Demonland

Managed just one game and was delisted as soon as the season was over. Games MFC 2014 1 Career Total 32 Goals MFC 2014 0 Career Total 4 Games CSFC 2014 16 Goals CSFC 2014 2 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy 0 votes

This is going to continue for four seasons but I'm sweet about that.

For a player who has only just turned 22 (today) the key defender had yet another strong season taking on greater responsibility down back, with James Frawley spending a large portion of the year in attack. McDonald remains a fine long-term player for the club. Games MFC 2014 21 Career Total 60 Goals MFC 2014 2 Career Total 2 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy 212 votes

Love this ... @paigecardona: So as news broke about Goodwin to Melbourne, Jon Ralph is on air swearing black and blue he's heading to Adelaide. #jernerlism

Signed by who?

Had a great start to the season as a small forward but, as with many young players in their debut seasons, his form dropped off as the season wore on. Games MFC 2014 14 Career Total 14 Goals MFC 2014 9 Career Total 9 Games CSFC 2014 7 Goals CSFC 2014 2 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy 56 votes

The former Crow had a fine first-up season in the red and blue and proved to be a valuable acquisition. Vinces third placing was his second best result in a club best and fairest since he won the award with Adelaide in 2009. Games MFC 2014 22 Career Total 151 Goals MFC 2014 13 Career Total 93 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy 270 votes

Michie arrived with only a single game at Fremantle under his belt and received another half a dozen games in 2014. He showed glimpses of skill and potential to become a very good clearance player in the future. Games MFC 2014 6 Career Total 7 Goals MFC 2014 0 Career Total 0 Games CSFC 2014 11 Goals CSFC 2014 3 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy 22 votes

After a disappointing first year at the club Pedersen resurrected his career and showed versatility by filling a number of roles including back up ruck and key defence and forward positions. Games MFC 2014 19 Career Total 45 Goals MFC 2014 14 Career Total 39 Games CSFC 2014 1 Goals CSFC 2014 3 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy 118 votes

Where were you dazzle? Hiding under the couch in the family room?

Missed a huge slab of the pre-season after an operation to fix a bone spur in his ankle and made a late start after working his way through the VFL. Consequently was unable to produce his form of 2013 which saw him runner up in the club best and fairest. Games MFC 2014 14 Career Total 115 Goals MFC 2014 1 Career Total 15 Games CSFC 2014 3 Goals CSFC 2014 1 Games CSFC 2014 1 Goals CSFC 2014 0 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy 95 votes

Spent the entire season at Casey without getting an AFL call up which does not bode well for his career going forward. Games MFC 2014 0 Career Total 24 Goals MFC 2014 0 Career Total 1 Games CSFC 2014 17 Goals CSFC 2014 3

Despite missing five matches from rounds 15 to 19 with a fractured leg, Cross managed to produce a top first season with Melbourne. Had injury not struck, he may have claimed his seventh top three placing in a club best and fairest. Games MFC 2014 17 Career Total 227 Goals MFC 2014 1 Career Total 34 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy 238 votes

Capable of the occasional impressive flashy dashing goal through use of his pace but lacks the necessary work ethic, tank, smarts, mental toughness and maturity as a player. Touted as a possible trade. Games MFC 2014 2 Career Total 33 Goals MFC 2014 1 Career Total 25 Games CSFC 2014 15 Goals CSFC 2014 11 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy 0 votes

An emerging youngster who showed some flashes of very good form in the club's graveyard forward line particularly in the latter part of the season. Games MFC 2014 13 Career Total 28 Goals MFC 2014 12 Career Total 22 Games CSFC 2014 3 Goals CSFC 2014 4 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy 64 votes

Failed to gain AFL selection this year and was delisted at the end of the season. Games MFC 2014 0 Career Total 8 Goals MFC 2014 0 Career Total 1 Games CSFC 2014 13 Goals CSFC 2014 2

His ninth AFL season was his finest, as he became one of the top defenders in the competition. Dunn was a highly consistent performer across 2014 and he was duly rewarded with his best result in a Melbourne best and fairest count. Games MFC 2014 22 Career Total 139 Goals MFC 2014 4 Career Total 95 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy 264 votes

McKenzie had an average season after holding a leadership role at the club and will have to work hard to cement a regular role in the senior team in the future. Disposal by foot remains an issue. Games MFC 2014 9 Career Total 78 Goals MFC 2014 0 Career Total 10 Games CSFC 2014 8 Goals CSFC 2014 3 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy 49 votes

