CHANGES 2012 - THE RIVERS RUN RED by The Oracle

Melbourne coach Mark Neeld promised that the club would approach the AFL's free agency and exchange period with aggression and he has delivered in spades. Five players have been added to the club's primary list and another will come on board in 2014 after selection in the GWS Mini Draft. Two left the club as free agents, three contracted players were traded away and another eight (including three rookies) have been delisted after they were told they would not receive contract offers for 2013. Brad Green retired at the end of the season.

The end result, after the carnage, is that fourteen members of the 2012 playing lists have departed, most of them involuntarily. When you add to that, the eight changes at the end of last year, it means that 22 players, virtually half the playing list, has been turned over since the end of Dean Bailey's reign as coach of the club. The rivers are certainly running red.

The Melbourne Football Club's playing lists for 2012 were:-

PRIMARY LIST:

Rohan Bail Clint Bartram Matthew Bate Jamie Bennell Sam Blease Mitch Clark Lucas Cook Aaron Davey Troy Davis Lynden Dunn Jack Fitzpatrick James Frawley Colin Garland Max Gawn Jack Grimes Jordan Gysberts Jeremy Howe Mark Jamar Neville Jetta Nathan Jones Liam Jurrah Joel Macdonald Stefan Martin Tom McDonald Jordie McKenzie Brent Moloney Cale Morton Ricky Petterd Jared Rivers James Sellar Jake Spencer James Strauss Colin Sylvia Rory Taggert Luke Tapscott Jack Trengove Josh Tynan Jack Watts

VETERAN LIST: Brad Green

ROOKIE LIST:

Tom Couch Michael Evans Kelvin Lawrence James Magner Dan Nicholson Jai Sheahan Leigh Williams

We farewell former skipper Brad Green (retired), Brent Moloney (Brisbane Lions) and Jared Rivers (Geelong) who left as free agents and Jordan Gysberts (North Melbourne), Stef Martin (Brisbane Lions) and Cale Morton (West Coast Eagles) who were traded at the end of the exchange period. The club has delisted Matthew Bate, Jamie Bennell, Lucas Cook, Liam Jurrah and Ricky Petterd from its primary list and rookies Kelvin Lawrence, Jai Sheahan and Leigh Williams. We wish them well and it will certainly be a bitter-sweet experience to see many of them running around in different colours in the future.

You don't have to look hard for justification for the hard decisions that need to be made in order to bring about changes when you're dealing with an organisation that has been starved of any form of success for a long period of time. The ingathering of new names and faces has been long awaited at the Melbourne Football Club and these are the first of the new crop who will take their places as part of the team in the near future:-

# Dominic Barry

A relative of Hawthorn player Amos Frank, Barry has drawn comparisons to the great Michael Long. Hailing from Fregon in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands, the 18-year-old has always been a very gifted footballer, but question marks on his attitude had led to him being overlooked in various teams during his high school years. He's turned that around and arrives at Melbourne promising to add some spark to the Demon midfield. Barry's a left footer who bounces the ball with his right hand and is both a graceful and speedy mover - afl.com.au

# Shannon Byrnes

The 28 year old speedy-left footer who is known for his hard work ethic played in two Geelong premiership teams and will bring a wealth of experience and leadership skills to the young Demon team. He had a breakout year in 2009 but has struggled in recent years to break into the strong Cats' line up.

# Chris Dawes

It's easy to see why the Demons were an attractive proposition for Dawes. At 24 and with 71 games (including 12 finals) behind him, he gets to play a settled role as a key forward and be a leader among a developing group. The money, of course, won't have hurt. Dawes had an ordinary year at Collingwood in 2012 but there were mitigating factors. He was attempting to play as a back-up ruckman, an unfamiliar role to the premiership key forward. He sometimes seemed uncertain as to what was expected of him and played accordingly. He is not a world-beater but he should prove valuable in the role assigned to him and is a solid citizen who trains hard - afl.com.au

# Jesse Hogan

Hogan is a supremely talented power forward, and the only pity for the Demons is that he won't be eligible to play AFL until the 2014 season. Aged 17 and arriving at Melbourne via the GWS mini-draft, Hogan already stands 195cm and weighs in at 97.5kg. He has superb hands, a strong overhead mark and finished in the top 20 in the beep test at this year's NAB AFL Draft Combine. He starred for Western Australia in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships and the Demons say he's the sort of player they could build a team around - a big rap for a young man. Hogan has been compared to Jonathan Brown and with two AFL pre-seasons under his belt by the time he debuts, there's no reason to doubt he will have an immediate impact - afl.com.au

# Cameron Pedersen

A powerfully built tall forward from Mooroolbark who can pinch hit in the ruck, Pedersen was rookie listed by North Melbourne after spending 2010 with the Box Hill Hawks. He was uplifted to the Kangaroos' senior list for the opening round of 2011 and was a regular in the team in the second half of the season. Despite a full upgrade onto the senior list for 2012, he fell out of favour and played only twice this year but starred for Werribee where he won tge best and fairest. He is a versatile utility with great marking skills and can play in any position on talls and smalls. At 25 years of age, he is ready to resurrect his career with the Demons.

# David Rodan

Rodan tweeted "third time lucky" after completing a move to the Demons, his third AFL club, on the penultimate day of the trade period. The 29-year-old midfielder was admired at Port Adelaide and, previously, Richmond by teammates and fans, particularly for his off-field work on multicultural issues. However he struggled on the park in 2012. A hamstring complaint hampered the second half of his season, and questions over the defensive side of his game saw him dropped to the SANFL for several weeks. When healthy and firing, Rodan offers tenacity and skill, and the Demons will hope he still has the drive and fitness to return to his best - afl.com.au

I haven't included Jack Viney whose name will officially become a Demon when his name is called out by his father Todd as second selection overall in November's national draft.

The lists currently stand as follows but with delisted free agency on the horizon and the drafts coming up, there are more changes to come:-

PRIMARY LIST:

Rohan Bail Dominic Barry Clint Bartram Sam Blease Shannon Byrnes Mitch Clark Aaron Davey Troy Davis Chris Dawes Lynden Dunn Jack Fitzpatrick James Frawley Colin Garland Max Gawn Jack Grimes Jeremy Howe Mark Jamar Neville Jetta Nathan Jones Joel Macdonald Tom McDonald Jordie McKenzie Cameron Pedersen David Rodan James Sellar Jake Spencer James Strauss Colin Sylvia Rory Taggert Luke Tapscott Jack Trengove Josh Tynan Jack Watts National Draft Picks 4 27 (Jack Viney) 49 53 70 73 and 74*

ROOKIE LIST:

Tom Couch Michael Evans James Magner Dan Nicholson

2014 PRIMARY LIST

Jesse Hogan

* the places of these draft selections can be taken up prior to the National Draft by delisted free agents secured by the club and during the National Draft by rookie elevations.