So I have been a little bored and I thought it would be interesting to get a perspective on who people thought were the 5 most important players for season 2015 and if it was to vary too much, I think they will all be pretty similar but interesting to get a few posters different perspectives.

I started the post with 10 players, but then I figured that it was basically half of the team that would play and also a quarter of our list, so top 5 seemed more suitable.

My top 5:

1) Nathan Jones: pretty obvious, our most important player for the next couple of years

2) Tom McDonald: will play on opposition forwards and his run to break the lines will be vital, hopefully can improve his disposal

3) Mark Jamar: will play as our main ruckman and is vital to ensuring out midfield is competitive

4) Chris Dawes: our most experienced key forward, pretty self explanatory

5) Jack Watts: our best user of the football by far. In the games we played well last year it was no surprise that Watts was a solid contributor in most of them

Jones, Dunn, Tyson, Cross, Dawes

When Cross didn't play last year he was sorely missed. Probably his last season but I believe still an integral part of our midfield as Viney/Newton/Mitchie/Salem/Toumpas continue to learn and grow. Excellent role model for the new draftees with regards to training.

We need Dawes to have a more consistent year and regain some confidence as Hogan debuts( I also hope Howe returns forward) Recently there has been some discussion on his strengths and weaknesses so we are all aware, no need to rehash. ( I did like when Dawes was interview post match after a loss and rather than roll out the company line was dirty on himself and the team )

Edited January 7, 201510 yr by Al's Demons

1) Max Gawn - Jamar and Max have both done full pre-season to date we really need Max to command the number 1 ruck spot

2) Toumpas - Been written off by far too many far too early. Body is right and he is ready to shine.

3) Dom Tyson - Performed better last year than even the most optimistic supporter could have expected. Come on again like that this season and we have one of the best midfielders in the comp.

4) Newton / Mitchie / Pig Dog -one or two of these guys to cement a spot in the side and we really do have competition for midfield rotations

5) Hogan - We don't need a Coleman or Jackovich first season but 40+ goals would be lovely

4) Newton / Mitchie / Pig Dog -one or two of these guys to cement a spot in the side and we really do have competition for midfield rotations

I most certainly do not want him anywhere near the team.

If you can't a kick a football, you can't be play AFL, and he certainly cannot.

I most certainly do not want him anywhere near the team.

If you can't a kick a football, you can't be play AFL, and he certainly cannot.

He seems fairly neat - he would in the team for his 6 tackles than his 5 kicks...

I most certainly do not want him anywhere near the team.

If you can't a kick a football, you can't be play AFL, and he certainly cannot.

Funny isn't it... just maybe 4 years ago many were saying similar things about a young midfielder named Nathan Jones. Now one of the most reliable kicks in the team.

As for the 5 most important players, I would not include players who we know will be effective (Jones, Tyson, Vince, Dunn etc), but consider the next 5 to step up to be our most important. They are the ones that will help to fill in the blanks we currently have, creating a more cohesive team; so...

Gawn, Hogan, Garlett, La, La, La, La mumba and Watts.

Yes, if we are talking about the Most Important Players then those players are already ones that are playing solid footy, if we are talking about the Most Important Players to Help Us Improve then I would be looking at; 1. a prospective midfield regular who can help Jones, Tyson, Cross, Viney, and Vince and play consistently near their level, 2. a HBF who can be damaging with his skills and run, 3. a small forward who can keep the ball down there and snag a few, 4. a tall forward to help Dawes straighten us up, and 5. another mid to help the aforementioned overworked players if not at their level...

1. [No Player looks ready for this]

2. Lumumba

3. Garlett

4. Hogan

5. Newton

Due to their being no midfielder ready to step up to the level of the Jones and co., I will add another mid to help out with Newton, and I think that player could be Bail on a wing through HF in the rotation.

6. Bail.

I agree with most top 5s but I think Garland would be in mine.. With frawley gone he really has to step up as the senior player down there. He was fairly average last season coming off a very good one. We need his 2013 form back to hell frost & McDonald down there

He seems fairly neat - he would in the team for his 6 tackles than his 5 kicks...

So what another Jordie Mckenzie?

Yeah nah.

His disposal is very poor. Michie and Newton are ahead of him in my opinion.

So what another Jordie Mckenzie?

Yeah nah.

His disposal is very poor. Michie and Newton are ahead of him in my opinion.

