HS report indicates that Guerra mentioned our membership tally of 58,000 as being too low.

I assume that, not only are we losing members, but many are also downgrading to lower membership levels. The financial consequences of this could be very significant.

I'll be very interested to see how the club goes about attracting members this year, in terms of both on-field and off-field offerings.

I don’t know how you can be more flamboyant with ball when you go bang, bang, bang in a grand final

We obviously went too defensive since but we have traded out our best players who lost their chemistry

12 hours ago, Trident22 said:

Kingy confirmed that Kozzy’s application on the track and dedication was unbelievable. It sounds like, despite his quiet demeanour, he is becoming a leader and will elevate even further in 2026. Kingy made a joke about him wanting to play exclusive midfield because that’s what he (KP) wants.

King also referenced Culley, saying that he can’t believe he was delisted. Said he is training to an extremely high standard. It sounds like he has emerged as a leader this summer also.

Yeah culley turned out to be a positive. A shame we didn't get to see more of him last season, but we know how stubborn goody was with selection

Anything in the speeches, or in side conversation, about the women's program and/or the women's coach?

3 minutes ago, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Anything in the speeches, or in side conversation, about the women's program and/or the women's coach?

Only that they are looking for an experienced coach.

15 hours ago, Demon Disciple said:

“We are close”……………we’ve been told that we’re close going on 4 years now.

Not good enough.

SS actually said we're "really" close, but then stumbled into "than we have been before".

Clear as the winter Glenferrie Oval 😄

Edited December 17, 2025Dec 17 by Timothy Reddan-A'Blew

12 minutes ago, Trident22 said:

Only that they are looking for an experienced coach.

that's interesting cos shae sloane has been talked about in dispatches as taking on the role

Not sure how Oliver's move puts us in the red. The subsidy we are paying is inside the salary cap which amount we pay anyway.

I think it's an accounting entry akin to the new CEO and Chairman writing everything down so future years look good

2 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Clarry, Goody payouts, ‘too low’ membership put Dees in the red

Chris Cavanagh

---

New Melbourne coach Steven King says he wants his players to be more “flamboyant” with the footy next season as he drives high standards on the training track this summer in search of on-field improvement.

King is looking to implement what he calls ‘Demons Footy’, working towards building a “ruthless, selfless and connected” playing group with improved scoring ability.

Melbourne averaged 82.7 points per game under Simon Goodwin last season, but King has set his sights on more three-figure scores as he puts a focus on ball movement.

“I want us to be a bit more exciting and flamboyant with the ball and take the game on a little bit more, and I believe that that’ll start with the way we move the ball out of our back half,” King said during Melbourne’s annual general meeting on Tuesday.

“Teams are set up really well defensively, but I feel like the best teams now score.

“We’re getting good looks in front of the ball with the way we’re setting up the ground (at training) and the way guys like CJ (Changkuoth Jiath) and Salo (Christian Salem) are taking the game on and changing angles from our back half. I want our defenders up the ground, kicking goals or creating goals. Likewise, I want our forwards to empty out, rip back and help us to defend. So (we’re) just getting the guys to think about the game a little bit differently and hopefully the midfielders then can just be the conduit between the two.”

King said he wanted “to make training harder than games” and highlighted some standouts on the track during pre-season including Jai Culley, Caleb Windsor, Bayley Fritsch, Kade Chandler, Tom Sparrow and Kysaiah Pickett.

Melbourne reported a $199,000 operating loss for 2025, which was attributed to declining football revenue and payouts to Goodwin and long-term contracted midfielder Clayton Oliver.

Goodwin’s payout was made before October 31 this year, meaning it will not impact the club’s soft cap in 2026.

Oliver will be paid around $2 million across the next six years while playing for Greater Western Sydney after his trade in October.

Demons chief executive Paul Guerra said while the financial position of the club was “sound”, the current membership level of 58,000 was “too low” and some sponsorship packages had gone unsold this year.

President Steven Smith said a new facility remained “a top priority for us” and the club was “really close” to being able to make an announcement on that front.

Melbourne has been eyeing a $100 million high-performance and administration facility, which would be built on land within the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve and feature two training ovals.

A feasibility study on the site began in December 2023, with a business case now expected to be handed down early in the new year.

17 hours ago, Jack Vineys Anger Manager said:

They were the most Melbourne questions ever. The woman who mentioned that she had a demon sticker on her Mercedes made me laugh.

Are people really worried about being called the Dees, or our emblem ?

This club does nothing but lie re a home base. They just kick the can down the road....... probably not accurately.

Obviously the home base is the most important issue, but I’m not a big fan of our current emblem. I find it very boring and uninspiring. I’d love to see us incorporate the Demon back into, but still use the monogram on the jerseys and some merchandise.

