I still think Ro Bail will get a game.

Terlich's future for game time doesn't look great, although he's hard at it.

From the AFL website They "picked" the best 22 for each club. This is Ryan's view of Melbourne's

Melbourne

B: Neville Jetta, Lynden Dunn, Colin Garland

HB: Heritier Lumumba, Tom McDonald, Jack Watts

C: Jack Viney, Bernie Vince, Daniel Cross

HF: Jeremy Howe, Cameron Pedersen, Dean Kent

F: Christian Salem, Jesse Hogan, Jeff Garlett

R: Mark Jamar, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson

I/C: Jack Grimes, Viv Michie, Sam Frost

Sub: Angus Brayshaw

New: Heritier Lumumba (Collingwood), Jeff Garlett (Carlton), Sam Frost (Greater Western Sydney), Angus Brayshaw (No.3 draft pick)

Unavailable: Chris Dawes (suspended), Jack Trengove (navicular injury)

Comment: Max Gawn is most unlucky to miss the best 22, but he will be ready to pounce if Mark Jamar's form drops. We've preferred Angus Brayshaw to Christian Petracca on nothing more than the fact he looks slightly more prepared to play at this stage. That could change by round one. Viv Michie gets a spot based on excellent form in the last month of the season but there is little doubt you could toss a coin and replace him with Rohan Bail, Aidan Riley, Ben Newton, Jordie McKenzie or Jay Kennedy-Harris. Melbourne's midfield depth has increased although its win tally remained small last year, and the club appears over-reliant on a 19-year-old key forward by the name of Jesse Hogan, who is yet to play a game. - Peter Ryan

JKH was absolutely on fire in the Pre-season cup last year (basically won as the game against Richmond) and won his spot in Round 1. If any of the other recruits shows what he did - they'll no doubt be rewarded.

And dined out on that one performance for the rest of the year. I reckon he is over rated but that is just my opinion. I would like to see him play a few complete games to get a better idea of him Same with Salem who kicked a winning goal after the siren and instantly became a star. He had some pretty ordinary games along the way but kept his spot. I do think he will become a good footballer but at the moment is being rated well above his general performance.

From the AFL website They "picked" the best 22 for each club. This is Ryan's view of Melbourne's

Melbourne

B: Neville Jetta, Lynden Dunn, Colin Garland

HB: Heritier Lumumba, Tom McDonald, Jack Watts

C: Jack Viney, Bernie Vince, Daniel Cross

HF: Jeremy Howe, Cameron Pedersen, Dean Kent

F: Christian Salem, Jesse Hogan, Jeff Garlett

R: Mark Jamar, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson

I/C: Jack Grimes, Viv Michie, Sam Frost

Sub: Angus Brayshaw

New: Heritier Lumumba (Collingwood), Jeff Garlett (Carlton), Sam Frost (Greater Western Sydney), Angus Brayshaw (No.3 draft pick)

Unavailable: Chris Dawes (suspended), Jack Trengove (navicular injury)

Comment: Max Gawn is most unlucky to miss the best 22, but he will be ready to pounce if Mark Jamar's form drops. We've preferred Angus Brayshaw to Christian Petracca on nothing more than the fact he looks slightly more prepared to play at this stage. That could change by round one. Viv Michie gets a spot based on excellent form in the last month of the season but there is little doubt you could toss a coin and replace him with Rohan Bail, Aidan Riley, Ben Newton, Jordie McKenzie or Jay Kennedy-Harris. Melbourne's midfield depth has increased although its win tally remained small last year, and the club appears over-reliant on a 19-year-old key forward by the name of Jesse Hogan, who is yet to play a game. - Peter Ryan

Looks pretty accurate to me. I think JKH is ahead of Michie and we need a genuine back up ruckman in the side so would have Gawn in there instead of Frost. The rest looks good.

And dined out on that one performance for the rest of the year. I reckon he is over rated but that is just my opinion. I would like to see him play a few complete games to get a better idea of him Same with Salem who kicked a winning goal after the siren and instantly became a star. He had some pretty ordinary games along the way but kept his spot. I do think he will become a good footballer but at the moment is being rated well above his general performance.

They both played a lot as sub so it's a bit harsh. JKH had a 25 touch game from memory. I'm actually amazed Salem played as much as he did with very little preseason, Roos must really rate him.

