I'll remember him for some of the best kicking I've seen at Melbourne.

However, I reckon he will struggle to get a game from now on.

Good on him if he can get a gig at another club.

Edited September 16, 20213 yr by Bitter but optimistic
Typo

Mutual move on moment.  Thanks Jake, you added some spark in the dark times, see ya.

Interesting development. Not sure I like any such announcements during our grand final fortnight but maybe it is his manager getting his name out there early and not the club.

In 2018 he was close to our most important player. Able to tag the opposition's best defender and kick a few on the counter. Always felt confident with ball in hand.

Not sure he'll get the extra year or two he is looking for. That ankle surgery really slowed him down. Would be well suited playing at a small ground like the SCG, but doubt the Swans have room for him.

Bye Jake. Thanks for your service.

Shame you were ordinary at defending, otherwise you could have been about to become a Premiership player.

Two weeks can be a long time to wait at this time of year. So the club have done the right thing letting milkshake get on the market

could certainly see him at the Saints or Carlton

Will be sad to see Jake go, but the move makes sense.

He's now a depth player for us only, so he probably wantsto get another 2 or 3 years as opposed to the 1 with us.

North and GC are two realistic options, however Jake has a young family, so not sure if he'd want to move interstate?

He'd walk into the filth's 22, however they really need to start blooding some kids, so I doubt they'd take him. 

The of course the handbaggers would see him as an injection of youth! And an upgrade on Rohan. Melksham has actually performed in finals before.

Wish him all the best if he goes. But if he stays, he'll be very handy depth for another 12 months.

Jake can be poor on defence, but he is much much more than a depth player. His inside 50 delivery is as good as it gets, he has great goal sense, and plays a as a strange small forward/mid forward. He will probably move on because he wants to get game time but I would love to keep him on the list. 

New club, work on rehabbing his body over the preseason could work wonders for Jake. 

If he decides to move on, ok with it and thankful for that great goal vs Hawks to finish them in 2018.

Much appreciated.

 

I feel like we will lose too many experienced players in our team if Melksham goes. Jones has already retired, Jetta will probably go with him and if Melk goes that's almost 650 games worth of experience walking out the door. We need these leaders there to drive the standards for the coming years. This situation happened in 2019 when we let go of to many senior/experienced players and we finished 17th. 

Edited September 16, 20213 yr by Caligula's cohort

hard to see much of a market out there for him, and if there was it would likely be in exchange for a packet of chips, call it a gesture of goodwill, player gets a chance to play at afl level, we get space in the salary for a player likely to have more impact long term(cerra) however would not be upset at him seeing out the last year, offers reasonable depth especially if say fritta went down and is a wiser professional around the club which can't hurt

1 hour ago, Caligula's cohort said:

I feel like we will lose too many experienced players in our team if Melksham goes. Jones has already retired, Jetta will probably go with him and if Melk goes that's almost 650 games worth of experience walking out the door. We need these leaders there to drive the standards for the coming years. This situation happened in 2019 when we let go of to many senior/experienced players and we finished 17th. 

Yes it is something to be wary about.

Geelong are after him. I can't see him going no one will be after him as he is 30. Geelong aren't even that stupid. He'll be at the club for 1 more year.

I wonder if there's a 3 way trade involving Gunston coming in and Melksham + pick 36 or 54 going to 3rd club and hawks getting a mid 20s pick from 3rd club. We might trade future 3rd or 4ths to get it done.

Something convoluted along these lines anyway.

Hawks can't expect too much surely?

 

Edited September 16, 20213 yr by John Demonic

5 hours ago, Maldonboy38 said:

Jake can be poor on defence, but he is much much more than a depth player. His inside 50 delivery is as good as it gets, he has great goal sense, and plays a as a strange small forward/mid forward. He will probably move on because he wants to get game time but I would love to keep him on the list. 

Yes Mr used car salesman trying to sell a Datsun 120Y as a Kia Stinger.

