Oscar McDonald admits his delisting by Melbourne hurt, but says the blow was softened by the way the club handled it.
The 24-year-old defender was cut by the Demons earlier this week after 81 games in the red and blue over six seasons.
McDonald has revealed how the exit talks went down and despite the resounding disappointment, he was pleased with how the message was conveyed by the Dees.
“It’s been well communicated by Melbourne and through my manager and myself,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“When I had the meeting I knew what was going to happen and how it was going to go down, so it wasn’t completely unexpected.
“In saying that, it is a bit of a kick in the guts and a bit disappointing that my time is up at Melbourne, but the way it was handled lessened the blow a little bit.
“The last two weeks have been alright. I’ve just tried to put it at the back of my mind and what will happen will happen.”
McDonald gave further insight into the specifics of his meeting which took place with recruiting officer Tim Lamb and coach Simon Goodwin.
“It was short and sharp and in this current climate it was over Zoom so you didn’t get that face to face connection that you normally would,” he added.
“We had a quick chat and they said it wasn’t going to happen for the next year.
“The communication leading up to it made it much better for both parties, I think.
“So I’m looking forward from here and seeing what will pan out in the next couple of weeks. It will be interesting.”
McDonald, who played seven games in 2020, is holding onto hope that one of the 17 other clubs will look to offer him an AFL lifeline via the Pre-Season Draft.
“I’d be really excited to receive another opportunity at another AFL club if that was to transpire,” he said further.
“I’d jump at the chance if that was the case.
“Over the next couple of weeks, hopefully, there’s a few conversations had. If not I’ll just have to move on to a different part of my life and see how that goes.
“But at the moment I’m fully intent to pursue another football club.”