THE BREATH OF LIFE - DRAFT ASSISTANCE by Whispering Jack How poorly does a team have to perform before it qualifies for draft assistance under the current AFL rules? Nobody really knows the answer because the outcome of an application is based on vague guidelines. The AFL Commission is due to draw on these when it determines Melbourne's latest such application at its forthcoming meeting next week. We do know that an application by the club was rejected last year after a number of clubs objected, mainly on the basis of how could the AFL allow such a thing so soon after the so-called "tanking" enquiry (so much for the independence of the AFL Commission)? We shouldn't forget that the two clubs who raged loudest against Melbourne last year were Hawthorn and Collingwood whose presidents joined then AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou on a trip to the United States to study issues surrounding "equalisation" of sporting competitions. Talk about Dracula running the blood bank - the first thing Andrew Newbold and Eddie McGuire did when they stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac at Tullamarine was to complain loud and hard about giving any AFL draft assistance to a team that won only two games in season 2013 and four in the year before. Never mind that their own clubs gratefully accepted priority picks less than a decade earlier which helped land both of them premierships. The Hawks won four games in 2004 and, as a result picked up Jarryd Roughhead at selection 2 (with Buddy Franklin at 4) in that year's national draft while the Magpies snuck in with five wins in 2005. Their priority pick at 2 was Dale Thomas (they got Scott Pendelbury at 5) and nobody made too much noise about the fact that they somehow managed to lose the last eight matches of the season to get their prize. Carlton managed even better when they snared the priority pick three years in a row culminating with the Kreuzer Cup of 2007, completing the "grand slam of tanking" after they lost eleven in a row to finish the season. Yet, Demetriou continued to publicly maintain that there was no such thing as tanking in the AFL. The rules have changed and clubs now need to plead a special case to obtain draft assistance. Melbourne's plight over the best part of an entire decade is well known. The events that led to the "tanking" affair took place in 2009 and the club is under new management making early inroads into its precarious on field situation. To raise that issue again as a bar to assistance five years later would be unconscionable. How many times can a club be punished for doing the same thing, especially after the stronger, more established AFL clubs got away with little more than a cursory look? No, if the AFL is to act responsibly in dealing with Melbourne's application, it must do so on its merits and not pre judge it as Football Operations Manager Mark Evans did recently when he cast doubt the application's chances of succeeding. So while a mere four or five wins was no long ago considered enough to merit a priority pick for the likes of Evans' most recent club Hawthorn, Collingwood and on multiple occasions Carlton, Melbourne has to go begging to the AFL after nine losing seasons and on ten wins in the last three years or an average over that time of just 3⅓ wins per season. The thought is a vulgar to me as the fraction at the end of that number. Melbourne is a club that had no nominees for the 2014 Rising Star, no players in the recently announced AFL Under 22 team, no players on the forty man All-Australian shortlist and not surprisingly, received no mentions at last week's MVP. Melbourne has been one of the hardest hit clubs in terms of recent AFL innovations including the rules relating to the introduction of the new franchise clubs and free agency. Tom Scully was taken when barely out of his teens for compensation that is barely kicking in four years later. The club has lost Jared Rivers, Brent Moloney, Colin Sylvia and most likely now, James Frawley to free agency. Again, it will take time to determine whether the compensation for their loss turns out to be fair and equitable. On top of that, the Demons have been struck blows from unforeseen places to players who under normal circumstances would be close to marquee items, helping to win games and draw crowds to its fixtures. I refer here to Mitch Clark, Liam Jurrah and Austin Wonaeamirri who, but for their extraordinary, sad and well documented circumstances, would be leading a formidable Melbourne forward line capable helping the club to kick winning scores instead of the lows to which we have become accustomed of late. And you can't blame poor administration or coaching on these things. Last year, one of the reasons given for not awarding draft assistance was that the club had the likes of Jesse Hogan in the wings and Clark returning from injury. Look how that turned out! If the AFL is at all serious, it will realise that the Melbourne Football Club is crying out for help and that it must endorse its claim for assistance by giving it an early first round priority pick commensurate to that which was given to Hawthorn, Collingwood and Carlton and the incredible concessions given to the new franchise clubs in the recent past. Such a boost will help the club's efforts to rise beyond just being competitive and save it from the cruel death meted out to the Fitzroy Football Club two decades ago. If the AFL values its integrity, it will deal out a fair and just result to Melbourne's application for draft assistance to give it the breath of life it so sorely needs.

