It has been a very busy off-season for the Demons, as new CEO Paul Guerra and new coach Steven King settle in at the club.

Melbourne also bid farewell to premiership stars Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver.

Having been at Carlton when senior coaches David Teague and Michael Voss started in the role, I have seen the amount of work that goes in to a new senior coach starting at the club and how the club needs to help the new coach get his feet under the desk.

SETTLING A NEW COACH

Any time a new coach comes in to a club there is so much to do and Steven King will be working through a lot of different tasks right now.

For the football GM and the rest of the football department, the main thing is to be conscious that it is an enormous job, particularly when you are in the role for the first time. 

Plenty of change has happened at Melbourne but King will be focusing on his relationships with players and staff, and in particular, spending an enormous amount of time on getting to know the players. 

He would have also spent a lot of time with the list management team. They had quite a proactive trade period so that would have taken up plenty of time. 

The new coach will also have to work really closely with the high performance team.

He will have to get right across the training program and on top of that there is managing up, with the new CEO and getting to know the staff.

All of this is before he even gets onto how he wants to play the game.

As a club you have to look after a new coach. It is an enormous job to start with and you have to be mindful of the energy of the coach so by the time pre-season officially starts you want him coming in nice and fresh with plenty of energy. 

The football manager and CEO and other senior staff need to take as much load off Steven as they can. 

Among all of those tasks, it is important to try and carve out a block of time where he can get a break when possible so he is ready when training begins.

The Demons have had two of their best players of all time just go out of the club in Petracca and Oliver. There would have been a fair bit of energy spent on those exits to make sure they left in a respectful way.

For Clayton, a fresh start has been mentioned a number of times and I think that is exactly what he needed, as he joins the GWS Giants.

And for Christian, a trade was only ever going to be done for a player of that calibre if Melbourne got a big group of early draft picks, which they have been able to secure from Gold Coast, similar to the Charlie Curnow deal. 

The Demons were public before the trade period that Oliver may be played in a different position next season if he stayed at the club and he was free to look for a new club if it suited him. 

When you have conversations like those, they can be hard. It is usually led by the coach with the support of the football manager. It is often not a surprise, they are chats that may have been had during the year, but they are honest and can be challenging when you are dealing with star players. 

You need to be simple in your messaging and give enough detail at the same time to create an atmosphere where it is a really respectful conversation because some of these things can go either way and resentment can be harboured at times.

I think it is really important to work with the player’s manager so they are clear on the rationale and reasoning of the club. It’s also important that the manager is across the timing and is aware of the messaging in advance so they can support the player after the meeting. It keeps everyone aligned and allows all parties to work together through a tough situation. Managers may attend these meetings if they have a close relationship with their client and are on good terms with the club.

The player manager will want to make sure any trade is going to be facilitated the right way and done respectfully and their client is looked after. It is critical in these situations to get the captain and leadership group involved. 

They are enormous stakeholders in this and you wouldn’t want to make these type of decisions without them across it, and ideally supportive or at the very least understanding of the direction the club is taking.

Players look closely at how you treat their mates. It is really important this is done well. 

I think Melbourne has some really powerful leaders with Max Gawn and Jack Viney. Max seems like someone who loves the leadership role and is really passionate but he is also reasonable with his understanding of the professional nature of the industry. 

It would be an enormous miss if the club didn’t keep those senior players across the club’s thinking.

So Melbourne ends up in a very different position to Essendon who have had a club captain looking at the exit, whereas Max seems to be really enjoying his captaincy role and invested in the club’s direction.

The Demons look like they have done a really good job at having those conversations, at least from what is coming out of the captain’s mouth.

The Demons were also public in telling Steven May he could find a new home in the trade period and, unlike with Oliver, that didn’t eventuate. 

It’s important as part of those conversations that you are also making clear that if a trade can’t be facilitated, the player will be welcomed back with open arms and we will all get on with it. To say that upfront is really important because I think it sews a seed when these things don’t always come up.

