – Jack Viney
3 – Jake Lever
4 – Angus Brayshaw
5 – Steven May
2023 Rising Star Noms
Jacob van Rooyen (Rnd 12)
Judd McVee (Rnd 18)
Ins – Jack Billings, Kynan Brown, Tom Fullarton, Marty Hore, Shane McAdam, Koltyn Tholstrup, Caleb Windsor
Outs – Luke Dunstan, Brodie Grundy, James Harmes, Michael Hibberd, James Jordon, Deakyn Smith, Kye Turner
My Prediction
The Demons have reached the stage of taking whatever offcuts other teams were willing to get rid of in order to find the missing piece in their efforts at one more shot before they have officially wasted their generational talent and list. There is a few things wrong at Melbourne and you do wonder if the fish is rotting from the head.
The backline is very good. May and Lever are a very good one two punch. Not only highly skilled but they work together well and control things better than any other back combination. Throw in Tomlinson, Salem and Rivers, they just get the job done. They found another last year in McVee who locks down really well on small forwards.
The midfield reads well but they need Oliver to clean his act up and realise that without being a champion footballer, he is just another pasty red head needing to stock up on 50+. With him firing they are the best midfield in the competition, without him, they might not be top 6. Petracca and Viney are very good but Oliver is the key. I felt like their wings in Langdon, Brayshaw and Hunter didn’t have enough impact last season either.
The forward line has been hit and miss for a while. They look to have found one in van Rooyen, Petty looks good there as well. Fritsch is still the shortest least intimidating key forward since Alwyn Davey. They have identified small forward as being a need and went and recruited McAdam who is horribly inconsistent and I doubt will suddenly find consistency any time soon. The potential is there and on their day they will look fantastic but I don’t feel they will have enough of their days.
The ruck is some kid called Max Gawn. He seems alright. Took Oliver into his house from which point things in Olivers life seemed to get even worse. Gawn can tap a ball, can take a mark and can kick a goal. He does all of those things very well. The coach is more interesting. He does get enough questions for mine, his list and the talent at his disposal should have achieved more. I suspect that questions will start getting asked this year.
I don’t buy Melbourne. I feel like that don’t care enough about winning and are satisfied with the premiership they won. They don’t play like they want another one. I think this year may see the start of the decline. I don’t think they will slide outside the eight (although it is possible) but think they will lose a couple of spots. In the 6-8 range.
