For what has been a tumultuous decade for the Melbourne Demons, the club looks to have produced a number of players who may just go down as future club legends.
The Dees have only managed to reach September just once in that time, and while the highly sought after top draft selections came their way, only a few have lived up to the hype.
Many of the club's current best have erected from outside of the club's first-round picks or via father-son selection, with the clubs current future relying on those from their more glorified past.
Five players have won the honour of being selected into the league's All-Australian side over the past 10 seasons, with just the seven total selections shared between the quintet.
After going backwards this season, Melbourne will be desperate to start the new decade with a fresher start, hopefully matching the season they had in 2018.
4. Tom McDonald
Tom McDonald has become a very dependable swingman for the Demons across his nine years with the club.
Starting as a key defender, McDonald matured into a problem for opposition forwards before transitioning into a forward himself.
McDonald was named the club's best young player in 2012 and by the end of 2013 was one of his side's best performers across a 17-game season.
McDonald played all but one match between 2014 and 2016, a period which saw the Demons' backline improve immensely and McDonald finished on the podium of the best and fairest in 2015.
2017 was a split year for the hard-hitting Demon, starting the year in defence before a move forward following the absence of Jesse Hogan. McDonald booted 13 goals across three weeks, a spell that included a five-goal haul against the Eagles that saw him win the game with seconds remaining.
McDonald also polled nine Brownlow votes in 2017.
McDonald was used solely as a key forward for Melbourne's 2018 campaign, where he booted 53 goals and was the club's leading goalkicker despite missing the opening five rounds. McDonald was pivotal in the Demons push deep into September.
Alike his side, McDonald couldn't recapture the form of 2018 and struggled in front of goal, kicking multiple goals in just four games. McDonald finished with 15 games for the season after a knee injury ended his 2019 campaign.
McDonald currently sits at 161 AFL games for the Demons, booting 102 goals (94 from his last three seasons) and is seen as one of the league's toughest match-ups at both ends of the ground.
