Some serious questions need to be asked in why this is kid is playing when he is clearly struggling out there. He has been gifted games when the likes of Toumpas was dropped straight away.

I have that he will hopefully develop into a good player. But I must admit my personal opinion he hasn't shown why he was worthy of pick 9. Yes he has good kicking skills but he looks sluggish and has struggled in every game bar Port Adelaide to get into games.

In 12 games he has got over 9 disposals just once against port. I know he missed a chunk of Pre Season but so did the likes of Lewis Taylor Jack Billings aswell.

I hope he has a huge pre season because he has been disappointing for me.

lol... Maybe we should trade him for what ever we can get... He's clearly another wasted pick up...pfft...

lol... Maybe we should trade him for what ever we can get... He's clearly another wasted pick up...pfft...

Would rather he played 90 unfruitful games.At least by then we should know what he isnt capable of,

Dont panic though,we will get to see him for at least 3 years,so everybody should save judgement.

Some serious questions need to be asked in why this is kid is playing when he is clearly struggling out there. He has been gifted games when the likes of Toumpas was dropped straight away.

I have that he will hopefully develop into a good player. But I must admit my personal opinion he hasn't shown why he was worthy of pick 9. Yes he has good kicking skills but he looks sluggish and has struggled in every game bar Port Adelaide to get into games.

In 12 games he has got over 9 disposals just once against port. I know he missed a chunk of Pre Season but so did the likes of Lewis Taylor Jack Billings aswell.

I hope he has a huge pre season because he has been disappointing for me.

Wow... I know know its tough times at demonland at the moment and we need a light or two but questioning a rookie on a handful of games is a bit too far of a strecth imo.

Ask why blokes can't 2 way run or hit targets by hand or foot or beat their men in 1 on 1 contests.

The kid will be ok if he gets the right support and has the right commitment. He's been asked to play forward pocket in a really poor offensive side, Im not ready to write him off yet

I thought he showed a lot in his first couple of games. Lets give this guy a chance before we put them on the demonland most hated list.

We have a great capacity to devour our young. Leave Salem, Toumpas, JKH be. They deserve better

We have a great capacity to devour our young. Leave Salem, Toumpas, JKH be. They deserve better

They certainly deserve a chance to learn under proper direction. I think we might need to accept Dimitri has had a bit of a false start. I'm not pleasured by this scenario but what is..IS I suppose

Im not dissuaded that Salen and JKH ought o progress ok next season. I expect Riley and Michie to also step up after a decent preseason.

Theres a lot who simply wont be there. Roll on EOS

Honestly... The kid is in his 1st season & some of the posts wanting the kid to be a ball magnet match winner etc... FFS !

Young picks take 2-4 yrs to develop & play @ the highest level... It's the club responsibility to create an environment of development & culture to ensure these kids can be developed.... Which our club has been terrible at!

Just ridiculous comments.... These questions need to be aimed @ seasoned players....

Salem has shown class & will become a great player under the correct environment!

Have absolutely zero concerns about Salem. He's a first year player, seriously cut him some slack.

Silly thread to be honest.

Our draftees better show some natural talent because there's farkk all development at this club.

Our draftees better show some natural talent because there's farkk all development at this club.

Up until now that Is. I'm sure the problems are being addressed.

I love him

He won us a match after the siren.

He gets a strong pass for the year on that alone.

He won us a match after the siren.

He gets a strong pass for the year on that alone.

Except for it was before the siren.....

Roos made clear he didn't expect first year players to have much if any game time this year. On that basis Salem and JKH are ahead of expectations...or the rest of the team are way behind. Or both.

I think one of the biggest problems with Melbourne supporters are that we're very punch drunk. We've had it so bad for so long we now see negatives in everything when we continue to lose games. I've stopped making judgments on our players because everytime I watch a game now I just get angry at everything and everyone at the club. PJ was right, the only thing we have is hope, so for Salem I choose to hope that he will end up a very good player.

You only need to watch the port game in Darwin to see what this kid will produce in the future. Anyone saying he is a waste of a pick is jumping at shadows. Has toughness and class that's orrery hard to find

Edited August 25, 201411 yr by BrisbaneDemon

Except for it was before the siren.....

Sorry Moon but technically you are never the winner until the siren has blown to signify full time.

Best pick in the last decade.

Salem will be our best player in a few years.

Anyway, I guess my point is that even in this day and age top 10 picks are still a complete lottery.

Not a complete lottery but all recruiters have to go on is what they see over two years of TAC and all you need to do is look at 1-10 from the last 7 years to know that the order of selection as compared to how they have turned out to date has never been right.

And everybody is such an expert a couple years after the event.

I am amused by all the posturing regarding the up coming draft - and again - there will be some that get it right and some that get it wrong. The only guarantee is the way the draft picks get taken is not the way their careers will pan out - so it gives everyone from most clubs to say - geez - if we have only taken XXXX

His ave disposals is 6.7 a game. Needs to find more of the footy.

Best pick in the last decade.

Salem will be our best player in a few years.

Please..

No doubting his skills, but he has the clever knack of being where the football isn't at this point in time. I suspect it is easier to fix the skills side than the other, but time will tell.

The question is whether he will ever be a genuine onballer at AFL level, or just a pinch hitting half forward.

His ave disposals is 6.7 a game. Needs to find more of the footy.

As has been stated, he's been played a lot in the forward pocket and frequently as the sub.

As has been stated, he's been played a lot in the forward pocket and frequently as the sub.

Less then 2 posessions a quarter is wayyy under par for any AFL player. New or not. Especially with tje modern game how almost every player is at every stoppage regardless of position anyway.

Less then 2 posessions a quarter is wayyy under par for any AFL player. New or not. Especially with tje modern game how almost every player is at every stoppage regardless of position anyway.

From memory he's been brought in half way through the third quarter a few times, so that calculation would be pretty skewed.

Is there a place we can get stats on actual game minutes? Might be able to make a more informed statement.