Not saying he's best 22 as he clearly isn't, but set shot 40m out directly in front in a grand final - he's the bloke I'd have kicking for goal

Richmond had players that were just outside of their 22 or in their 18-22 range on match day, poached for 3-4 seasons. Mainly because of a lack of opportunity, but also because they were a premiership club and even their fringe players were thought to be better than other clubs, even if its not the greatest logic. By this reasoning we should be able to get something ok for Melksham, and others along the way, if we continue our dominance

22 hours ago, ProperDee said:

Maybe the club instigated that process perhaps?  Lets face it, he hasn't set the world on fire over the past couple of seasons.  If it means giving young Bailey Laurie a chance to prove himself, I'm all for it. 

Yep I agree

8 hours ago, Caligula's cohort said:

I feel like we will lose too many experienced players in our team if Melksham goes. Jones has already retired, Jetta will probably go with him and if Melk goes that's almost 650 games worth of experience walking out the door. We need these leaders there to drive the standards for the coming years. This situation happened in 2019 when we let go of to many senior/experienced players and we finished 17th. 

Given this loss of experience what happens to Majak and Mitch Brown?

Edited September 16, 20213 yr by picket fence

"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated" - Mark Twain

Melksham could yet play in the Grand Final, if there were to be another significant training injury!

9 hours ago, Caligula's cohort said:

I feel like we will lose too many experienced players in our team if Melksham goes. Jones has already retired, Jetta will probably go with him and if Melk goes that's almost 650 games worth of experience walking out the door. We need these leaders there to drive the standards for the coming years. This situation happened in 2019 when we let go of to many senior/experienced players and we finished 17th. 

The leadership we have now in Gawn, May, Lever, Viney, Petracca etc is excellent.  They drive standards on and off the field. 

In the past we too often lacked on field leadership, reading the play, adjusting tempo etc.  Our current crop of leaders are good at those things and keep team mates too team rules and team structures during games.   Hence our more cohesive and consistent performances this year.

It is a changing of the guard.  Always sad to see stalwarts go but there is another lot itching to make their mark and make us even better.

3 hours ago, picket fence said:

Given this loss of experience what happens to Majak and Mitch Brown?

Majak I believe they will retain. I heard Goody mention earlier in the year that he is a multiple year proposition for us. Mitch Brown is a tough one. He's a handy back up but he's also 31 or nearing it. I guess it depends on whether Weideman wants to go or not. 

3 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

The leadership we have now in Gawn, May, Lever, Viney, Petracca etc is excellent.  They drive standards on and off the field. 

In the past we too often lacked on field leadership, reading the play, adjusting tempo etc.  Our current crop of leaders are good at those things and keep team mates too team rules and team structures during games.   Hence our more cohesive and consistent performances this year.

It is a changing of the guard.  Always sad to see stalwarts go but there is another lot itching to make their mark and make us even better.

I can't argue with that. But I still have a bad feeling that we are letting go of too many experienced players. Jones, Jetta, Melksham,  possibly AVB and Weideman. These are all guys who have been at our club for over 6 years and more, and we aren't exactly stocked with great draft pics to replace them. Even if we bring in new players from other clubs, they will still take time to adjust to the system as we've seen in cases with May and Brown arriving at the club and how poor their fitness and standards were. Melksham and Weideman need to be retained IMO. 

Happens to every club when you get this good. Decent players get squeezed out and hes probably only got 2-3 years left tops

are the geeling links actually there or is it just the easiest one for your average punter to make coz of the stereotypes so therefore the rumour goes around like a wildfire

If a change of club will bring Melksham back to top form then it is frankly good for football. His best is football art.

We have a lot of small attacking options around at the moment including some more kids looking for opportunities.

Any salary cap difference it makes would be handy but minor.

Respect is the modern football version of loyalty and if he gets a reasonable offer somewhere else I'm quite sure the club will facilitate.

Yep, I've basically said nothing there. It's all okay, that's all.