2 hours ago, Wrecker46 said:

I don’t know how you can be more flamboyant with ball when you go bang, bang, bang in a grand final

We obviously went too defensive since but we have traded out our best players who lost their chemistry

The Grand Final was four years ago, the dream of another one with that group died two years ago. Oliver hadn't been in our top ten best players for three years. Petracca had been checked out of the club since his injury.

Edited December 17, 2025Dec 17 by KozzyCan

4 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

Obviously the home base is the most important issue, but I’m not a big fan of our current emblem. I find it very boring and uninspiring. I’d love to see us incorporate the Demon back into, but still use the monogram on the jerseys and some merchandise.

100% agree

Our social media presence has improved markedly over the last few months and I hope we’re considering an overhaul of our logo/branding too

There is so much potential to lean into and incorporate the demon, plus we already have an inspired retro option with the flame head which could be repurposed if we wanted to go in that direction

Oh and get rid of “Demon Spirit” while you’re at it - it doesn’t mean anything and we’ve had plenty of better slogans in the past (I was always partial to “Give em Hell”)

I don't love our current logo but we've gone through about 5 over the past twenty years. Changing it again would be stupid.

10 minutes ago, demoncat said:

100% agree

Our social media presence has improved markedly over the last few months and I hope we’re considering an overhaul of our logo/branding too

There is so much potential to lean into and incorporate the demon, plus we already have an inspired retro option with the flame head which could be repurposed if we wanted to go in that direction

Oh and get rid of “Demon Spirit” while you’re at it - it doesn’t mean anything and we’ve had plenty of better slogans in the past (I was always partial to “Give em Hell”)

But I will say I like the current emblem a lot more than the monstrosity that Cameron Schwab came up with

2 hours ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

But I will say I like the current emblem a lot more than the monstrosity that Cameron Schwab came up with

and no white either

we're melbourne, red and blue, not red, blue, and white - that's footscray colours

22 hours ago, poita said:

HS report indicates that Guerra mentioned our membership tally of 58,000 as being too low.

I assume that, not only are we losing members, but many are also downgrading to lower membership levels. The financial consequences of this could be very significant.

I'll be very interested to see how the club goes about attracting members this year, in terms of both on-field and off-field offerings.

Can tell you that for a fact - this is the first time in four years in which I’ve been able to upgrade my membership as there hasn’t been places available previously…

19 hours ago, demoncat said:

100% agree

Our social media presence has improved markedly over the last few months and I hope we’re considering an overhaul of our logo/branding too

There is so much potential to lean into and incorporate the demon, plus we already have an inspired retro option with the flame head which could be repurposed if we wanted to go in that direction

Oh and get rid of “Demon Spirit” while you’re at it - it doesn’t mean anything and we’ve had plenty of better slogans in the past (I was always partial to “Give em Hell”)

There was a bit of comment on the emblem and slogans.

I wasparticularly affected by those suggesting "GO Dees" was insipid.

As i said to one who suggested that they have obviously not sat in front of me and my mates.

WE also use the GoDees as a syncopated cry as the ball is quickly transferred from one player to another.

Whatever cry you use it is all in the context of the passion of the delivery.

Just imagine if the merger with Hawthorn had gone ahead and cries of "Go Aitches" rang around the MCG.

I've never used the term 'Dees'. We're the Mighty Demons.

20 minutes ago, Demonstone said:

Just imagine if the merger with Hawthorn had gone ahead and cries of "Go Aitches" rang around the MCG.

I've never used the term 'Dees'. We're the Mighty Demons.

Perhaps we should lean into the Demons thing more and have a satan chant.

Maybe get some burning elmos in the cheers squad @Ghostwriter

A couple of my mates drove up from the Surfcoast (2+ hours these days). Said Richo spoke well. Didn't see his name mentioned in a previous post.

23 hours ago, Wrecker46 said:

I don’t know how you can be more flamboyant with ball when you go bang, bang, bang in a grand final

We obviously went too defensive since but we have traded out our best players who lost their chemistry

That was a long time ago Wrecker....

Needed a new red/blue wagon as wheels had fallen off and rust taken hold.

I reckon the Tracy brothers moved better than our lot last year..... so yeah, bring on Demons Footy, flamboyance and all 👍

20 hours ago, demoncat said:

considering an overhaul of our logo/branding too

Please, no...the last time that happened was a disaster.

Lets just get the football right first.

2 hours ago, heath55 said:

Can tell you that for a fact - this is the first time in four years in which I’ve been able to upgrade my membership as there hasn’t been places available previously…

Concerning but unsurprising.

The club's got a lot of work to do to get back to 2022-2023 membership levels.

5 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Concerning but unsurprising.

The club's got a lot of work to do to get back to 2022-2023 membership levels.

The first test will be whether the GF guarantee is open again. IIIRC it has been full since 2021.

TBH I have always found the GF guarantee for struggling teams a little sus but there's always optimists.