If a trade does not go through, facilitating an informal coffee between the player and coach soon after is always recommended to start the healing process between all parties heading into a new season. This avoids any ill-feeling when all report in for day one of pre-season.

As part of Melbourne’s trade period, the Demons added former Saint Jack Steele for a future third-round pick. He is no doubt a great clubman and brings great leadership to the group. 

One thing that was astonishing about the trade period this year was the number of club captains in talks with other clubs, with Essendon’s Zach Merrett, Jy Simpkin at North Melbourne and Oscar Allen at West Coast looking at their options, along with Steele finding a new home at Melbourne. Club captains have traditionally been a point of stability within the playing group, but this took a sharp turn throughout this off-season. 

A lot of people talk about shortening the trade period because they feel not much goes on but like in the Steele situation, it can come in late. 

He first met with the club only one day before the deadline. From there you often have to get to the leadership group when bringing in senior players to get their thoughts and buy-in, and the player needs to do his own due diligence, which Steele did in talking to King and midfield coach Nathan Jones. 

And you also have to cover off on a medical.

The player then needs to actually make a decision he wants to go to the club. A lot plays out for a player to make a move and you need every bit of the time period to cover off and make a life change like that. I thought this was an opportunity Melbourne saw and he was a good addition.

THE PLAYING LIST

IN:Jack Steele (St Kilda), Changkuoth Jiath (Hawthorn), Brody Mihocek (Collingwood), Max Heath (St Kilda)

OUT:Christian Petracca (Gold Coast), Clayton Oliver (GWS), Charlie Spargo (North Melbourne), Judd McVee (Fremantle), Jack Billings, Kynan Brown, Tom Fullarton, Marty Hore, Oliver Sestan, Will Verrall, Taj Woewodin (delisted)

Brody Mihocek is a really reliable player, having won Collingwood’s goalkicking award five times. He will be a good deep forward that they get at a good price and a player Melbourne has needed. 

While they lost Judd McVee out of defence, Changkuoth Jiath comes in and gives them a bit more run and bounce off halfback. His role is best suited behind the footy and he will be able to give them something as well.

LIST STRENGTHS 

I have been impressed by Melbourne’s strategy because they have been able to get the experience in quite cheap because it hasn’t cost them a lot in picks or money.

As list manager Tim Lamb has noted, the Demons will have the chance to use eight first round picks over four years, when you take in to account the picks they received in the Petracca trade.

They have been able to add some highly-rated youth like Harvey Langford, Caleb Windsor, Xavier Lindsay and Koltyn Tholstrup.

History says these top end picks can impact really quickly.

I feel like they have almost been able to do a bit of a hybrid approach to their list and while Melbourne clearly lost a couple of gun players, they likely needed a fresh start.

The Demons are not a team talking about a traditional rebuild and with Steven King now on board, appear to be a team that wants to contend really quickly rather than taking too many steps back.

DRAFT HAND

Picks — 7, 8, 37, 66, 71

Another factor that may have been part of Melbourne’s thinking in getting draft picks in the door is that clubs are really conscious of Tasmania coming into the AFL. 

You will find clubs that are losing high end talent are really making a move and taking an opportunity with these first round picks over this year and next year because the draft is going to be really compromised by the Devils in 2027. 

SALARY CAP 

The TPP (total player payments) has become an enormous part of the game and you can win some and lose some on that front.

If Petracca’s money has now come off the books, that is really healthy from Melbourne’s point of view. 

Given it has been well reported the Demons will pay some of his wage to play for the Giants, allowing Oliver to get a fresh start can be a good investment for the club rather than paying the full amount to the player.

It appears they have come out of it really well from a TPP point of view.

HIGH PERFORMANCE CHECK-IN

Melbourne is a club that splits its training and administration between Casey Fields and the inner city, training often at Gosch’s Paddock. Having that split would have to impact them. It is a really challenging situation to have the club not in the one place. It is challenging enough even if you are not on the same floor, let alone in different buildings.