How poorly does a team have to perform before it qualifies for draft assistance under the current AFL rules? Nobody really knows the answer because the outcome of an application is based on vague guidelines. The AFL Commission is due to draw on these when it determines Melbourne's latest such application at its forthcoming meeting next week. We do know that an application by the club was rejected last year after a number of clubs objected, mainly on the basis of how could the AFL allow such a thing so soon after the so-called "tanking" enquiry (so much for the independence of the AFL Commission)? We shouldn't forget that the two clubs who raged loudest against Melbourne last year were Hawthorn and Collingwood whose presidents joined then AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou on a trip to the United States to study issues surrounding "equalisation" of sporting competitions. Talk about Dracula running the blood bank - the first thing Andrew Newbold and Eddie McGuire did when they stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac at Tullamarine was to complain loud and hard about giving any AFL draft assistance to a team that won only two games in season 2013 and four in the year before. Never mind that their own clubs gratefully accepted priority picks less than a decade earlier which helped land both of them premierships. The Hawks won four games in 2004 and, as a result picked up Jarryd Roughhead at selection 2 (with Buddy Franklin at 4) in that year's national draft while the Magpies snuck in with five wins in 2005. Their priority pick at 2 was Dale Thomas (they got Scott Pendelbury at 5) and nobody made too much noise about the fact that they somehow managed to lose the last eight matches of the season to get their prize. Carlton managed even better when they snared the priority pick three years in a row culminating with the Kreuzer Cup of 2007, completing the "grand slam of tanking" after they lost eleven in a row to finish the season. Yet, Demetriou continued to publicly maintain that there was no such thing as tanking in the AFL. The rules have changed and clubs now need to plead a special case to obtain draft assistance. Melbourne's plight over the best part of an entire decade is well known. The events that led to the "tanking" affair took place in 2009 and the club is under new management making early inroads into its precarious on field situation. To raise that issue again as a bar to assistance five years later would be unconscionable. How many times can a club be punished for doing the same thing, especially after the stronger, more established AFL clubs got away with little more than a cursory look? No, if the AFL is to act responsibly in dealing with Melbourne's application, it must do so on its merits and not pre judge it as Football Operations Manager Mark Evans did recently when he cast doubt the application's chances of succeeding. So while a mere four or five wins was no long ago considered enough to merit a priority pick for the likes of Evans' most recent club Hawthorn, Collingwood and on multiple occasions Carlton, Melbourne has to go begging to the AFL after nine losing seasons and on ten wins in the last three years or an average over that time of just 3⅓ wins per season. The thought is a vulgar to me as the fraction at the end of that number. Melbourne is a club that had no nominees for the 2014 Rising Star, no players in the recently announced AFL Under 22 team, no players on the forty man All-Australian shortlist and not surprisingly, received no mentions at last week's MVP. Melbourne has been one of the hardest hit clubs in terms of recent AFL innovations including the rules relating to the introduction of the new franchise clubs and free agency. Tom Scully was taken when barely out of his teens for compensation that is barely kicking in four years later. The club has lost Jared Rivers, Brent Moloney, Colin Sylvia and most likely now, James Frawley to free agency. Again, it will take time to determine whether the compensation for their loss turns out to be fair and equitable. On top of that, the Demons have been struck blows from unforeseen places to players who under normal circumstances would be close to marquee items, helping to win games and draw crowds to its fixtures. I refer here to Mitch Clark, Liam Jurrah and Austin Wonaeamirri who, but for their extraordinary, sad and well documented circumstances, would be leading a formidable Melbourne forward line capable helping the club to kick winning scores instead of the lows to which we have become accustomed of late. And you can't blame poor administration or coaching on these things. Last year, one of the reasons given for not awarding draft assistance was that the club had the likes of Jesse Hogan in the wings and Clark returning from injury. Look how that turned out! If the AFL is at all serious, it will realise that the Melbourne Football Club is crying out for help and that it must endorse its claim for assistance by giving it an early first round priority pick commensurate to that which was given to Hawthorn, Collingwood and Carlton and the incredible concessions given to the new franchise clubs in the recent past. Such a boost will help the club's efforts to rise beyond just being competitive and save it from the cruel death meted out to the Fitzroy Football Club two decades ago. If the AFL values its integrity, it will deal out a fair and just result to Melbourne's application for draft assistance to give it the breath of life it so sorely needs.

The first-year Demon and ex-Giant entered 2014 with a handful of matches to his name, and by the seasons end was one of Melbournes best players. He showed maturity beyond his 21 years and was an outstanding recruit for the club. Games MFC 2014 22 Career Total 35 Goals MFC 2014 16 Career Total 20 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy 293 votes

Please confine discussion to his qualities as a player. We have a separate thread on The Mitch Clark Status on the other board. Please stay polite.

Struggled to come back from the foot injury which plagued him since mid-2012 and retired early in the year at age 26 after battling depression. Now contemplating a return to the AFL. Games MFC 2014 0 Career Total 97 Goals MFC 2014 0 Career Total 97

Opened the season well scoring goals in the opening rounds but his form dropped slowly before injury put an end to his career by mid-year. Games MFC 2014 6 Career Total 131 Goals MFC 2014 5 Career Total 117 Games CSFC 2014 2 Goals CSFC 2014 3 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy 18 votes

After a promising opening NAB Challenge match against Richmond there was much optimism that Trengove was poised to rejuvenate his career without the burden of the captaincy. However, a broken foot detected in the first month put paid to his season. Games MFC 2014 2 Career Total 81 Goals MFC 2014 0 Career Total 38 Games CSFC 2014 2 Goals CSFC 2014 1 Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy 8 votes