Demon Aaron Davey says he still has another year or two left in him
VETERAN Melbourne forward Aaron Davey hopes to continue playing with the Demons beyond this year.
Out of contract at season's end, the 30-year-old said he is enjoying his football this year despite the Demons' horrific season and hopes the new senior coach will see fit to keep him at the club.
"I still feel like I have another year or two to offer and I look forward to the future," Davey said on Thursday.
"I have loved my time at the Melbourne Football Club and I'll always be grateful for he opportunities the club has given me and hopefully it's not the end of me."
Davey said his focus this year has been to enjoy his football and to maximise his opportunities. He played just eight games last year under Mark Neeld but has already managed nine games in 2013.
There were perceptions that Davey and Neeld did not get on well and the pair were embroiled in the story at the start of last year suggesting that Neeld treated the indigenous players at the club differently to others.
Davey said that the pair had dinner together before Neeld's departure a fortnight ago and he was disappointed to see him go, but also commended the vibrancy interim coach Neil Craig has brought to the playing group.
"He's a pretty funny old man, Craigy, and he has been getting the boys' spirits up. He's been around for a while and he knows what to bring," he said.
"There's a bit of power about Neil. It might be because he's pretty passionate and likes to get in the boys' faces. Its good."
Davey admitted it was frustrating to be in the midst of yet another rebuild at Melbourne.
"Realistically, it is unlikely I'l never get to experience playing in a Grand Final," he said.
"There's still a bit of hope. You never know. With the right coach, with this magic dust that Craigy talks about, perhaps he can sprinkle it on us and we could be playing outside here (at the MCG) in September."
To that end, he urged the club to appoint an experienced coach for next season saying the club needed to learn from its mistakes.
"They tried two inexperienced coaches and obviously things didn't go to plan. So if that's the case, (new chief executive) Peter Jackson is a smart guy and he'll know who to get for the job," he said.
Davey was joined Thursday by his sister Bronwyn, who will be playing for Melbourne in the women's match between the Demons and the Bulldogs on Saturday evening at the MCG.
The match will be a curtain-raiser to the AFL clash and is part of the League's women's round festivities.
"For these ladies to be give the opportunity and more so, for my sister to play in the red and blue will sit pretty high in the memories of the Davey family," he said.
Bronwyn is older than both Aaron and brother Alwyn, who plays for Essendon. Her background was originally as a touch footballer before she started playing the contact game just five years ago. From all reports she is more an inside player than her better known brothers, both who are small forwards.
"I am extremely excited," she said. "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to play on the 'G. It's going to be awesome because at his stage, not many females are going to get the opportunity."
"When I run out I'm just going to have to block out the crowd. I'm used to playing in front of 20 people, or maybe a 1000 in the Northern Territory and that's nerve-wracking. This is going to make me really nervous," she said.
Ashley Browne is an AFL Media senior writer. @afl_hashbrowne
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