The Demons submitted an application for a priority selection to the AFL on Monday, with the club's case to be considered by the league before any recommendation is put to the AFL Commission.

The AFL has not handed out any priority picks since it decided it would grant them only on its discretion, and will analyse Melbourne's win/loss record, percentage and injury rates over recent seasons as well as its future prospects before making a decision.

Melbourne is unlikely to receive a selection attached to its current top two pick even if it is determined that it qualifies for "special assistance" after being anchored to the bottom of the ladder for several years.

That assistance could take the form of, for example, a later draft pick, a small bundle of late-round picks, a pick that must be traded to another club or priority access to a state league player.

The commission rejected Melbourne's application for a priority pick last year, after strong resistance from the other clubs given the Demons had only recently been fined for deliberately underperforming in 2009, when they drafted Tom Scully at No.1.

Roos has already shown a willingness to trade high draft picks for mature players, trading picks two and 20 in the 2013 draft to Greater Western Sydney for midfielder Dom Tyson and pick nine.

Melbourne currently holds pick two in the draft, and could go into the trade period with picks two and three should defender James Frawley leave as a free agent.

With Tyson enjoying a breakout year, Roos said on Tuesday morning that strategy had been a success and he would be willing to do it again this year if the right deal could be struck.

"My view on lists is exactly the same every year, regardless of whether you've got the priority pick," he said. "We have to get our list better. If that means trading pick one or pick two or pick three, you take it.

"I don’t know what the rules are on a priority pick (an AFL spokeman confirmed the priority pick could be traded), but let's leave the priority pick out. Let's say we had pick two, definitely pick two would be on the table again as it was last year."

Roos said that in the last trading period, Melbourne had struggled to convince other clubs its offer of pick two was genuine. As a result, few had been willing to sit down and genuinely negotiate.

"The thing that probably hit me last year was I think teams probably didn't believe that we'd trade it. Maybe they'll believe us now.

"It just means you'll have more dialogue. Teams are very reluctant to talk to you about it if they don't believe you're going to do it.

"Trade week is like a big game of poker. Everyone sits there with their hand and you're not sure if a bloke's got a pair of twos or four aces, because no one tells you.

"And then at about five minutes to six, everyone lays their hand down and you go, 'Ahh – I should have taken that.'

"It is what it is and some teams are easy to deal with and some teams are impossible."

Roos said the argument for his club securing a priority pick could not be based solely on this season, which he described as competitive.

"I think it's more over the seven-year period to be perfectly frank. I don't think the club deserves a priority pick based on this year. We've been very competitive. I think last weekend was very disappointing from our point of view."

St Kilda has declined to say if it will also apply to the AFL for a priority pick after managing five wins last year and four this season.

“That’s not something we are focusing on right now. I am not buying into that one way or the other,” St Kilda chief executive Matt Finnis said.

“We have a couple more games to pay this season so it is not something I am interested to buy into right now.”

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said it would be up to the AFL Commission to decide Melbourne’s case for a priority pick but he doubted there would be much support among other clubs for the move.

“I think most of the 17 clubs would suggest the couple of first round draft picks they are likely to get (presuming James Frawley leaves as a free agent) will be enough,” Buckley said.

Melbourne, ahead of only St Kilda on the ladder, was thrashed by 64 points by Greater Western Sydney on Sunday in one of its worst losses this season – a result Roos feared may have shattered what little confidence the club had built.

"When you've lost so many games, it does evaporate pretty quickly. We've just got to get more resilient and we've got to give them more tools to work in real time.

"Watch (Geelong's) James Kelly handball across the goal the other day – it's probably one of the worst howlers any of us have ever seen all year. And what did he do? He put his hand up and said sorry. I reckon every player in that team knew that it wasn't going to happen again.

"That's the belief that they have, whereas if we make a mistake it has the opposite effect."