Part 3: A Brutal Time Coming

On the subject of change, the most significant change at the Melbourne Football Club for 2025 has been the introduction of Steven King as senior coach. This is why.

Cast your mind back to Saturday, 17 August 2024, a mild South Queensland afternoon in late autumn when the Melbourne Football Club travelled to People First Stadium to face and defeat the Gold Coast Suns in one of the team's standout performances in a disappointing season for the Demons.

A dominant second half secured a decisive nine-goal victory, largely due to the solid leadership of captain Max Gawn, his tenacious deputy Jack Viney, and the ever-reliable Ed Langdon, who led a relatively young team that responded admirably against the Suns, effectively ending their finals aspirations with this win.

What was particularly impressive about Melbourne's victory was that they achieved it without the services of their premiership stars Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Steven May. In retrospect, this game could be viewed as a pivotal moment, marking a turning point for the team to shift its focus from short-term goals to the future in an evolving football landscape.

Within weeks of the team's successful northern venture, significant concerns emerged regarding the club's superstars, Petracca and Oliver. These issues have been well-documented: the underlying problems had been apparent for some time and were openly evident by season's end. In the case of the former, whose season was cut short due to a serious injury on King's Birthday against Collingwood, discerning observers had noted some warning signs in the preceding months. He had been exposed for a lack of pace by Harley Reid in the team's defeat at Optus Stadium. The frustration was clear and evident. Oliver's situation was even more problematic, involving ongoing on-field and off-field issues.

Ultimately, the club opted to retain the star players and address the issues by papering over the cracks through a strategy of reassurance, support, and love from coach Simon Goodwin, which proved unsuccessful.

The team lost its opening five games of 2025 and struggled for consistency throughout. There were highs (they beat premiers Brisbane at the Gabba) and lows (highlighted by shocking ball movement and disposal), and several close defeats. When they played Gold Coast at People First Stadium in Round 16, Petracca, Oliver, and May were in the side, which was humiliated with a goalless opening term but fought back over the remainder of the game, with the two midfielders performing well in an otherwise lacklustre effort.

The team was listing, and once again finished the season in 14th place, recording a mere seven wins, five of them in a six-match stretch that ended by mid-season. The club’s only premiership coach in the last six decades was axed with three games to go for the season, and his ultimate replacement was Steve King.

On 12 September 2025, King was appointed as the senior coach of the Melbourne Football Club, commencing with the 2026 AFL season. King became the 28th AFL/VFL senior coach of the club, being selected ahead of former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley and other shortlisted candidates.

Born in 1978, King played 240 AFL games across a 15-year stint at both Geelong and St Kilda, captaining the Cats for four seasons, achieving the ultimate success with them in 2007 as part of the premiership team. When his playing days ended with the Saints he remain there in a coaching role before moving to the Western Bulldogs where he was part of the coaching panel when the Dogs won the 2016 premiership against Sydney and lost the 2021 Grand Final to Melbourne. He took a senior assistant coaching role at Gold Coast in 2022, and was appointed caretaker coach for seven matches at the end of 2023 after Stuart Dew was sacked. He returned to Geelong, where he has worked with the midfield for the past two seasons.

The “inside” word is that he was the superior candidate but there were touches of irony in King’s appointment.

His birthplace was Shepparton in northern Victoria, which was part of the Demons’ country zone at the time. In the 2005 elimination final, King accidentally kicked Melbourne’s Jeff White in the face, necessitating extensive surgery for the Demon’s ruckman. The incident was investigated by the AFL match review panel, which found King had no case to answer. There’s every chance that King will soon be coaching White’s son Kalani, who has nominated for selection as a Demon in next month’s AFL Draft under the father/son rule.

That elimination final game proved to be a brutal one for Melbourne, which suffered a number of injuries, compounding the disappointment of being eliminated from the finals. Apart from White, Johnstone (ankle), McDonald (calf), Rigoni (concussion), and Wheatley (adductor) were nursing injuries after the game, while the Cats’ Steve Johnson was reported for rough conduct against Demon Ben Holland.

However, if you think this game was brutal, it pales in comparison to the ruthlessness King and the club’s list management team have exhibited in his first month as Demon coach in asserting ownership of his new role at the club - it marked a brutal time coming, already a time of remarkable change for the Melbourne Football Club.

To be continued …

Most keen for AFL season to begin than I’ve been in a few years. Probably since 2023. Bring it on!!!

Before the trade period began, I was very concerned about the club’s future in light of the fact that we were likely to lose out heavily in the dealings. But the way things have worked out I’ve calmed down and I’m looking forward to the future.