3 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

I’m low on Steele but we can only hope it’s not that bad.

DS, presumably you, and several like-mindeds on here, have the fire in your bellies for the Dees more widely, so perhaps you just need to throw these in?...

On 18/11/2025 at 17:40, Previously known as LITD. said:

I think there's a fair bit of tall poppy in there but that's the way it goes in AFL.

I prefer to call it the "Haves" and "Have nots".
The big clubs with their preferential treatment are the haves.

20 hours ago, Previously known as LITD. said:

Mids to it tough. There shelf life isn't so long.

Messrs Pendlebury and Harvey say “hi”

2 hours ago, monoccular said:

Messrs Pendlebury and Harvey say “hi”

And Steele Sidebottom

https://archive.md/EIcEZ

29 minutes ago, adonski said:

https://archive.md/EIcEZ

Thanks Adonski nice to hear Jack open up about his transition from Saint to Demon, very glowing about his Dee interview particularly Steven King’s selling of his Vision for Melbourne. Really hope that Steele can rekindle some of his AA form for us, his onfield leadership cannot be underestimated.

9 minutes ago, DeeZone said:

Thanks Adonski nice to hear Jack open up about his transition from Saint to Demon, very glowing about his Dee interview particularly Steven King’s selling of his Vision for Melbourne. Really hope that Steele can rekindle some of his AA form for us, his onfield leadership cannot be underestimated.

Hopefully as you said he finds it and isn’t burnt out, he certainly doesn’t appear to be but you never know how much left in the tank he has.

44 minutes ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

Hopefully as you said he finds it and isn’t burnt out, he certainly doesn’t appear to be but you never know how much left in the tank he has.

Steele is an onfield leader no doubt, and will set great training standards as well. A great role model for all our players, young and old.

I know it’s early days and we haven’t played a game yet, but I’m excited by the opportunity that King brings. Appears as a really down to earth relaxed coach that seemingly doesn’t demand respect but you can’t help but feel compelled to show it to him.

I doubt he’s going to be able to turn the ship around right away, but I’m glad he is skippering our new direction.

1 hour ago, Demonland said:

Story is locked behind a paywall, unfortunately.

13 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Story is locked behind a paywall, unfortunately.

see Adonski's post about 6 posts back

On 30/11/2025 at 20:30, DeeZone said:

Thanks Adonski nice to hear Jack open up about his transition from Saint to Demon, very glowing about his Dee interview particularly Steven King’s selling of his Vision for Melbourne. Really hope that Steele can rekindle some of his AA form for us, his onfield leadership cannot be underestimated.

All I want for Christmas is for Steven King to give us all the "Vision for Melbourne" that Jack Steele found so compelling

It will restore faith for many here that are teetering on the edge

1 hour ago, Sydee said:

All I want for Christmas is for Steven King to give us all the "Vision for Melbourne" that Jack Steele found so compelling

It will restore faith for many here that are teetering on the edge

Let's be honest, Jack was told he'd play midfield. Tick. He was told we want to play a fast, attacking game. Tick.

We'll have to wait until 2026 to see how it rolls out on the field.

2 hours ago, Demonland said:

Hmmm...

We exited a player who wanted to continue playing midfield but we told him he mightn't be, and we got a player because he was told he mightn't be playing midfield and we wanted him to.

I'm OK with the former and happy with the latter, btw. But curious, innit? Kinda confirms there was a lot more to both moves, particularly the former.

On 30/11/2025 at 20:30, DeeZone said:

Thanks Adonski nice to hear Jack open up about his transition from Saint to Demon, very glowing about his Dee interview particularly Steven King’s selling of his Vision for Melbourne. Really hope that Steele can rekindle some of his AA form for us, his onfield leadership cannot be underestimated.

Once you lose speed the game goes past you. Oliver prime example. Not sure where Steele will play without leg speed

8 minutes ago, Oxdee said:

Once you lose speed the game goes past you. Oliver prime example. Not sure where Steele will play without leg speed

Rubbish. Oliver has plenty to offer

2 hours ago, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Hmmm...

We exited a player who wanted to continue playing midfield but we told him he mightn't be, and we got a player because he was told he mightn't be playing midfield and we wanted him to.

I'm OK with the former and happy with the latter, btw. But curious, innit? Kinda confirms there was a lot more to both moves, particularly the former.

Does anyone with half a brain think there wasn’t more to the moves?

Not trying to be rude - but a mate of mine saw Oliver out just after the season doing ‘the same old thing he’s been doing’ so it’s addition by subtraction.

And Steele is required because of the massive gap we now have in our ‘older than 20 midfield brigade’

It’s not a straight swap in any other sense than the play similar positions.

2 hours ago, deespicable me said:

Rubbish. Oliver has plenty to offer

On-field maybe. But off-field ...