Well they better do some damage with their 5 kicks then...

Yes, if we are talking about the Most Important Players then those players are already ones that are playing solid footy, if we are talking about the Most Important Players to Help Us Improve then I would be looking at; 1. a prospective midfield regular who can help Jones, Tyson, Cross, Viney, and Vince and play consistently near their level, 2. a HBF who can be damaging with his skills and run, 3. a small forward who can keep the ball down there and snag a few, 4. a tall forward to help Dawes straighten us up, and 5. another mid to help the aforementioned overworked players if not at their level...

1. [No Player looks ready for this]

2. Lumumba

3. Garlett

4. Hogan

5. Newton

Due to their being no midfielder ready to step up to the level of the Jones and co., I will add another mid to help out with Newton, and I think that player could be Bail on a wing through HF in the rotation.

6. Bail.

I agree with all that rpfc

Except

Bail

Not for me. IMO we have seen his best and it he is not up to it.

1 - Jones

2 - Tyson

3 - Lumumba

4 - Garlett

5 - Jamar

1. Hogan

2. Toumpas

3. Salem

4. Gawn

5. Frost

1. Hogan

2. Toumpas

3. Salem

4. Gawn

5. Frost

Agree Hogan bar none

1.Dawes - if Dawes gets back to his 2010/11 form he will take a weight off Hogan's shoulders and bring the likes of Garlett/JKH into the game

2.TMac - take the next step and along with Dawes two massive bookends sorted which helps us developing as a team

3. Jamar/Gawn - if Jamar can continue like he started last season (he is looking fit) and Gawn stays fit and steps up we will have a very good advantage with the sides from 7-14 and be keeping up with the powerhouses of the league in having a 1-2 tandem in the ruck/resting forward

4. Garlett - if Dawes, Hoges and the third tall create decent contests having a small crumbing forward being able to kick 40+ goals will take us to a place we haven't been since the early noughties

5.Tyson - he will be targetted more and I think he is good enough to deal with it, and if he continues to progress as he has this kid could be another Simon Black

I will not put any pressure on Hogan if he just does his job, without being teh new Carey as some expect of a first year player, with Dawes hopefully getting back to his best and having a great year our forward line will function very effectively

Toumpas, Viney, Frost, Kent, JKH, Petracca, Newton, Jetta and other developing players don't need to be in our best 5 they just need to maintain good consistent footy showing improvement and an upward curve for us to be a good side.

Jones, Vince, Cross, Lumumba and I would even say Dunn well you know what you are going to get with them solid efforts and AFL standard week in week out

Edited January 8, 201510 yr by Pennant St Dee

Most important players for MFC in 2015 I would have, in no particular order, as:

1. Tom McDonald - key pillar in defence, if he can keep is man quiet it would be a big impact for the team (both on the scoreboard and mentally).

2. Mark Jamar - with the reports on his fitness, a bigger impact around the ground in addition to his work at stoppages would be great.

3. Nathan Jones - clearly still the most influential midfielder, not to mention el capitan. Hopefully we'll see a few more captains goals!

4. Dom Tyson - Also super important in terms of clearances, like Jones, but links up well and geez we need goal scoring mids...

5. Jesse Hogan / Chris Dawes - not sure which, Dawes probably more effective due to experience and mature body, but Hogan with his talent alongside could be super important.

Honorable mentions to Dunn, Vince, Cross and Jetta, who all had big impacts on games last year. Also Lumumba, who's run and carry I'm hoping will translate into more forward entries and meters gained.

I think to juge the most important players to the team in 2015, it should really be judged on what impact their absence from the team would likely have on the result of a game. Considering this:

N Jones - We currently don't have a strong body, experienced high possession winning midfielder that comes close to covering him (Hopefully Tyson and Viney can mprove this year to be of a similar standard)

L Dunn - Can shut out opposition talls defensively, capable of 3rd man up, but most importantly sets up play down field with his long accurate passes (brain fades aside). McDonald, Garland and even Frost could all cover for him defensively but are not as damaging by foot.

N Jetta - Very good at shutting down his opponent, has the pace not to be exposed, and the foot skills / composure with the ball. Not sure we have anyone else that can step up and fulfill all these attributes if he went down, particularily on small opponents.

