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DELISTED Melbourne forward Chris Dawes believes he still has plenty of good footy left in the tank, but concedes he is yet to field any significant offers from AFL clubs offering him a lifeline.
Dawes was not offered a new contract by the Demons having managed just six matches in his final year at the club in 2016.
The 28-year-old played 50 games in four seasons at Melbourne, with a string of calf problems restricting him from getting out on the field on a regular basis.
Dawes had hoped to remain at Melbourne but does not see this latest setback spelling an end to his 121-game career.
"I reckon they (the Demons) really are on the cusp of finals, particularly with the list that they’ve built and I saw a spot for myself there as a senior player who is able to do a lot of the heavy lifting and help these young players if I can absorb some physical pressure for them,” Dawes told Melbourne radio station RSN.
"But obviously the club saw it differently.”
Dawes said the calls from other clubs were yet to come, but he was holding onto hope one might take a chance on him as a delisted free agent.
The delisted free agency period opens on November 1.
"Not to me directly," Dawes said when asked about interest from other clubs.
"I don’t know, maybe that's not a great sign.
"I don’t see it as the end, I still reckon I’ve got a lot of good footy to offer certain teams so I’m hoping I can get another opportunity."
Dawes said it was frustrating during the season that he was not able to prove he deserved another opportunity at the Demons in 2017 because of his constant injury issues.
"Looking back on it I can kind of see why because there was the frustration on their part of my not being able to get out on the park often enough, but obviously it frustrated me as well," Dawes said.
"Leaving the club it's not so much shock, it's more just disappointment because I've been through four pretty tough years at the Dees and I knew when I went there from Collingwood that it was going to be tough going at first, but with the amount of young talent they had I was expecting things to get pretty good."
A 2010 premiership player at Collingwood, Dawes signed a lucrative four-year deal at Melbourne when he crossed from the Pies in the 2012 NAB AFL Trade Period.
Dawes played 50 games and kicked 47 goals with Melbourne, having kicked 83 goals from 71 games with Collingwood from 2007-12.
