Given the emergence of Wagner/ Hunt and the return of Melksham next year find it hard to see him getting a game this year unless we get some injuries. 

Obviously he has his limitations with speed at disposal, seems the game is to quick for his style? Thoughts

Grimes does seem to be slipping further and further down the pecking order.  I really do hope he gets two more games, but he's got to be feeling a bit shaky these days. 

If you go through our list, it's a struggle finding 3-4 that will need to be culled at years end. 

JKH will need to re invent himself as a small backman like Jetta to survive also I believe.

I'm going to be completely honest and say that I'd completely forgotten he was on our list. He's 27 and should be at the peak of his powers at this stage of his career.

I love Grimesy and and really empathise with him after all the hell he's had to endure over the last 5 years, but I doubt he will be at the MFC in his six months time. 

4 minutes ago, deefella said:

Given the emergence of Wagner/ Hunt and the return of Melksham next year find it hard to see him getting a game this year unless we get some injuries. 

Obviously he has his limitations with speed at disposal, seems the game is to quick for his style? Thoughts

During the NAB Challenge and at Casey, he hasn't played in defense, so he's actually not competing for a half back spot. He's actually trying to compete for a wing/midfield role, which puts him even further down the pecking order.

Unless we get a massive spate of injuries, I don't see him getting a game this year, which would spell the end of his career at Melbourne. And I'd be really surprised if another club picked him up next year.

Just feel even though Melksham hasn't played a game yet he will offer more skill and pace off HB/MId hoping goodwin will get best out of him?

We now have good depth. Competition for senior spots is tough. Looking forward to seeing if guys like Grimes, Dawes, Garland, JKH, Michie, Newton and Terlich can force their way back into the main game. 

Edited April 25, 20169 yr by Moonshadow

I think we could probably get a trade out of him. He'd make Richmond's list, where he could get a game with his brother when the two aren't injured.

2 minutes ago, Chook said:

I think we could probably get a trade out of him. He'd make Richmond's list, where he could get a game with his brother when the two aren't injured.

Which is never

He's value would low so basically free to good home 

The Game has passed him by....

17 hours ago, deefella said:

Given the emergence of Wagner/ Hunt and the return of Melksham next year find it hard to see him getting a game this year unless we get some injuries. 

Obviously he has his limitations with speed at disposal, seems the game is to quick for his style? Thoughts

And awareness. Writing has been on the wall for a long time. Not even a depth player now, has had plenty of time to work on glaring weaknesses and has failed to. I know it sounds harsh, but that is what separates the average players from the good/great ones.

Nice bloke

Part of way fwd ?

Doubt it

Nice bloke

im a big fan of Grimes but the coaching staff is not, best for everyone for him to be traded

May find it hard if there was no real interest in the last trade period. Even if he ended up at Hawthorn I struggle to see him succeeding

This will be Grimes' last season at Melbourne, IMO. He might play at another club next year. I had thought we might rookie him, but with the emergence of Hunt and Wagner, I reckon we need to give Taylor more spots on the list to find some more prospects to keep building depth back there. We have to become ruthless. We thank Grimes for his terrific service, mostly off field, but we move on.

29 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

We now have good depth. Competition for senior spots is tough. Looking forward to seeing if guys like Grimes, Dawes, Garland, JKH, Michie, Newton and Terlich can force their way back into the main game. 

With Grimes to go, this list offers the next five (possibly six) delistings/trades. 

* Terlich - will be the first to go.

* Newton - hasn't worked, despite an ability to hit the scoreboard. To my eye he's not great defensively and he doesn't stay in the game long enough. Is that inexperience at AFL level or is he just not good enough? I'm inclined to think the latter.

* JKH - I saw JKH at Casey the other night standing around watching. Have I missed something here? Is he injured? He's a pretty neat kick, but as others have stated I question whether he has the tools or the weapons to make it at this level. So probably another one to go.

* Garland - I wonder if they'll look for a trade for Col? I think Omac has taken his spot, but they might hold onto him for a little while as depth. Unfortunately, he doesn't play the new 'Melbourne way'.