From the AFL website They "picked" the best 22 for each club. This is Ryan's view of Melbourne's

Melbourne

B: Neville Jetta, Lynden Dunn, Colin Garland

HB: Heritier Lumumba, Tom McDonald, Jack Watts

C: Jack Viney, Bernie Vince, Daniel Cross

HF: Jeremy Howe, Cameron Pedersen, Dean Kent

F: Christian Salem, Jesse Hogan, Jeff Garlett

R: Mark Jamar, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson

I/C: Jack Grimes, Viv Michie, Sam Frost

Sub: Angus Brayshaw

New: Heritier Lumumba (Collingwood), Jeff Garlett (Carlton), Sam Frost (Greater Western Sydney), Angus Brayshaw (No.3 draft pick)

Unavailable: Chris Dawes (suspended), Jack Trengove (navicular injury)

Comment: Max Gawn is most unlucky to miss the best 22, but he will be ready to pounce if Mark Jamar's form drops. We've preferred Angus Brayshaw to Christian Petracca on nothing more than the fact he looks slightly more prepared to play at this stage. That could change by round one. Viv Michie gets a spot based on excellent form in the last month of the season but there is little doubt you could toss a coin and replace him with Rohan Bail, Aidan Riley, Ben Newton, Jordie McKenzie or Jay Kennedy-Harris. Melbourne's midfield depth has increased although its win tally remained small last year, and the club appears over-reliant on a 19-year-old key forward by the name of Jesse Hogan, who is yet to play a game. - Peter Ryan

Good to see Peter Ryan agrees with me about Viv Michie

And dined out on that one performance for the rest of the year. I reckon he is over rated but that is just my opinion. I would like to see him play a few complete games to get a better idea of him Same with Salem who kicked a winning goal after the siren and instantly became a star. He had some pretty ordinary games along the way but kept his spot. I do think he will become a good footballer but at the moment is being rated well above his general performance.

they were both rookies.....

And both did many things on the field last season that showed they well and truly belong

if anything JKH is underrated

And dined out on that one performance for the rest of the year. I reckon he is over rated but that is just my opinion. I would like to see him play a few complete games to get a better idea of him Same with Salem who kicked a winning goal after the siren and instantly became a star. He had some pretty ordinary games along the way but kept his spot. I do think he will become a good footballer but at the moment is being rated well above his general performance.

What I liked about Salem and JKH was that, certainly only in patches, cameos if you like, they both looked like they belonged and thought in a mature manner. Neither seemed to appear to be pressured by the big time. Sure, neither were physically ready for full games for a full season and neither were expected to. More consistency and endurance will be expected of them in 2015, and beyond. I, for one, am looking forward to see their progress.

And dined out on that one performance for the rest of the year. I reckon he is over rated but that is just my opinion. I would like to see him play a few complete games to get a better idea of him Same with Salem who kicked a winning goal after the siren and instantly became a star. He had some pretty ordinary games along the way but kept his spot. I do think he will become a good footballer but at the moment is being rated well above his general performance.

First year players shouldn't be expected to show more then glimpses. Anything more is a bonus.

JKH played a lot as a sub and his best game was the Adelaide game.

JKH is promising but I don't think too many posters have JKH as a lock. So not sure he is overrated.

My memory of Salem is actually the Port game where he did some really smart and classy things.

He played better as a sub as he only had to run hard for 30mins or so.

In full games he struggled but considering he lost something like 10 kgs in preseason, I thought Salem showed great glimpses.

What I liked about Salem and JKH was that, certainly only in patches, cameos if you like, they both looked like they belonged and thought in a mature manner. Neither seemed to appear to be pressured by the big time. Sure, neither were physically ready for full games for a full season and neither were expected to. More consistency and endurance will be expected of them in 2015, and beyond. I, for one, am looking forward to see their progress.

Definitely. Salem, JKH, Tyson, Viney, Hogan, Toumpas, Kent, Brayshaw, Petracca. So much young talent to look forward to next year. I know we've been here before but this feels different.

Good to see Peter Ryan agrees with me about Viv Michie

Of course, some people here seem to forget his game against North Melbourne

What I liked about Salem and JKH was that, certainly only in patches, cameos if you like, they both looked like they belonged and thought in a mature manner. Neither seemed to appear to be pressured by the big time. Sure, neither were physically ready for full games for a full season and neither were expected to. More consistency and endurance will be expected of them in 2015, and beyond. I, for one, am looking forward to see their progress.

The same principles should always apply when it comes to 18 year old draftees that come to the club.

Time, development and patience.

They all need to show something though and nearly all of our draftees in the last 3 years have done so (Toumpas included) ... Hogan, Salem, Kent, Viney & JKH all look to have bright futures but again, we can't expect too much, too soon - it just doesn't work that way (especially with the contested nature of modern footy)

In reality, a player doesn't start to hit his straps until he's played about 70 games and by that time, he's at least 22 years old. And that's not the end of it either - a player would be expected to get better and better after those initial 70 games.

The gap between under 18 TAC footy and AFL footy is bigger than it's ever been - it's taken quite a leap just in the last 10 years.

We also have to remember that the team named and discussed above was a 'Round 1' team [when Dawes is suspended]. For Round 2, expect Dawes to replace Pederson and also a few other changes might emerge after the conclusion of the pre-season.

2016:

Garland Dunn Jetta

Vince McDonald Lamumba

Watts Viney Brayshaw

Petracca Hogan Kent

Garlett Dawes JKH

Gawn Tyson Jones

I/C Salem Toump Frost Trengove

Emergency and not too far away Hunt

ANB Stretch

Howe is missing as I think he'll sorf

You've left out Dangerfield.

