Melbourne fans are frustrated with Trent Rivers, but the numbers suggest they shouldn’t be

Trent Rivers isn’t a player Melbourne supporters talk about as much as they used to.

A few years ago, he felt like one of the club’s most exciting young prospects. The powerful West Australian looked destined to become a permanent midfielder and a key part of Melbourne’s next generation.

Instead, six seasons into his AFL career, Rivers has become something much harder to define.

He’s not quite a midfielder.

He’s not quite a half-back.

He’s not quite a wingman.

And because of that, the conversation around him has changed.

The excitement that once surrounded Rivers has gradually been replaced by uncertainty. Has he plateaued? Has he fulfilled his potential? Has Melbourne ever figured out exactly what his best position is?

The interesting part is that while those questions continue to be asked, Rivers is quietly putting together one of the better seasons on Melbourne’s list.

According to Wheelo’s AFL Player Ratings, Rivers ranks fourth at Melbourne over the past five weeks and remains comfortably inside the club’s top 10 performers for the season.

Which raises a different question entirely.

What if the issue isn’t Trent Rivers’ form? What if it’s the expectations attached to him?

The role that never arrived

When Rivers arrived at Melbourne as Pick 32 in the 2019 National Draft, the excitement was obvious.

The West Australian was regarded as one of the best decision-makers in his draft class. He was composed with ball in hand, aggressive in the air and capable of playing multiple roles across the ground.

What followed felt predictable.

As his career developed, supporters began projecting forward. The rebounding defender would eventually become a midfielder, the next generation of Melbourne’s engine room was already taking shape.

Max Gawn. Christian Petracca. Clayton Oliver. Then eventually, Trent Rivers, and for a period that future felt inevitable.

In 2023, Simon Goodwin challenged Rivers after an inconsistent start to the season and the response was immediate. Rivers produced arguably the best football of his career and looked every bit the player Melbourne supporters believed would one day become a midfield star.

The expectation only grew stronger.

Three years later, however, that move still feels incomplete.

Rivers hasn’t become a full-time midfielder, nor has he remained a permanent half-back. Instead, he’s become something much harder to define.

Some weeks he starts behind the ball, other weeks he pushes higher up the ground. At times he looks like a winger, at others an extra midfielder. His role changes depending on the opponent and Melbourne’s needs.

And perhaps that’s where the frustration comes from. Not because Rivers has failed, but because supporters are still measuring him against the midfielder they expected him to become.

Trent Rivers is tackled in Round 2 against th Fremantle Dockers. Photo found here.

The numbers don’t match the questions

The frustration reached its peak earlier this season.

Leading in to Round 3, Steven King made one of the biggest selection calls of his short coaching tenure, dropping Rivers for Melbourne’s clash with Carlton.

For many supporters, the omission felt like confirmation of what they already believed. Rivers wasn’t progressing, he wasn’t becoming the player Melbourne hoped, he was stagnating.

Since returning to the side, however, he has quietly produced some of the best football on Melbourne’s list.

Across the past five weeks Rivers has averaged:

• 19.8 disposals • 83.8 per cent disposal efficiency • 4.6 intercept possessions • 4.8 ground-ball gets • Just one clanger per game

Across the entire season he ranks seventh among all Melbourne players for AFL Player Ratings. Not seventh among defenders, seventh on the entire list.

Only Max Gawn, Kysaiah Pickett, Kade Chandler, Jack Steele, Jake Bowey and Tom Sparrow have rated higher.

It’s the efficiency that stands out most. Over the past five weeks he’s been Melbourne’s 3rd best user of the ball.

Melbourne’s season has been defined by discussions around ball use, turnovers and decision making, and Rivers has quietly been one of the club’s cleanest users throughout that period.

While supporters often remember the occasional mistake, the broader numbers paint a very different picture.

He’s winning the ball, using it efficiently, he’s defending, and he’s impacting games.

Rivers warms up prior to the Round 2 clash. Photo found here.

More valuable than spectacular

The irony is that while supporters continue debating Rivers, Melbourne’s coaches probably aren’t.

Teams don’t continue giving responsibility to players they don’t trust. Rivers remains heavily involved in Melbourne’s ball movement, defensive structure and transition game.

Those opportunities aren’t handed out by accident, the coaches know exactly how important he is, and the numbers suggest they’re right.

Maybe Rivers never becomes the permanent midfielder many expected.

Maybe he never wins a best and fairest.

Maybe he never becomes one of the competition’s biggest stars, but that doesn’t mean he’s underperforming.

In fact, the evidence suggests the opposite.

While supporters continue debating what Trent Rivers should be, he’s quietly putting together one of the better seasons on Melbourne’s list as the Demons continue to exceed expectations.

The numbers make that much clear, and right now, they suggest Melbourne fans might be looking at Trent Rivers the wrong way.

Feature Image: Trent Rivers during Melbourne’s pre-season clash with North Melbourne. Photo Credit: Sara Wilkosz

Further Reading

If you enjoyed this article, you may also like:

• *Harvey Langford is already doing something no young midfielder in the AFL can match • [From Pick 93 to prized asset: Kade Chandler’s rise continues](https://medium.com/@camburt13/from-pick-93-to-prized-asset-kade-chandlers-rise-continues-612cd2991455) • [Melbourne’s season isn’t being decided by winning the ball. It’s being decided by what happens next](https://medium.com/@camburt13/melbournes-season-isn-t-being-decided-by-winning-the-ball-it-s-being-decided-by-what-happens-next-ef7259765ef5) • [The Premiership Blueprint: What the last 10 premiers can teach Melbourne](https://medium.com/@camburt13/the-premiership-blueprint-what-the-last-10-premiers-can-teach-melbourne-b41a4975e6c8)*

Cam Burt covers Melbourne Football Club and the Casey Demons through statistical analysis, match reviews and long-form features.

Follow along on X at @camburtmedia.