There was never any doubt about the talent on Melbourne’s list, but the mental fortitude had big question marks over it going into 2018, and the previous year’s final stumble meant no one was taking anything for granted this time around.
A pre-season camp coup threw further shadows over who runs the club and gave the appearance to outsiders of a self-entitled bunch of spoilt brats continuing to get well ahead of themselves.
But they made it to September and blew away anyone who thought they might not be the real thing … until three weeks later when they put in possibly the most insipid finals display seen in the AFL for years.
So have the Demons shed their demons, or is it possible for a group boasting names like Oliver, Gawn, Petracca, Brayshaw, Viney, Lever, McDonald and May to shoot themselves in the foot again?
List changes
In
Steven May (Gold Coast), Kade Kolodjashnij (Gold Coast), Braydon Preuss (North Melbourne), Tom Sparrow (South Adelaide), James Jordan (Oakleigh Chargers), Aaron Nietschke (Central District), Marty Hore (Collingwood VFL), Toby Bedford (Dandenong Stingrays)
Rookies
Kade Chandler (Norwood)
Out
Dom Tyson, Dean Kent, Jesse Hogan, Tom Bugg, Lochie Filipovic, Dion Johnstone, Mitch King, Pat McKenna, Cameron Pedersen, Harley Balic, Bernie Vince
Best Brownlow chances
Max Gawn $21, Angus Brayshaw $26, Clayton Oliver $26, Jack Viney $67
The only thing stopping a Melbourne player winning the 2019 Brownlow Medal is all the other Demons stealing the votes.
Gawn finished fourth in 2018, the highest a ruckman has placed for many years and there’s no reason to think the league’s most dominant big guy won’t be up there again.
Brayshaw’s third place was one hell of a surprise and suggests he has whatever it is umpires like. As good as he was last season, he’s only getting better as he gains confidence after early-career concussion problems and should prove a real Brownlow chance.
And then there’s Oliver, although he doesn’t seem to attract votes as easily as others. Whether that’s due to the way he plays, the way he looks or his way of simply ‘being’ is unclear … but understandable.
Players to watch
Tom McDonald, Christian Petracca
McDonald has been a revelation as a key forward since being shifted from defence to cover for the often-missing Jesse Hogan. Now Hogan’s gone for good the expectations on ‘T-Mc’ will go through the roof and it will be interesting to see how he handles it.
The hype around Petracca has been big for a while, but there are doubts whether he’s delivered anywhere near what he’s promised. If he’s going to live up to the reputation bestowed upon him, the first thing Petracca needs to do is spend more time in the midfield and save his forward forays for Dustin Martin-type bursts.
A last chance to watch?
Jordan Lewis, Jeff Garlett
Lewis is entering the third and last year of his contract at Melbourne, something that looked unlikely at times in 2018, but he believes he can go on even further. Watching his contributions as the Demons’ campaign wore on would suggest an extension is unlikely, especially the error-riddled preliminary final display he put in against West Coast.
You can't give gifts like that to Josh Kennedy! #AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/thzRzFD1i1
— AFL (@AFL) September 22, 2018
Former Blue Garlett is only 29 but comes out of contract at a time when a lot of young teammates are fighting for a spot, including Next Generation Academy draftee Toby Bedford who could well find himself in the seniors sooner rather than later.
Melbourne Demons’ 2019 list
| No. | Name | Games | Date of birth | Height, weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Baker, Oskar | 0 | 25 May 1998 | 184cm 79kg | Forward |
| 12 | Bedford, Toby | 0 | 178cm 69kg | Forward | |
| 10 | Brayshaw, Angus | 58 | 9 Jan 1996 | 187cm 87kg | Midfield |
| Chandler, Kade (R) | 0 | Forward | |||
| 31 | Fritsch, Bayley | 23 | 6 Dec 1996 | 188cm 81kg | Forward |
| 17 | Frost, Sam | 69 | 28 Aug 1993 | 194cm 95kg | Defender |
| 36 | Garlett, Jeff | 178 | 3 Aug 1989 | 180cm 72kg | Forward |
| 11 | Gawn, Max | 99 | 30 Dec 1991 | 208cm 109kg | Ruck |
| 19 | Hannan, Mitchell | 35 | 9 Mar 1994 | 189cm 87kg | Forward |
| 4 | Harmes, James | 69 | 5 Oct 1995 | 185cm 86kg | Midfield |
| 14 | Hibberd, Michael | 123 | 3 Jan 1990 | 186cm 93kg | Defender |
| 34 | Hore, Marty | 0 | 190cm 82kg | Defender | |