What I liked about Salem and JKH was that, certainly only in patches, cameos if you like, they both looked like they belonged and thought in a mature manner. Neither seemed to appear to be pressured by the big time. Sure, neither were physically ready for full games for a full season and neither were expected to. More consistency and endurance will be expected of them in 2015, and beyond. I, for one, am looking forward to see their progress.

Not forgetting Roos said he wouldn't play Salem all year when he was drafted.

For Salem to actually play and show some promise is a good effort. Lets just hope he doesn't get second year blues...

B: Jetta, Dunn, Garland

HB: Lamumba, McDonald, Howe

C: Cross, Tyson, Vince

HF: Watts, Dawes, Kent

FF: Garlett, Hogan, Pederson

Rucks: Jamar, Jones, Viney

IC: Brayshaw, Salem, Grimes

Sub: Petracca

Em: Michie, Gawn, Toumpas

Looks pretty accurate to me. I think JKH is ahead of Michie and we need a genuine back up ruckman in the side so would have Gawn in there instead of Frost. The rest looks good.

What is the definition of 'genuine back-up ruckman?'

A forward that can ruck..

A forward that can ruck..

So a genuine forward who can ruck?

Or a ruckman who is useful forward?

A genuine forward who can ruck

A genuine forward who can ruck

Because he spends 80-85% of his time doing something other than rucking?

I like your thinking...

I would prefer to have a battler for those 15-20 minutes in the ruck if he is more than useful elsewhere than another lumberer to go along with a primary lumberer.

Unless Gawn can clunk 7-10 marks a game as a forward and kick 2-3 goals on regular occasions, I don't think he should be backing up Jamar.

He should be gunning for his job really...

Gawn should be gunning for that number 1 ruck position. In a perfect world, if Mitch Clark didn't do the dirty on us he would have been that back up ruckman who predominately played as a forward, but that's not going to happen.

I would trial Fitzpatrick in this role. He had a great game round 23 last year, and if he can remain a forward option while providing ruck relief he can be our man. I believe this to the main reason we kept him.

I would have Gawn developing his ruck game in the VFL and have him take first ruck when he overtakes Jamars output. I'd use 2015 to see who can take the backup out of Fitzy and Pedo, and failing either of them making it, perhaps look to trade for one next trade period.

Because he spends 80-85% of his time doing something other than rucking?

I like your thinking...

I would prefer to have a battler for those 15-20 minutes in the ruck if he is more than useful elsewhere than another lumberer to go along with a primary lumberer.

Unless Gawn can clunk 7-10 marks a game as a forward and kick 2-3 goals on regular occasions, I don't think he should be backing up Jamar.

He should be gunning for his job really...

I don’t think we should include Gawn and Jamar in the same side. Dawes and Gawn (and Hogan) in the same 22 will make our forward line too slow. I strongly favour playing Pedersen as the second ruck (and probably Fitzpatrick if Pedersen is injured).

This is an analysis of the different combinations used in 2014, showing the SuperCoach averages per player and the number of times each combination was used in brackets.

Jamar, Pedersen, Dawes – 79 (8)

Jamar, Gawn, Dawes, Fitzpatrick – 75 (1)

Jamar, Gawn, Dawes, Pedersen – 74 (4)

Spencer, Pedersen, Dawes – 74 (2)

Jamar, Gawn, Dawes – 70 (3)

Jamar, Gawn, Dawes, Fitzpatrick, Pedersen – 61 (1)

Spencer, Fitzpatrick, Pedersen – 58 (3)

I was thinking that with Gawn in the side playing deep forward the opposition would need to put the best defender on him (due to his height). Hogan will run whoever he gets off his feet and dawes will get the 2nd defender. I know what you are saying about slow, Gawn doesn't have the best follow up, but as mentioned on other threads our ball movement didn't allow us to take advantage of his height or ability to make a contest 1v1 at least.. with garlett and co around our forwards feet + better midfield movement of the ball i would be less worried about this.

Also sweet dee i like what you are thinking, but Gawn would be unlikely to be played in the ruck if spencer is available too. whenever he goes VFL he seems to spend most of the time forward, if spencer gets injured i could see that happening though..

I don’t think we should include Gawn and Jamar in the same side. Dawes and Gawn (and Hogan) in the same 22 will make our forward line too slow. I strongly favour playing Pedersen as the second ruck (and probably Fitzpatrick if Pedersen is injured).

And dined out on that one performance for the rest of the year. I reckon he is over rated but that is just my opinion. I would like to see him play a few complete games to get a better idea of him Same with Salem who kicked a winning goal after the siren and instantly became a star. He had some pretty ordinary games along the way but kept his spot. I do think he will become a good footballer but at the moment is being rated well above his general performance.

Cannot agree with this at all.

When he is playing, good things happen. Easily best 22.