Bluelegs
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In the lead-up to the 2012 draft, Melbourne were broadly expected to take Ollie Wines with their first pick. One of the highest-rated players in the draft, he was also best friends with Melbourne's highly fancied father-son recruit that year, Jack Viney.
Draft night came, and Melbourne surprisingly decided to take Jimmy Toumpas with their first selection. Ollie Wines would later be picked by Port Adelaide with their first-round pick.
As it happened, Melbourne would face off against Port Adelaide in the first round of 2013. Unfortunately, Port Adelaide went on to win the game by 79 points, with Ollie Wines collecting 24 disposals, 16 contested posessions, seven marks (two contested), three tackles, and a goal. He went on to be nominated for the Rising Star award for his performance.
Toumpas, on the other hand, managed just nine disposals, three marks, two tackles, and a behind. He would later be traded to Port Adelaide for their third-round pick at the end of 2015.
In 2014, Melbourne brought in legendary coach Paul Roos to turn their fortunes around. Despite some improvement in their performances, wins were still scant for Melbourne that season. In Round 15, they faced another rebuilding team, the Western Bulldogs, at Etihad Stadium.
Tightly contested all afternoon, Melbourne very nearly found themselves in a winning position—until a young man in his first season managed to kick a spectacular goal to win the game for the Bulldogs. The goal was so celebrated that it later went on to win that season’s Goal of the Year award. The man in question was Marcus Bontempelli.
In early 2024, Melbourne still believed they were in premiership contention. They had made a reasonable start to the season and sat fourth on the ladder going into a game against the struggling West Coast Eagles.
That is, until they ran into the previous draft’s number one pick—Harley Reid. Reid played the most exciting game of his short career, kicking two goals and making Melbourne's highly vaunted midfield look silly. One of his goals also went on to win that season’s Goal of the Year award:
Draft night came, and Melbourne surprisingly decided to take Jimmy Toumpas with their first selection. Ollie Wines would later be picked by Port Adelaide with their first-round pick.
As it happened, Melbourne would face off against Port Adelaide in the first round of 2013. Unfortunately, Port Adelaide went on to win the game by 79 points, with Ollie Wines collecting 24 disposals, 16 contested posessions, seven marks (two contested), three tackles, and a goal. He went on to be nominated for the Rising Star award for his performance.
Toumpas, on the other hand, managed just nine disposals, three marks, two tackles, and a behind. He would later be traded to Port Adelaide for their third-round pick at the end of 2015.
In 2014, Melbourne brought in legendary coach Paul Roos to turn their fortunes around. Despite some improvement in their performances, wins were still scant for Melbourne that season. In Round 15, they faced another rebuilding team, the Western Bulldogs, at Etihad Stadium.
Tightly contested all afternoon, Melbourne very nearly found themselves in a winning position—until a young man in his first season managed to kick a spectacular goal to win the game for the Bulldogs. The goal was so celebrated that it later went on to win that season’s Goal of the Year award. The man in question was Marcus Bontempelli.
In early 2024, Melbourne still believed they were in premiership contention. They had made a reasonable start to the season and sat fourth on the ladder going into a game against the struggling West Coast Eagles.
That is, until they ran into the previous draft’s number one pick—Harley Reid. Reid played the most exciting game of his short career, kicking two goals and making Melbourne's highly vaunted midfield look silly. One of his goals also went on to win that season’s Goal of the Year award:
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