| 29 | Hunt, Jayden | 47 | 3 Apr 1995 | 187cm 83kg | Defender |
| 39 | Jetta, Neville | 141 | 12 Feb 1990 | 180cm 82kg | Defender |
| 2 | Jones, Nathan | 264 | 20 Jan 1988 | 180cm 87kg | Midfield |
| 23 | Jordan, James | 0 | 186cm 81kg | Midfield | |
| 45 | Keilty, Declan (R) | 0 | 8 May 1995 | 194cm 95kg | Defender |
| 24 | Kennedy-Harris, Jay | 34 | 21 Mar 1995 | 173cm 75kg | Midfield |
| 16 | Kolodjashnij, Kade | 78 | 9 Aug 1995 | 190cm 85kg | Defender |
| 8 | Lever, Jake | 67 | 5 Mar 1996 | 195cm 92kg | Defender |
| 6 | Lewis, Jordan | 307 | 24 Apr 1986 | 186cm 86kg | Defender |
| 1 | May, Steven | 123 | 10 Jan 1992 | 193cm 102kg | Defender |
| 20 | Maynard, Corey (R) | 2 | 7 Oct 1991 | 185cm 89kg | Midfield |
| 28 | McDonald, Oscar | 62 | 18 Mar 1996 | 196cm 100kg | Defender |
| 25 | McDonald, Tom | 146 | 18 Sep 1992 | 194cm 100kg | Forward |
| 18 | Melksham, Jake | 156 | 29 Aug 1991 | 186cm 83kg | Forward |
| 30 | Neal-Bullen, Alex | 59 | 9 Jan 1996 | 182cm 80kg | Forward |
| 27 | Nietschke, Aaron | 0 | Forward | ||
| 13 | Oliver, Clayton | 60 | 22 Jul 1997 | 187cm 83kg | Midfield |
| 5 | Petracca, Christian | 63 | 4 Jan 1996 | 186cm 96kg | Midfield |
| 35 | Petty, Harrison | 1 | 12 Nov 1999 | 197cm 83kg | Defender |
| 31 | Preuss, Braydon | 8 | 16 Jun 1995 | 206cm 109kg | Ruck |
| 3 | Salem, Christian | 70 | 15 Jul 1995 | 183cm 81kg | Midfield |
| 44 | Smith, Joel | 11 | 25 Feb 1996 | 191cm 88kg | Defender |
| 38 | Smith, Tim (R) | 6 | 20 Feb 1991 | 192cm 95kg | Forward |
| 9 | Spargo, Charlie | 18 | 25 Nov 1999 | 173cm 71kg | Forward |
| 32 | Sparrow, Tom | 0 | 183cm 83kg | Midfield | |
| 15 | Stretch, Billy | 38 | 8 Sep 1996 | 180cm 77kg | Midfield |
| 22 | Vandenberg, Aaron | 35 | 3 Mar 1992 | 188cm 90kg | Forward |
| 7 | Viney, Jack | 98 | 13 Apr 1994 | 178cm 87kg | Midfield |
| 41 | Wagner, Corey | 8 | 23 Mar 1997 | 180cm 75kg | Forward |
| 42 | Wagner, Joshua | 28 | 24 Jun 1994 | 189cm 84kg | Defender |
| 26 | Weideman, Sam | 20 | 26 Jun 1997 | 195cm 97kg | Forward |
Monday grind. ✊ pic.twitter.com/mGVbTvjZAH
— Melbourne FC (@melbournefc) December 10, 2018
Melbourne Demons’ 2019 Fixture
| Round | Date | Opponent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saturday 23 Mar 1:45pm | Port Adelaide | MCG |
| 2 | Saturday 30 Mar 7:25pm | Geelong | GMHBA Stadium |
| 3 | Friday 5 Apr 7:50pm | Essendon | MCG |
| 4 | Thursday 11 Apr 7:20pm | Sydney | SCG |
| 5 | Saturday 20 Apr 4:35pm | St Kilda | MCG |
| 6 | Wednesday 24 Apr 7:35pm | Richmond | MCG |
| 7 | Saturday 4 May 1:45pm | Hawthorn | MCG |
| 8 | Saturday 11 May 4:35pm | Gold Coast | Metricon Stadium |
| 9 | Friday 17 May 6:10pm | West Coast | Optus Stadium |
| 10 | Sunday 26 May 1:10pm | GWS Giants | MCG |
| 11 | Saturday 1 Jun 7:10pm | Adelaide | TIO Stadium |
| 12 | Monday 10 Jun 3:20pm | Collingwood | MCG |
| 13 | BYE | ||
| 14 | Saturday 22 Jun 1:45pm | Fremantle | MCG |
| 15 | Sunday 30 Jun 3:20pm | Brisbane | Gabba |
| 16 | Sunday 7 Jul 1:10pm | Carlton | MCG |
| 17 | Sunday 14 Jul 3:20pm | Western Bulldogs | Marvel Stadium |
| 18 | Sunday 21 Jul 2:50pm | West Coast TIO | Traegar Park |
| 19 | Saturday 27 Jul 7:25pm | St Kilda | Marvel Stadium |
| 20 | Saturday 3 Aug 7:25pm | Richmond | MCG |
| 21 | Saturday 10 Aug 1:45pm | Collingwood | MCG |
| 22 | Friday 16 Aug 7:50pm | Sydney | MCG |
| 23 | TBC | North Melbourne | Blundstone Arena |
Games played on
Wednesday: 1
Thursday: 1
Friday: 3
Saturday: 10
Sunday: 5
Monday: 1
Teams played twice
Sydney, Richmond, St Kilda, Collingwood, West Coast
2019 Preview and premiership odds
The Demons’ 2018 may have finished on a massive low, but the bookies saw enough to start them as fourth favourites for the 2019 flag at $8.00.
Oliver, Brayshaw, Viney, Petracca, Gawn, Nathan Jones and Christian Salem make up an almost limitless midfield, while the recruitment of Steven May and return of Jake Lever from injury will see the defence as close to impenetrable as any in the AFL.
The forward line is where Melbourne is possibly underdone now Hogan has left, but if Sam Weideman can keep progressing and give Tom McDonald some help, the goals will come.
It’s hard to disagree with Champion Data when the stats gurus rated the Demons’ list the strongest in the league, but that’s all on paper.
The problem for Melbourne in recent times has been above the neck, not below it, and we won’t know if anything’s changed until next October comes around.