With two high-end draftees in hand and their star midfielders staying put, Melbourne are adamant they can once again contend for the AFL premiership.
After bidding on Brisbane father-son gun Levi Ashcroft, the Demons added powerful midfielder Harvey Langford with pick No.6, before drafting versatile on-baller Xavier Lindsay five picks later.
Gun on-ballers Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver both agitated for moves away from the embattled Demons ahead of the trade period, despite having lucrative long-term contracts, but stayed.
Melbourne hope their latest boom draftees can complement Oliver and Petracca as they chase a finals return.
"It rejuvenates us, and hopefully it makes us better," Demons recruiting manager Jason Taylor said.
"They'll come in and complement those two (Petracca and Oliver).
"They're at that age now where they're right in their prime, Christian and Clayton, and with that comes added responsibility of leadership.
"And it's a really good opportunity for them to guide those boys in the right direction and teach them what they know and provide some energy throughout."
When asked if Melbourne had the list to contend, Taylor said: "Absolutely".
He is confident hitting the draft while chasing a flag is the right balance.
"We just value the draft and obviously value trade and free agency as well," he said.
"But it's how you use those measures, at the right times.
"If you can do both things on the run - and we're well and truly still in the hitting zone with the age of our demographic list - so if we can add some really talented youth underneath through the draft, we'll continue to do that."
In 2014, Melbourne nabbed Petracca and Angus Brayshaw with picks No.2 and No.3 and a year later, drafted Oliver (No.4) and Sam Weideman (No.9).
The 2019 double of Luke Jackson (pick No.3) and Kysaiah Pickett (No.12) helped deliver the 2021 premiership and last year the Demons grabbed Caleb Windsor (No.7) and Koltyn Tholstrup (No.13)
"We tend to think that if you're gonna buy into the draft, it's good to get into the pointy end of it," Taylor said.
"That can help you build for some success, hopefully, and then work through the trade and free agency as well to add to that."
Langford looms as an early impact player - a midfielder who can go forward and hit the scoreboard, while Lindsay is recovering from a knee injury but should quickly find his feet.
"To get Harvey is a real thrill for us, to be honest. We love the way he plays," Taylor said.
"The beauty of Xavier is his IQ is high as well, unbelievable spatial awareness .... and he's an elite kick.
"It's a really good blend for our footy club, and really adds some variety and some depth to our midfield."
Melbourne will take one late pick, currently No.75, in Thursday's second night.
