BERNIE Vince has joined the Demons on a three-year deal, with the Crows receiving the Demons second round compensation pick in return.
The deal was completed with the AFL late on Friday afternoon as soon as the AFL notified Melbourne of the pick it had received as compensation for losing its free agent Colin Sylvia to Fremantle.
The pick currently sits as No.23.
The Demons see Vince as a strong replacement for Sylvia while the Crows were keen to make its way up the draft selection order after it was stripped of its first two picks when penalised for irregularities in former player Kurt Tippett's contract.
The 28-year-old Vince has played 129 games with the Crows and won the club's best and fairest in 2009.
Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said the Demons were confident Vince's off-field behaviour was in check after a few alcohol-related incidents in recent years.
"He has been in the news before over there; we've met with Bernie and we've spoken to him," Mahoney told 3AW.
"He's obviously spoken about those [incidents] with Paul Roos and we think we've got a player who's ready to go.
"He's really excited about the opportunity to come to Melbourne, excited about reinventing himself if you like and really getting the most out of his footy for the next period of time."
