Melbourne made the decision to omit former club captain Nathan Jones for Round 4’s clash with Essendon.
The long-time club stalwart had a quiet afternoon in their win over the Blues and has been overlooked in favour of a younger brigade.
Jordan Lewis is a former teammate of Jones and knows how it feels to be a player at the end of a career dropped from the seniors and says it would hurt his pride.
“It’s hard (to be dropped). Your pride takes a bit of a hit,” Lewis told AFL Nation.
“Also, in a season where there is no place to put your hand up for selection. There are scratch matches, how much the coaches read into those we don’t necessarily know.
“Whenever a player is entering their final two years of football they have to be accepting that they might not be in the side for a consistent part of the season and I dealt with the same things last season.
“The more you can accept that as a player, the better off the club is for it, but certainly the better off you are as a player.
“You’re pissed (about being dropped). Absolutely. Everyone’s got an ego and you want to be a part of the side you’ve been a part of for the last 15 years.”
“It’s a little bit embarrassing in a way, but you need to put your pride aside and understand that the club is always bigger than the player.
“You certainly don’t want to burn any bridges, you don’t want to be bitter with the club, you’ve got to go out there and put yourself in a position to be selected and that is the hardest part of being an experienced player.”
Lewis added that the trust and respect between coach Simon Goodwin and Jones would have helped him come to terms with the decision.