Nothing could be clearer than that we wanted him gone, whatever the cost.

4 hours ago, Adam The God said:

Let's be honest, Jack was told he'd play midfield. Tick. He was told we want to play a fast, attacking game. Tick.

We'll have to wait until 2026 to see how it rolls out on the field.

He was also promised that he could get away from Mr Lyon.....

15 hours ago, Oxdee said:

Once you lose speed the game goes past you. Oliver prime example. Not sure where Steele will play without leg speed

Not sure it's purely speed (neither particularly quick imo) - may have something to do with being able to kick to the advantage of a teammate and not bomb the ball indiscriminately by foot

Captain Jack was committed to the Saints. Now he’s a Demon. He explains what changed

Former captain Jack Steele says the Saints’ trade and free agency raid last season was “noisy” and left him unsure of his place in the club as his former team splashed cash to lure several big names.

Now with Melbourne, Steele, who initially wanted to stay at the Saints and fight for a spot in the midfield, says there is a weight off his shoulders at his new club.

But he says the aggressive approach was not necessarily a bad thing.

“It was noisy,” Steele said when asked what he thought of the Saints’ approach to list management during 2025. “At that point in time I was still committed to the Saints, so I didn’t know what it meant for me ... in many ways I was excited by the change because there was an aggressive approach. It has been criticised a lot and I don’t really want to touch on that. It is what it is.”

Of all the moves they made last year, Steele says the unprecedented $2 million-a-year contract offered to Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was on the money because his former teammate can handle the pressure and become the AFL’s best player.

Wanganeen-Milera backed up that assessment on Saturday with a brilliant display – four goals and 28 touches – in a pre-season hit-out against Essendon, further enhancing the hype that surrounded the 23-year-old at the end of the last season.

“He can be the best in the game,” Steele said.

“He just wants to be great. And it’s not really about his Monday to Friday. He just rocks up and gets it done. It’s a real attitude thing.

“You can’t teach that to young players and he has already got it. There is obviously a lot of pressure and talk, but I think he’ll back it up. He’s a pleasure to watch and [was] a pleasure to play with.”

Steele won’t be there to watch his rise at close quarters after joining Melbourne on the final day of last year’s trade period, having already stepped down as St Kilda captain at the end of the season after deciding midway through the year he would relinquish the title. But he will get a glimpse in a fortnight when St Kilda play Melbourne in round one.

A dual All-Australia, Steele said his desire to stay and fight for his spot at the Saints changed after he met new Demons’ coach Steven King and list manager Tim Lamb. Their enthusiasm for what he could offer and respect for what he had achieved was enough to convince him to make the switch.

He can say now that he wasn’t enjoying his football last season, as much as he was trying to put on a brave front around the club to lead his teammates.

The change has him freshened up. Not only is Steele enthused about being at a new club with a new coach, but he is relishing the release of no longer captain.

“There is a fair weight off my shoulders; a lot less pressure for sure” Steele admits.

“Kingy’s trying to take as much anxiety out of the program and [have us] enjoy the program ... as long as we work hard. It has been fun. That will all be tested when the season comes around, but it has been a great place to go to work so far.”

Working hard has never been an issue for Steele, who played under duress regularly while he was Saints skipper. He will be required to step up immediately at Melbourne, with vice-captain Jack Viney to absent early in the season with injury.

The 30-year-old’s role in Melbourne’s new-look midfield will be vital. He is clear about what his role is, and the club’s confidence in him is apparent. He is also motivated by the clean slate he has at the Demons, and is looking forward to experiencing life alongside captain Max Gawn.

“He’s [King] really simplified the game for everyone but for me, too. I was probably overthinking things a bit in the last couple of the years,” Steele said.

Steele says King has a relatability that suits him. But although he admires the first-time coach, he doesn’t want to leave the impression King – who played 47 games at St Kilda after a distinguished career at Geelong – is casual and relaxed.

“He still has a hard edge and he still demands excellence, and he is still ruthless in the way he presents,” Steele said. “But he has got a soft touch about him, I suppose, which I feel resonates a lot with this generation. I am not going to compare him with what I have had in the past, but he is still very in touch with the group. Maybe that is easier at the start of your coaching tenure.”

A two-time winner of the best-and-fairest award and third placegetter in the 2020 Brownlow Medal at St Kilda, Steele maintains an enormous regard for his former teammates. But he is a Demon now who can’t wait to contribute and mentor the club’s next generation of midfielders.

“I feel like I can enjoy my footy a little bit more with a fresh start ... and just go out and play footy,” Steele said.

smh.com.au

Huge man crush on Steele.

We all talk of him being the ultimate professional who will bring natural leadership but he's also a gun!