CHANGES 2015 - no fish for you by The Oracle

[Demonland 72,180]

There were no big fish for the Melbourne Football Club when the trading period ended a fortnight or so ago. Indeed, it was more a case of steady as she goes as the Demons traded in three players from other clubs, introduced a Category B rookie and farewelled Jeremy Howe and Jimmy Toumpas who joined the retiring Daniel Cross and a group of delisted players Rohan Bail, Mark Jamar, Jordie McKenzie, Aidan Riley and Jack Fitzpatrick who found a home at Hawthorn as a result of a trade for a late draft pick.

Only two of the departing players were among the regulars in 2015. Cross was a special player in his two seasons at the club and his experienced cool head will be missed on field (he remains at the club in a coaching capacity) although, at age 32, he was slowing down. Howe played in all 22 home and away games in 2015 and was a top 10 finisher in the club best and fairest but there have always been question marks over his consistency and the one dimensional nature of his game.

The newcomers are all said to have in common the fact that they are "goers" - the type coach Paul Roos has in the past fashioned from the not quite right at other clubs into integral pieces in the puzzle that makes a team successful.

Jake Melksham and Ben Kennedy were originally first round draft picks while Tomas Bugg was an initial member of the GWS Giants squad when he was a pre-listed selection as an under age player from Gippsland Power in 2010. All three come with issues that in some ways place them in the "problematic" basket but the club has seen attributes in them that made their pursuit worthwhile.

Melksham carries with him the baggage of the supplements scandal and still faces the possibility of a sanction at next month's CAS hearing into the events at Essendon in 2012. It has been said that the weight of the long running saga contributed immensely to the fall off in form of many young Bombers like him in recent seasons.

A member of Vic Metro in the 2009 AFL National Under 18 Championships team and the Calder Cannons TAC Cup premiership side (and adjudged best-on-ground in the grand final win), Melksham was a top 10 pick in that year's draft. The 185cm midfielder was a Rising Star nominee in his first season, soon earned a regular spot in the Bombers' team and has played 114 games (57 goals) in his six seasons. He has at times been a prolific ball winner and once kicked the winning goal in a game against the undefeated Cats in a game in which he earned the three Brownlow votes.

Kennedy was recruited by Collingwood from SANFL club Genelg with the 19th selection in the 2012 AFL Draft. The 21 year old has played 25 AFL games (15 goals). The 175cm 76kg small midfielder/forward was highly regarded as a youngster in South Australia for his strong contested ball winning ability with a real burst of speed but in his three years at the club, he failed to establish a place in the strong Magpie midfield. A contemporary of Jack Viney, Kennedy was always in the back of the club's mind and the club swooped to claim him in the hope of bringing out the potential as a rotating inside midfielder/forward who can score goals.

The 22 year old Bugg has played 65 AFL games (16 goals) and is 184 cm, 80 kg. He joined the Giants in 2012 after finishing his schooling at Caulfield Grammar and won a Rising Star nomination in his first season. He has been a quiet achiever for the club over his four seasons, mainly in a negating role but has shown the ability to get forward at times and win his own ball through the middle. In 2014, he capped a solid season with a career-best 33 touches in his team's round 21 victory over the Demons and finished in 10th place in the Giant's best and fairest count.

Little is known of the club's Category B addition basketballer Joel Smith, son of former player, Sean, but if he can emulate his father's high flying feats, he will be well on his way to replacing Jeremy Howe in that role at least.

If there was no big fish for the club as a result of the trades, it certainly holds some trumps in the form of two top ten draft picks. The club is starting to turn around its record of failure at the draft table and if it can land some quality draftees later this month, the impact on team fortunes is likely to be significant in the near future if not immediately.

The club's playing list for 2016 is shaping up this way:-

PRIMARY LIST:

Angus Brayshaw Chris Dawes Lynden Dunn Sam Frost Max Gawn Jeff Garlett Jack Grimes James Harmes Jesse Hogan Jayden Hunt Neville Jetta Matt Jones Nathan Jones Jay Kennedy-Harris Dean Kent Heritier Lumumba Oscar McDonald Tom McDonald Viv Michie Alex Neal-Bullen Ben Newton Christian Petracca Christian Salem Jake Spencer Billy Stretch Dean Terlich Jack Trengove Dom Tyson Aaron vandenBerg Bernie Vince Jack Viney Jack Watts

ROOKIE LIST: CATEGORY A

Max King Mitch White

ROOKIE LIST: CATEGORY B

Joel Smith

There are currently only three places available on the Primary List and if this remains the case (there are still two further list lodgments to come) one would expect the vacancies will be filled later this month at the national draft with selections which are presently 3, 7 and 46 although the last of these will most certainly be a "live" selection in the 30s because of the operation of the bidding system for academy players and father/son selections. There seems to be no room at the moment for any delisted free agents or a pick in the pre season draft. There are also two rookie spots available for next month's rookie draft.

The picture painted above reflects the fact that listwise the club has moved out of the eye of the storm and into calmer waters after several torrid seasons. The list is improving and the need for wholesale changes that is often evident in clubs that are in the early stages of a rebuilding phase is no longer there.

At some stage in the near future, the club might snare a big fish, but for now, it waits to take advantage of the catch available as a result of some clever work during the trading period.