* Michie - I watched him at Casey the other night. A hard worker. A good trier, but once again, I don't think he has a weapon to be a genuine AFL mid. 

* Dawes - the second half of 2016 will tell the story. He may become the seventh to go. If he does go down again that will be it for him. If he makes it back, it'll be interesting to see how he adjusts to the new 'Melbourne way'. Right now, I'd have Frost ahead of him. I'd probably have Pedo ahead of him too, who certainly hits the scoreboard more than Dawes.

Edited April 25, 20169 yr by AdamFarr

Early days, but at this stage I'd say we'd offer him for trade again and then if there's no interest we'd consider a rookie spot depending on how the list is looking for experience.

He's a great guy and hard worker, but there might be a chance he's had enough as well. Plenty of issues with his body, so I doubt he has an easy existence to play AFL.

I wouldn't mind keeping him on as a coach post career. Read the game well as a young player, that he couldn't change with it doesn't necessarily mean he's not a good footy mind.

3 minutes ago, AdamFarr said:

This will be Grimes' last season at Melbourne, IMO. He might play at another club next year. I had thought we might rookie him, but with the emergence of Hunt and Wagner, I reckon we need to give Taylor more spots on the list to find some more prospects to keep building depth back there. We have to become ruthless. We thank Grimes for his terrific service, mostly off field, but we move on.

And from this list will come the next five to six delistings/trades. 

* Terlich - will be the first to go.

* Newton - hasn't worked, despite an ability to hit the scoreboard. To my eye he's not great defensively and he doesn't stay in the game long enough. Is that inexperience at AFL level or is he just not good enough? I'm inclined to think the latter.

* JKH - I saw JKH at Casey the other night standing around watching. Have I missed something here? Is he injured? He's a pretty neat kick, but as others have stated I question whether he has the tools or the weapons to make it at this level. So probably another one to go.

* Garland - I wonder if they'll look for a trade for Col? I think Omac has taken his spot, but they might hold onto him for a little while as depth. Unfortunately, he doesn't play the new 'Melbourne way'.

* Michie - I watched him at Casey the other night. A hard worker. A good trier, but once again, I don't think he has a weapon to be a genuine AFL mid. 

* Dawes - the second half of 2016 will tell the story. If Dawes goes down again that will be it for him. If he makes it back, it'll be interesting to see how he adjusts to the new 'Melbourne way'. Right now, I'd have Frost ahead of him. I'd probably have Pedo ahead of him too, who certainly hits the scoreboard more than Dawes.

I suspect Max King will be on that list as well.  This year is his last chance to show something as a rookie and so far he's got nothing.  While our ruck depth is lamentable, he's not the answer. 

3 minutes ago, AdamFarr said:

This will be Grimes' last season at Melbourne, IMO. He might play at another club next year. I had thought we might rookie him, but with the emergence of Hunt and Wagner, I reckon we need to give Taylor more spots on the list to find some more prospects to keep building depth back there. We have to become ruthless. We thank Grimes for his terrific service, mostly off field, but we move on.

And from this list will come the next five to six delistings/trades. 

* Terlich - will be the first to go.

* Newton - hasn't worked, despite an ability to hit the scoreboard. To my eye he's not great defensively and he doesn't stay in the game long enough. Is that inexperience at AFL level or is he just not good enough? I'm inclined to think the latter.

* JKH - I saw JKH at Casey the other night standing around watching. Have I missed something here? Is he injured? He's a pretty neat kick, but as others have stated I question whether he has the tools or the weapons to make it at this level. So probably another one to go.

* Garland - I wonder if they'll look for a trade for Col? I think Omac has taken his spot, but they might hold onto him for a little while as depth. Unfortunately, he doesn't play the new 'Melbourne way'.

* Michie - I watched him at Casey the other night. A hard worker. A good trier, but once again, I don't think he has a weapon to be a genuine AFL mid. 

* Dawes - the second half of 2016 will tell the story. If Dawes goes down again that will be it for him. If he makes it back, it'll be interesting to see how he adjusts to the new 'Melbourne way'. Right now, I'd have Frost ahead of him. I'd probably have Pedo ahead of him too, who certainly hits the scoreboard more than Dawes.

