Luke Jackson has already picked up a Rising Star nomination in his six games for Melbourne last season. Photo: AFL MEDIA
Melbourne heads into season 2021 under the weight of considerable pressure and expectation.
After making it to a preliminary final in 2018, the Demons have missed the top eight the last two years, and a third consecutive bottom-10 finish could ensure far-reaching ramifications throughout the club.
The Demons have recognised that they must strike while the iron is hot, topping up their playing list with former North Melbourne forward Ben Brown, who will unfortunately be sidelined for a further four to six weeks after recent knee surgery.
But it’s going to take more than big-name recruits from other clubs for Melbourne to realise its finals aspiration, and the following four youngsters might just give the Dees the nudge they require to return to the September action.
JAKE BOWEY
Admittedly, the first-year player and son of former St Kilda rover Brett Bowey isn’t a lock for senior game time this year, but he has been so impressive over the summer that he might just bust his way in.
The Demons’ top pick from last year (No.21 overall) has a beautiful kick on him, and although he spent most of his junior career playing midfield and half-forward, the club’s plan is to exploit his exquisite foot skills on the half-back line.
In fact, the 18-year-old is so promising that, given his small stature of 175centimetres and 67 kilograms, he might even become a future Caleb Daniel for the Demons.
“He’s very strong at ground level and in the contest for someone his size,” Melbourne assistant coach Troy Chaplin told Footyology.
“We’ve been really happy with some of his stuff in our games, and he obviously got to play last week against the Dogs, and showed some stuff in the Richmond ‘twos’ game as well.
“The thing with these new draftees is they just haven’t played footy for 12 months [due to the pandemic] so the expectation we’ve got to be mindful of, just for them to be playing at the moment is a bonus – that’s the biggest thing for them.”
LUKE JACKSON
The former No.3 draft pick already showed enormous potential in his first season last year, playing six games, kicking three goals and averaging nine disposals.
The promising ruckman/key position prospect collected a Rising Star nomination for his round 10 performance against Adelaide, which included two majors and 14 hit-outs, while he also won the Harold Ball Memorial Trophy as Melbourne’s best first-year player.
However, with back-up ruck Braydon Preuss now at Greater Western Sydney and the Demons’ forward line bereft of Brown (knee) and Sam Weideman (leg) due to injury in the short term, all of a sudden Jackson looms as an important member of the best 22 at just 19 years of age.
“We’re really happy with how he’s progressing. He’s got bigger and stronger in the gym this year, he’s going to allow us to use ‘Gawny’ [Max Gawn] forward of the ball at times as well,” Chaplin said.
“Probably Luke’s biggest strength is, although being a 200-centimetre ruckman/forward, he actually hunts the ball like a midfielder. We’ve even toyed with the possibility of throwing him on the ball at times as a bit of a wildcard.
“Obviously, having a pretty strong basketball background, you can see that [mobility] in his game. He just gets a hand in in marking contests when he looks out of position and he’s able to bring the ball to ground.”
With fewer rotations permitted for each club this year, longer quarters and a longer season, Jackson’s role in the team promises to become even more vital in 2021.
“What we actually found through games in the pre-season is that if we weren’t getting the clearance battle our way, throwing ‘Jacko’ in the ruck and playing Max forward can change the dynamic a little bit,” Chaplin said.
“It’s something that if things aren’t looking the way they [should be], it’s a move we’ve got up our sleeve.”
JAMES JORDON
Of all the youngsters on Melbourne’s list, this kid has been the standout over the pre-season.
With the likes of Angus Brayshaw and Jack Viney spending considerable time in rehab this summer due to foot injuries, Jordon has grabbed his chance with both hands and impressed the match committee greatly with his work in the primary midfield group.
He might only be on the Demons’ rookie list without a senior game to his name, but as he heads into his third season at the club, the 20-year-old looks primed to have a huge impact.
“To his credit he’s come back in unbelievable condition in terms of his running capacity,” Chaplin said.
“Over the summer, he’s improved it dramatically, and he’s probably not the most gifted guy but he is a real workhorse and two-way runner, so he’s starting to complement our group in there.”
Making Jordon’s strong case for regular senior selection this year even more impressive was his ability to fully recover from a gruesome injury sustained last year in a freak gym mishap.
“He would have played last year in the hub, but unfortunately he nearly ripped his finger off when he got it jammed in weights,” Chaplin said. “He ripped the top of it off and had to have plastic surgery, he nearly lost it, so he’s had a little bit of bad luck along the way.
“It was amazing because the skin itself actually died and they weren’t sure if it was going to grow back, so he was very, very lucky not to lose the tip of his finger.
“But he’s certainly one that with more opportunity this pre-season he’s been able to thrive, which is a real positive, because it’ll give us a different dynamic in there [midfield] now.”
With that gym drama well and truly behind him, Jordon now has his sights set on not only cementing a spot in the Demons’ engine room but also becoming a valuable contributor.
“I think what we’ve seen over the last couple of years is we know what [Christian] Petracca, [Clayton] Oliver, Viney and Brayshaw can do, I think what we need to do though is have more guys go through and change our mix in there, and he’s one of those guys,” Chaplin said.
“What ‘JJ’ can do is run defensively, but he also can hit the scoreboard as well and he can play forward, so that midfield-forward-type player, we’ve found one there.”
TRENT RIVERS
Like Jackson, Rivers got a good taste of AFL footy last year and was just as impressive in his role as a rebounding defender.
The 19-year-old managed nine games, including the last five of the season, averaging 14 touches and kicking two goals.
Those two six-pointers came during the best performance of his young career so far, when he put the dagger in GWS hearts in round 17 to all but end the Giants’ finals hopes. Displaying those match-winning abilities in a tense situation at such an early age has understandably got the Demons hierarchy excited about the kid’s future.
“He’s really developing into a very handy player because what he provides for us is a penetrating and efficient kick across off half-back,” Chaplin said.
“’Riv’ gives us some run from behind, so I think the thing that he has really developed over the past 12-18 months is, the offensive side of his game comes naturally to him, [but] what we’ve really had to educate him on is how to defend and put him in really good positions to defend, and he’s starting to pick that up, so what we’re starting to see is a bit more of a well-rounded player.”
