MELBOURNE has recorded a successful AFL Trade Period, securing three players to address its immediate list needs.

The Demons recruited ruckman Braydon Preuss, defender duo Steven May and Kade Kolodjashnij, and obtain valuable picks for the upcoming AFL Draft throughout.

Speaking to Melbourne Media, General Manager of football operations Josh Mahoney said the club were pleased with its deals across the 10-day period.

“We finish up this trade period in a really strong position,” Mahoney said.

“We targeted three areas that we wanted to work on at the start of the trade period: some run and carry; which Kade Kolodjashnij fills that spot for us, a mature ruckman; which is Braydon Preuss, and we were always interested in Steven May.

“If we could get him to agree to come to Melbourne, we knew he was going to be an important player for us, as a general down back.”

In welcoming the trio to the club, Melbourne said farewell to forward Jesse Hogan, as well as midfielders Dom Tyson and Dean Kent.

After much speculation on Hogan’s future in the red and blue, Mahoney confirmed the 23-year-old had expressed the desire of returning home to Western Australia.

“He was in discussions after the end of the season – first in his exit interview and then later with Simon Goodwin – where he said his preference would be to return to Perth, and to Fremantle in particular,” Mahoney said.

“We’re happy in the end that Jesse got his wish to return to Perth, and we’ve been able to secure a really good deal out of it.”

Along with acquiring new talent, Melbourne also set itself up for a promising draft night.

After a pick swap with St Kilda on Wednesday saw them gain pick No.28, the Demons now have two early second round selections in the upcoming AFL Draft, also securing pick No.23 from Fremantle.

Despite pick trading still possible up until and on draft night, Mahoney said the list management team was confident in its position. 

“There still may be some movement in that area for us, but to be able to get two second round picks was really important for us,” he said.

“To reflect on last year, we were able to get Charlie Spargo and Bayley Fritsch in that range, so we think we will be able to get some good players with what we’ve got.”

Melbourne currently holds picks 23, 28, 54, 62 and 91.