Might be hard to trade Garland on a 2 year deal. 

JKH has done a hammy. Hoping he can get back out there soon. There's still something to work with there I think. Played too well in his first year for it to be a fluke.

Spencer is the other one I'd add. If he's often injured and not good otherwise then surely there's a mature ruck option in one of the state leagues or a delisted pick up. I'd even consider Zac Clarke from Freo as a free agent, as long as it's a short contract.

Yep Gone! Can join his broher at Richmond! Well take ah not really sure who we might get for him!

I'd imagine Max King would stay. It took Jamar and Gawn many years to find AFL form. I don't see treating him differently as good planning

9 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

Might be hard to trade Garland on a 2 year deal. 

JKH has done a hammy. Hoping he can get back out there soon. There's still something to work with there I think. Played too well in his first year for it to be a fluke.

Spencer is the other one I'd add. If he's often injured and not good otherwise then surely there's a mature ruck option in one of the state leagues or a delisted pick up. I'd even consider Zac Clarke from Freo as a free agent, as long as it's a short contract.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone took a punt on Garland. It'd be a small contract and it'd only be a one year deal by that stage.

Thanks for that info, mate. It'd be very interesting to hear what Goodwin thinks of JKH. It'll only take a year to find out.

I've never minded Spencer. I seem to be one of the only ones around here. He hasn't got the same talent as Max, but he's not a horrible back up, IMO.

I would be looking for other ruck options though. Gawn and Spencer aren't going to be enough going forward. We need a third for depth and to push the others.

8 minutes ago, AdamFarr said:

This will be Grimes' last season at Melbourne, IMO. He might play at another club next year. I had thought we might rookie him, but with the emergence of Hunt and Wagner, I reckon we need to give Taylor more spots on the list to find some more prospects to keep building depth back there. We have to become ruthless. We thank Grimes for his terrific service, mostly off field, but we move on.

With Grimes to go, this list offers the next five (possibly six) delistings/trades. 

* Terlich - will be the first to go.

* Newton - hasn't worked, despite an ability to hit the scoreboard. To my eye he's not great defensively and he doesn't stay in the game long enough. Is that inexperience at AFL level or is he just not good enough? I'm inclined to think the latter.

* JKH - I saw JKH at Casey the other night standing around watching. Have I missed something here? Is he injured? He's a pretty neat kick, but as others have stated I question whether he has the tools or the weapons to make it at this level. So probably another one to go.

* Garland - I wonder if they'll look for a trade for Col? I think Omac has taken his spot, but they might hold onto him for a little while as depth. Unfortunately, he doesn't play the new 'Melbourne way'.

* Michie - I watched him at Casey the other night. A hard worker. A good trier, but once again, I don't think he has a weapon to be a genuine AFL mid. 

*Dawes - the second half of 2016 will tell the story. He may become the seventh to go. If he does go down again that will be it for him. If he makes it back, it'll be interesting to see how he adjusts to the new 'Melbourne way'. Right now, I'd have Frost ahead of him. I'd probably have Pedo ahead of him too, who certainly hits the scoreboard more than Dawes.

I'm trying to find a case for these players to stay other than depth. Maybe JKH if Garlett went down but he just lacks speed. Garland never came back well from major injury and Newton is not as good as ANB.

In an old style world where sentiment counted, I'd hang on to Grimes because of his qualities. Unfortunately AFL has passed him by. If, by chance the Demons are well on track for a finals berth you'd consider giving him 2 games as a reward for his great contribution, but the AFL is a different beast now. 

4 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

JKH has done a hammy. Hoping he can get back out there soon. There's still something to work with there I think. Played too well in his first year for it to be a fluke.

Sadly I have to disagree on this one.  He's got nice skills and works hard, but I just don't know if there's enough there to work with.  I don't like saying this because I've always been an advocate of footballers before athletes, but he's not a good enough athlete to make it.  He's not quick, he's not powerful, he's a full head shorter than me and I'm not that tall.  Look at the guys around the league who are of comparable size.  They are all quicker and stronger than him.  They have an explosive burst of pace.  He has none of that.  All he has is a good sidestep and a pretty nice mid-range kick.