B Vince - A goal kicking midfielder with the skills to set up play downfield. Not a lot of them currently running around on exposed form (hopes for Salem, Toumpas, etc)

D Tyson - Our next best midfielder behind N Jones, and with anticpated natural improvement/progression, expect he will be just as irreplacable. Also if you take him out of the in close action (quick hands, hard ball gets, etc) then N Jones will be easily tagged out of a game as oppostions run two players on him.

Would love to have included C Dawes as I beleive a strong full forward is crucial to Melbourne's potency, and noting Hogan is a first year player not the messiah (not yet) - we should not be expecting Hogan to deliver much more than what Daniher provided for the Bombers last year. Unfortunately, based on exposed form (scoreboard impact) Dawes could be replaced by [Pedersen], Fitzpatrik or even Watts (defensive pressure aside).

My expectation though is that M Gawn will elevate himself to top 5 importance, as he takes control of the ruck and starts clunking marks in the forward line; while my smokey is Fitzpatrick, who with full fitness, should exploits his significant pace (for his size) to become an extremely hard matchup - put endurance into him and he can play an A Goodes style of game (poorer version).

Lumumba will be also be very hard to replace, if he fulfils his running role potential.

Edited January 8, 201510 yr by Ungarie boy

Seems many are linking best players with most important players.

Most important for us is not our best, most consistent players as we know we get quality from them, it is those who need to bring their A game week in week out and the new recruits who will carry us forward.

Pick any five you like out of Gawn, Toumpas, Kent, Salem, Hogan, JKH, Watts, Brayshaw, Petracca, Frost or Newton.

I'm sure I have missed others but you get the idea.

5.Tyson - he will be targetted more and I think he is good enough to deal with it, and if he continues to progress as he has this kid could be another Simon Black

I think he reminds me more of a Pendlebury. Just seems to have alot of time and is so smooth.

Seems many are linking best players with most important players.

Most important for us is not our best, most consistent players as we know we get quality from them, it is those who need to bring their A game week in week out and the new recruits who will carry us forward.

Pick any five you like out of Gawn, Toumpas, Kent, Salem, Hogan, JKH, Watts, Brayshaw, Petracca, Frost or Newton.

I'm sure I have missed others but you get the idea.

Hear what you're saying mate, but I see them as more important to our long-term future, not as more important individual players in 2015. I agree 'best players' might not always be most important players to the team / structure, but I think it would be a fair expectation that the best would also be among the most important. There's a reason they're the best!

I would say the absence of one of the players you listed there would be felt less than the absence of say N Jones, TMac, Dunn or Dawes.

There are perhaps two interpretations of this.

1. Important in role/overall contribution

1. Jones

2. Tyson

3. McDonald

4. Vince

5. Hogan (reluctantly)

2. Important in terms of their improvement and immediate impact.

1. Hogan (reluctantly)

2. Toumpas

3. Newton/Michie

4. Lumumba

5. Garlett

I most certainly do not want him anywhere near the team.

If you can't a kick a football, you can't be play AFL, and he certainly cannot.

I am not sure, but through the heat haze yesterday I am sure I saw Pig Dog kick the footy, coming back from a broken leg and not being mentally sure about the leg last year obviously had some impact, he told me it is only in the last month or so that he is finally confident with it....you really need to keep wiping the slate clean at the end of each season

Hogan - we just need him

Garlett - more goals needed

Jones - engine room

Tyson - should go up a level again

Viney - time to shine.

Seems many are linking best players with most important players.

Most important for us is not our best, most consistent players as we know we get quality from them, it is those who need to bring their A game week in week out and the new recruits who will carry us forward.

Pick any five you like out of Gawn, Toumpas, Kent, Salem, Hogan, JKH, Watts, Brayshaw, Petracca, Frost or Newton.

I'm sure I have missed others but you get the idea.

Actually I beleive "most important" would be players whose role and impact is the hardest to replace while ensuring the same quality (high) performance. Therefore players who cannot command a starting position, are obviously not hard to replace regardless of their role/impact in the team (like most quoted).

For the better teams the vast majority of thier side would comprise numerous players who command a starting positon regardless of the depth players behind them (unlike Melbourne where a lot of our players commanded a starting postion, due to their being no quality pushing a case in the reserves); Consquently Melbournes better player's tend to also be our most important. These quoted names are probably more important to Melbournes improvement and development; rather than importance to the team - on this measure, I would then choose Hogan, Gawn, Salem, Viney and Garlett.