Trolleywalley
I can tell you first hand that MEL is not short of crew. Maybe you are already aware that Melbourne crew with seniority of 7 years down are all getting 2 leg SYD returns of 4.30hrs!! Some crew are blocked at less than 100hrs and these are full time not casual. MEL crew are screaming for work and arent getting any.
Going from 10-12 overnights a month to 21 SYD returns is not pretty.
Going from your post showing 200 plus nights in MEL, its obvious where MEL flying has gone.
Safe flying!