It is far from an ideal situation culturally for the club. It wouldn’t be used as an excuse internally but it is something they need to sort out. 

A new home for the club is clearly high on the agenda for the leaders, including president Brad Green, who has spoken, with CEO Paul Guerra, about potentially moving to Caulfield.

Ideally as a footy club you have got a purpose built building with two ovals that everyone operates out of and with a good flow but they seem a long way away from that and are putting the necessary steps in place to find a solution.

INJURY WATCH 🔍

THE PLAYER WHO NEEDS TO GET FIT: JAKE LEVER

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Lever only managed eight games in 2025.
You need all your best players playing so they will be looking to get some more gametime out of him to help a backline that the Demons have said will look a little younger next year. 
He has been an incredible workhorse, having played 113 games across the last five seasons, but Max Gawn is one that has got that look about him that he could still play for a while. 
How they continue to manage such an important figure for the club will be crucial going forward.

THE COACH’S BOX

I touched on all the jobs the senior coach has when he arrives at a new club and another big one is to settle on their own coaching team and get to know them.

Jared Rivers has returned to Melbourne to replace Nathan Bassett on the coaching panel.

King has spoken often about wanting to play an attacking style and that can take time to work out with a new coaching team.

The coaches would meet over a number of weeks to go through their gamestyle offensively and defensively and how Steven wants them to play.

Then they have to discuss how they are going to educate the players and how it will be built through the course of the pre-season. 

THE FRONT OFFICE

Clearly, Melbourne has seen recent change in some important roles.

Often when you have existing staff it can be a bit of a challenge to make a seismic move like the Demons did during the trade period.

With a new CEO, a relatively new president and new coach, perhaps a little bit of bias of holding on to past relationships can be left behind.

You can open up your thinking a little bit with fresh eyes and see a slightly different direction and it appears Melbourne has done that and turned a new leaf.

2026 PREDICTION

VERDICT: The middle six (7-12)

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Melbourne finished just outside of this band last year. They have lost 2 future Hall of Fame players, but have some emerging talent on their list, with a few more to arrive at the club over the coming months. With a new coach and fresh club outlook, this may see them secure a middle rung position.

Where do you think Melbourne will finish in 2026?

That’s pleasantly optimistic. I’m hopeful but not expectant.

1 hour ago, rpfc said:

That’s pleasantly optimistic. I’m hopeful but not expectant.

Ditto

1 hour ago, Demonland said:

As a club you have to look after a new coach. It is an enormous job to start with and you have to be mindful of the energy of the coach so by the time pre-season officially starts you want him coming in nice and fresh with plenty of energy. 

The football manager and CEO and other senior staff need to take as much load off Steven as they can. 

Among all of those tasks, it is important to try and carve out a block of time where he can get a break when possible so he is ready when training begins.

I think we have this partly covered at least. Isn't Kingy in Bali?

I am far more optimistic going in 2026 than I was 2025.

Programming Steven’s GPS so he arrives at Casey safely wasn’t a priority? Good to know we’ve replaced Goody’s game plan with a game of hide and seek in outer southeast Melbourne.

Edited 9 hours ago9 hr by Queanbeyan Demon

Excellent article. Love the breath of fresh air approach. There’s optimism but also we still have the niggling MFCSS.

Let’s reflect - heading into 2025. We thought we could turnaround the glitch in 2024. That was a horror year with injuries and the last few games were horrible. 2024 wasn’t too far off at 11-12 finish , 14th position, Trac back, a softer draw … but we lost the plot in the last third of 2024 so we had lots to improved. Could Goody get the “forward connection” and “learnings” to actually work. He couldn’t & we lost the close ones.

I’m confident for 2026. Not that we will challenge or be a top 8 side automatically, but the new coach, new game plan , new recruits and fresh start should see us be in the mix for the finals. We need to keep the faith, to keep hoping… we live in hope !!!