STEWART Crameri believes Melbourne could be an AFL lifeline after he was delisted by the Western Bulldogs.  

It's been a bitter-sweet past 24 hours for the 29-year-old, with the birth of daughter Remi coming just hours after he was told his career at Whitten Oval was over.  

Crameri says his axing came as a "little bit of a surprise", but he believes he still has plenty to offer at AFL level and could be a replacement for Jack Watts at the Demons.  

The hard-running forward has a relationship with coach Simon Goodwin from his time at Essendon, while Dees performance manager and former Dogs coach Brendan McCartney was one of the big reasons Crameri left the Bombers at the end of 2013.  

"Maybe the Dees as a replacement for Jack (Watts)," Crameri told SEN on Thursday morning.  

"(Goodwin and McCartney) were at Essendon when I was there in 2011, so I get on with them really well.  

"I think I can fit in at most teams, to be honest ... (I could) help out with (Melbourne's) forward structure, help out some younger guys and try and develop them.  

"Whether it's (helping) Jesse Hogan kick 40, 50 or 60 goals."  

Strangely, Crameri politely declined Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge's offer to explain the delisting after just 99 career games, but it dawned on him later that playing just two games over the past two seasons was a major factor.  

A hip injury ruined his 2017 campaign and he missed the Bulldogs' 2016 premiership due to a 12-month ban for his part in the Essendon supplements scandal.  

"I didn't ask for too many reasons, and Luke asked if I wanted to know, but I said 'it's fine, it's fine'," Crameri said.  

"Later on, I realised it was because I missed 24 months of football.    

"It's a bitter pill to swallow because I know I have three or four seasons left in me.  

"I'm really fresh mentally, really fresh mentally, so it's hard to fathom that it may be over, but hopefully I get another chance somewhere else."