http://m.3aw.com.au/news/jake-melksham-set-to-join-melbourne-20150917-gjpbyy.html. - link to audio.

4 year deal? Are the people who signed terlich up for 3 still working at the club?.... They shouldn't be.

Edit - autocorrect on phone

Edited September 17, 201510 yr by Beats

This is horrid if true!

We win our last game, and at Etihad, Hogan wins the rising star. I'm thinking well at least I can be happy with small victories for 6 months.

Couple of weeks later I'm slapped with a reminder of how embarrassing this club can be. Just a month of good news would do me.

I'm not religious, but I'll convert to all of them and pray this [censored] isn't true.

#melkshambles

Does Josh Mahoney gives out these contracts or Viney??

Does Josh Mahoney gives out these contracts or Viney??

Presumably Viney, the coaches and recruiting staff evaluate players. Mahoney helps grade the finances.

400k isn't excessive. The AFL player earns 340 and in 4 years time 400k with be basement rates. But someone has to be responsible for the 4 year deal and whatever we trade (likely overs) and they better realise they are putting their balls on the line.

I am more concerned with WADA.

$400k per year is about $100k over basic AFL pay. So it's not that much. if we get rid of a number of players on that basic pay, we obviously have plenty to spend and then we draft young players on start up pay.

I am unsure how good Melksham is but I would imagine he is better than M. Jones, Bail, Terlich, McKenzie and Riley who look like following Jamar and Cross off the list. That is 7 before we start trading.

Agree with everything Healy and Matthews had to say. The bloke should be on a base payments contract. I'd love to know where he will sit in our payments structure. If he's in the top 10-15, that's laughable.

Is he one of the 34?

Is "scoop McClure" normally on the money??

Couple of weeks later I'm slapped with a reminder of how embarrassing this club can be.

Perhaps wait for actual trades to go through?

Big offer is surely to push him through to the PSD. If anyone wants to match it, got for it, but they won't.

Hopefully Melksham is disillusioned enough with Essendon that he doesn't care if they get nothing for him.

Perhaps wait for actual trades to go through?

Yeah, good point.

I'm frightened though.

$400k will be near average salary by the time the contract is up.

The question, besides whether it is true, is how much he will cost in a trade.

Really don't understand the handwringing...

$400k will be near average salary by the time the contract is up.

The question, besides whether it is true, is how much he will cost in a trade.

Really don't understand the handwringing...

But 4 years isn't a standard contract for someone on an average salary.

Totally blindsided by this one. WADA and $400pa bothers me, but after last year who am I to criticize. Assume they know what they want and why.

Could be an $800k/year player once WADA gets their way.

I find Melksham very frustrating however we have two of his previous coaches at the club. If its 400k we will be paying him slightly over average AFL wage and I suspect will push him through the PSD. At worst he is a certain upgrade on our current midfield depth at best he is 24 and if he removed the errors in his game could be a steal for 3-5 years.

Who is Jack Redden for 400.

Really don't understand the handwringing...

Mainly because he's a bog ordinary footballer. The rare times he actually gets his hands on it he coughes it up. Skills mean nothing if you turn to water under pressure. Sure he might be a bit better than Ro Bail. Whoop de doo. What do you give up for a marginal upgrade on Bail? Not a lot I'd suggest. And you sure as [censored] don't offer them a 4 year contract.

Almost every player can compile a half decent highlights package. It means nothing. His consistency isn't there and if it's anything more than third round it's a massive risk based on the form he's shown over the past 24 months. I'd go as far as to say the only place you'd find people who think this is a good idea are absolute optimists on Demonland. Everyone else is laughing themselves silly, including Bombers fans.

The most positive thing I can say is that a change of club often works wonders. It would have to work a minor miracle on what I've seen of Melksham this season.

He's already my least favourite Melbourne player.

He's already my least favourite Melbourne player.

When that list includes players like Dean Terlich, Matt Jones and Ro Bail... that's saying something...

Edited September 17, 201510 yr by Wiseblood

But 4 years isn't a standard contract for someone on an average salary.

4 ?

2 off...2 on

When that list includes players like Dean Terlich, Matt Jones and Ro Bail... that's saying something...

At least Dean Terlich, Matt Jones and Ro Bail are available for selection in the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

I wouldn't take Melksham. He's a turnover merchant, but some of the posting on this thread has been a little hyperbolic.

If true, we'd be going after him purely as depth. Whilst I don't agree with his recruitment specifically (for the aforementioned reason), unfortunately what it says to me, is that we are still struggling to attract even B graders to the club. This means we're having to settle for simply replacing the D graders (Bail, M Jones, Terlich etc), with ordinary C graders.

Melksham probably has a higher ceiling than the blokes we'll get rid of, that's the only reason we're going after him. He's a slight upgrade on them. I just hoped we'd have a slightly higher standing now in the eyes of opposition players. Apparently not.

Edited September 17, 201510 yr by AdamFarr

Not a fan, and doubly so with WADA hovering. I'd rather the pick go on a random 18 year old and the money to someone like Jesse or Gus or Viney jnr or Salem etc

A poor man's Chris Heffernan with the Sword of Damocles hanging over him.