Traded #17: Jake Melksham - Traded to Melbourne for pick 25

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yaco55

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Given the tension for most of last night I wasn't paying attention. Was Melksham defending/running with?

I was happy with his performance which, like his game against Geelong on replay, I thought was a good defensive performance.

I then had a look at the stat sheet which was horrible, horrible reading.

What does everyone else think? Re-assessing his performances is one of the reasons I am so keen to watch the replay.
Very good game - Rated him 7th best player - Played mainly on wingard. Seemed like Baguley played on Monfries.
 

Ben the Gooner

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Given the tension for most of last night I wasn't paying attention. Was Melksham defending/running with?

I was happy with his performance which, like his game against Geelong on replay, I thought was a good defensive performance.

I then had a look at the stat sheet which was horrible, horrible reading.

What does everyone else think? Re-assessing his performances is one of the reasons I am so keen to watch the replay.
Hartlett I'm pretty sure.
 

BrunoV

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Very good game - Rated him 7th best player - Played mainly on wingard. Seemed like Baguley played on Monfries.


Think that he did jobs on Wingard, Monfries and Hartlett (in the last).

Replay confirms that he did a good job. It is the second good job in the two weeks.
 

yaco55

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Think that he did jobs on Wingard, Monfries and Hartlett (in the last).

Replay confirms that he did a good job. It is the second good job in the two weeks.
Exactly right - But he allegedly played well against Adelaide when he got 24 possessions - Melksham can do a decent job in a run-with role - But is what we need for the team ?
 

Vander18

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Exactly right - But he allegedly played well against Adelaide when he got 24 possessions - Melksham can do a decent job in a run-with role - But is what we need for the team ?
Not really but the evidence is mounting that he plays better when given a job. If he had Wingard then he had a good one...was hardly called in the first three quarters.
 

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BrunoV

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I agree that melksham is solid at performing a job - But do we need more or expect more ?

We certainly need more. He doesn't fit into the defence and if he is just following an opposition midfielder around we're losing run in the midfield because Melksham is not providing it.
 

hurlygurdy

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We certainly need more. He doesn't fit into the defence and if he is just following an opposition midfielder around we're losing run in the midfield because Melksham is not providing it.
He's like a high risk, high return investment isn't he? You kind of feel like if we can keep him in the team somehow then eventually we will get some undisclosed, unidentified massive return. But when it hasn't happened at 100 games? Even TRB must be getting a little nervous about him... He may end up a tagger? He seems to have that single minded intensity at least.
 

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If Melksham can play like he has been the last few weeks I think there's a spot for him. He hasn't been a liability, and he's been performing a valuable role for us. If he can work a little more attacking play into his game whilst doing the same job defensively then I'm happy for him to stay in for now. The end of 2013 showed he has that attacking element, he just needs to find a way to work it into his current role.

We're not yet at the point where we can go head to head with the best midfields in the comp, we need the option of having someone other than Hocking to clamp down on an opposition player.
 

Darealrath

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If Melksham can play like he has been the last few weeks I think there's a spot for him. He hasn't been a liability, and he's been performing a valuable role for us. If he can work a little more attacking play into his game whilst doing the same job defensively then I'm happy for him to stay in for now. The end of 2013 showed he has that attacking element, he just needs to find a way to work it into his current role.

We're not yet at the point where we can go head to head with the best midfields in the comp, we need the option of having someone other than Hocking to clamp down on an opposition player.
Agree. Especially since Hocking often plays more of a run-with than stop-at-all-costs tag.
 

Vander18

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I agree that melksham is solid at performing a job - But do we need more or expect more ?
We absoloutely need more from him and he's showed in the past he can do more.If his career ends up being defined by run-with roles then he'll have under achieved.

Like Paddy Ryder, if you look at the sum of his parts in isloation they suggest he could do much more.
 

CakeButcher

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He's a top 10 player from his draft. (FWIW Fyfe, Martin, Cunnington, Jetta, Duncan, Christenson, Carlisle and Black are the ones I have ahead)
2009 was the worst draft in recent memory and therefore it's not much to hand your hat on anyway, even then I'd have Fyfe, Carlisle, Gunston, Black, Cunnington, Jetta, Talia, Duncan, Christenson, Stratton, Reid, Scully, Bastinac ahead, and that doesn't include rookie picks(Barlow, Crameri). I don't loathe him but if we are to contend:
1. He needs to improve out of sight, well beyond anything he has shown so far, with consistency.
2. He needs to be replaced by a more capable person.
 

Big Fresh

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2009 was the worst draft in recent memory and therefore it's not much to hand your hat on anyway, even then I'd have Fyfe, Carlisle, Gunston, Black, Cunnington, Jetta, Talia, Duncan, Christenson, Stratton, Reid, Scully, Bastinac ahead, and that doesn't include rookie picks(Barlow, Crameri). I don't loathe him but if we are to contend:
1. He needs to improve out of sight, well beyond anything he has shown so far, with consistency.
2. He needs to be replaced by a more capable person.
Melksham is better than Reid, Scully, and Bastinac. He's also not much worse than Black despite all of the hype surrounding him.
 

Orazio2Joe

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Melksham is better than Reid, Scully, and Bastinac. He's also not much worse than Black despite all of the hype surrounding him.
Aaron Black? Melksham is much better than Black at this point. Black has a lot more upside, but he has not been able to show that for more than a qtr every 6 or so games.
 

Zach Package

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Signs of life?

He wasn't great by any means, but i reckon there was signs of him getting a bit of his swag back, that cheeky little flick on and u-turn was vintage Melksham, and him trying to take mark of the year is something he just wouldn't have done 6 weeks ago, knowing him he would have run straight into the goal post or something
 

Matthew_Lloyd

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Wasn't "bad" today. Was quiet, but he worked into the game in the last quarter. Him tapping the ball over his head to make Beams look like an idiot was awesome, and the signs are good if he is working up the confidence to do things like that. He is exactly like Hooker (and Carlisle to a degree), in that they flourish when they play with confidence. Arrogant Melk = Good Melk
 
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