Will Melbourne rise up or fall away in season 2023? Josh Jenkins has laid out what he thinks will be the chief reason for either scenario.
After winning the flag in 2021 and starting 2022 with 10 consecutive wins, the Dees dropped away and ultimately bowed out in the second week of September.
Jenkins believes their off-season acquisition of Brodie Grundy and his partnership with fellow star ruckman Max Gawn could potentially be what elevates the Dees back to the top – particularly if the club gets creative with their utilisation.
“It’s got to be the tap brothers – no one, at their best, will have an answer for that unstoppable rucking force,” Jenkins told SEN Mornings.
“If these two guys can work out how to coexist and play in the front half or the back half, a lot of people are saying one will be in the ruck and one will be resting at full forward, I don’t think that will necessarily be the case.
“There’s plenty of other ways you can go about business. If Melbourne are to rise, I think it will be largely because of the powerhouse in the ruck with Gawn and Grundy.”
If the Dees are to drop away in 2023, Jenkins believes it will be because they are yet to solve their forward half headaches.
Melbourne was a team that struggled to turn inside 50s into goals last season, with their forward line in flux across 2022.
“The fall might be the flaws in the forward half. We’ve seen their issues in the forward half. They get countless entries (inside 50) without being able to turn them into goals,” Jenkins said.
“We saw Sam Weideman get opportunities and he’s now a Bomber. Tom McDonald returning will be important. Ben Brown has had to play a role that he’s not in love with and hopefully he gets the opportunity to be the player he was at the Kangaroos.
“That might be the thing that causes Melbourne to fall if they do, but I think there are more reasons for them to rise than to fall.”
Melbourne will be hoping to fine tune their structures when they host Richmond in an official practice match on March 4th.
