Nothing personal, it’s just business
DOM Tyson realised 12 months into his AFL career that his childhood pastime was suddenly a business when Richmond came calling with a trade request.
A year later he was a Melbourne player as the Demons and GWS attempted to broker a win-win deal that also involved Josh Kelly, Christian Salem and Jayden Hunt.
So when the 25-year-old inside midfielder spent the early part of this season playing on a wing or in the VFL, Tyson was well aware how the next step might play out.
Tyson is a fortnight into the pre-season as a North Melbourne player after that early season inkling turned into a certainty after his exit interview with coach Simon Goodwin.
The equation was this: finish your contract next year then see what happens, or move to North Melbourne on a guaranteed three-year deal. As Tyson said yesterday, the decision to “pull the trigger” wasn’t all that hard, especially given North Melbourne’s sales pitch.
“Basically for me last year, I was aware of the fact my inside midfield time was decreasing and I was a makeshift winger and in and out of the team a little bit,” he said. “They have got some really good younger players at Melbourne playing as inside mids and I could do the maths that my opportunity there was limited. Simon Goodwin was really good, he was honest.
“He and the list manager Tim Lamb said while your value is still there and you have some runs on the board, if you want to explore your options this season, we are giving you the green light to do that.
“We rate you as a person and we see a future for you next year, but we probably can’t guarantee you much more opportunity before next year.”
So Tyson finds himself at his third club in seven seasons after Brad Scott’s assurances that they valued him as that inside ball winner.
Tyson also met Gold Coast and could have accepted a four or five-year deal there but felt, after moving on from a premiership contender, he could still play finals at the Roos.
“When North presented to me I liked the feel of the club straight away and there was an opportunity to play as an inside mid again.
“It was a difficult decision and you think: ‘Do I stick around and hopefully see some success?’
“But footy can be a business at times and North felt good. I didn’t want to overthink it.
“North Melbourne explained there was a little bit of a gap in the list for 25-year-olds with around 100 games and they said we value your strengths as a player, which sat well with me.”
Tyson comes to the Roos fresh from his first three finals, fitting reward at Melbourne after five years of toil.
A broken arm in Round 23 against old side GWS gave him only nine days to recover for the first final against Geelong yet he made it with some artificial help.
“The doctors put a titanium plate across the break, so the bone was still broken but the plate acted as [reinforcement] across the bone. I was in discomfort early and it just got better every day.”