He’s certainly putting his name in lights, exactly what Kingy has asked for.

On 16/01/2026 at 09:27, Fritta and Turner said:

True, but at least he stands out

Funny my father long ago when I was playing under 18's said it is pity you don't have long blonde hair. You need something to make you stand out. I think he was just being nice as my ability sure didn'take me stand out.

On 16/01/2026 at 14:59, Slartibartfast said:

Or you could watch him train on multiple occasions if you have the opportunity. I do, I did, I believe.

Was taken by his arrogance or should that word be confidence and maybe nonchalence, just looked to me like he has just donned the Superman suit and believes it may well be "His Time" I hope so because he looked super impressive yesterday!

Edited January 17Jan 17 by picket fence

Really like him in a more fwd role with stints in the mid. Really hope he gets a chance to play in a role that suits his skill and not as some have speculated as a 2nd ruck.

Broken out in 2025

On 16/01/2026 at 04:11, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Going to sit on the fence a little bit here and say that both things can be true and it's all relative to the players level to start with.

An establishing player can have a breakout year that establishes them in the team and an established player can have one where they go to an elite level.

In my view, it's all about a player taking their game to the next level in a big step, rather than one of slow incremental improvement.

Perhaps with Culley it's more of a break through year, where a player goes from fringe to best 22, playing the vast majority of the season in the seniors…?

On 16/01/2026 at 09:50, DeelightfulPlay said:

I love his haircut, it feels a bit King Arthur 😂

Dora the explorer.

Seems to have a few doubters.
I aint one of them.
Reckon he's gonna be a rippa.
Life long Melbourne supporter too.
Go the Demons.

Edited January 17Jan 17 by Fork 'em

I think he's gonna offer something we don't have enough of.

Breakout year I don't know but he'll be playing many more games this year for sure.

If he becomes a b grade midfielder who show up every week paired with his height he will be a really important and valuable player for us. The future is Langford, Windsor, Pickett, Lindsay, but if he can help them it's massive.

I just want him to play as many games a possible this year and see where he gets to.

'Breakout season' is such a personally subjective term, like when people talk about 'A graders and B graders', the boundaries can be radically different for different people.

The two main notions seem to be either 'went from being a fringe player to a core AFL-grade player', or 'went from being just another good player to being a noted star'.

Just for fun I'm looking back at some of our current veterans to see when their breakouts might be noted.

Gawn is an interesting start. He clearly had a breakout half season in 2015 after returning from injury. Clearly the penny dropped at some point in that long layoff. By 2016 his numbers weren't that different but he was suddenly very visible, played the full season for the first time in his career, and people were ready to call him a star.

Salem finally got some blocks of games in, despite still having injury interruptions, in 2017 and that was when he really looked like changing from 'interesting prospect' to core player. He set his personal standard in 2018, and has maintained that level as best as injury has allowed him since, including of course some gems in 2021. That perennial injury issue has probably cost him the opportunity to make that second layer 'breakout'.

Fritsch went from VFL to regular AFL after being mature-age drafted. Was promising but not allowed to / able to find his best position for a few years. And then 2021 happened and for a while there he was as good as any medium forward you care to name. But given the subtle changes in role and a bit of inconsistent form since that epic peak, does it count as a breakout?

Turner is the natural example of the first type of breakout and probably the best analogy to what people are hoping for from Culley. A couple of seasons on the list wrecked by injury and an uncertain place in the pecking order. Really started to show a bit in 2024, and then in 2025 became a reliable, essential part of our starting team.

Anyway, all four of Culley's games late in 2025 were legitimate AFL grade contributions. He took some contested marks, got some clearances and a high ratio of contested ball, gained some metres, laid some tackles, and had remarkably few clangers.

He would barely need to improve to be considered a very solid part of a dynamic, complex midfield mix. If he is having a great preseason and looking highly motivated and confident, then you could just about bank him having a notable 2026.

I like the way he looks in a game. Runs well and can get a nice mark.

14 hours ago, Little Goffy said:

'Breakout season' is such a personally subjective term, like when people talk about 'A graders and B graders', the boundaries can be radically different for different people.

Fritsch went from VFL to regular AFL after being mature-age drafted. Was promising but not allowed to / able to find his best position for a few years. And then 2021 happened and for a while there he was as good as any medium forward you care to name. But given the subtle changes in role and a bit of inconsistent form since that epic peak, does it count as a breakout?

Fritch when recruited had almost zero defensive skills but he was a good field kick. So playing him across half back early on was a chance to benefit from his kicking plus teach him how to defend at AFL level.

Its not unusual for juniors coming into the AFL system to go through that journey. Fritsch came in on a different pathway but had similar deficiencies to a lot of newbies. It took Fritsch several years to get up to speed with senior AFL footy.

'break out' years often come after a player realises the work required to succeed at AFL level and they have an outstanding summer of training - maybe bulking up or getting a running coach or undergoing an attitudinal shift to take every training session at a high intensity. It varies.

Culley looks exactly like this. He has natural talent, has had an interrupted career, been rejected, fought back, taken his chances at senior level and has had a summer to remember. he is leaving no stone unturned.

The proof of the pudding will be in the eating but all the ingredients are there for him to enjoy a great season.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1484483/the-childhood-melbourne-demon-jai-culley-that-took-setbacks-in-his-stride-and-turned-rejection-into-motivation

Nat Fyfe based his game on Jai Culley

Yep, he's a second efforts man. When a big fellow does that you really notice.....actually I think I saw one second and third effort.

From the glimpses he's shown in the first few rounds, it's hard not to be excited about Culley.

Watch out when this guy starts to accumulate 20+ touches a game. More good things happen than not when he touches the ball.

On 27/03/2026 at 13:46, BangBnagBang said:

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1484483/the-childhood-melbourne-demon-jai-culley-that-took-setbacks-in-his-stride-and-turned-rejection-into-motivation

Great article.

From the embedded videos:

afl.com.au

Eagles get their man: Jai Culley is the No.1 pick

Tall midfielder Jai Culley speaks to AFL.com.au after becoming the first selection in the 2022 NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft

Couldn't get a 'GO Eagles' out of him.

Then this in his first MFC game:

afl.com.au

Delisted Eagle holds his new jumper in special debut goal

Jai Culley takes a terrific grab and delivers a passionate celebration after nailing his first major in new colours

Love this gesture.

Being delisted by the Eagles was just part of the plan. Always a Demons man.

Go Jai!! Heart beats true ❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙

BTW, Max might have loved his darts, but Jai was the Charcoal Chicken chips megga box man!!!

As Bert Newton said (about Mohammed Ali) ... "I like the boy".

Looking for Culley to step up this week. He shows glimpses of his talent. He has the size, skill & footy smarts to be a big asset in the midfield as well as forward of the footy.

On 15/01/2026 at 22:44, Ethan Tremblay said:

From all accounts, he’s in absolute ripping nick.

So infuriating that the club would use AI to put Culley's head on my body

14 hours ago, Demon Jack said:

From the glimpses he's shown in the first few rounds, it's hard not to be excited about Culley.

Watch out when this guy starts to accumulate 20+ touches a game. More good things happen than not when he touches the ball.

He is a really clever kick - and he makes good decisions.

Regularly hits little 15-20 metres, often on the 45.

Those kicks atr not as sexy ad a koz 45 metre bullet that laces out a forward but they are critical in footy these days to maintain possession, avoid turnover and set up scoring g chains.

Its a kick many of our players over the last few years, including our best (eg trac, claz and may) could not regularly hit. Did my head in.

It's something Windsor and riv both need to improve - doing so would make both much more dangerous.

5 hours ago, binman said:

So infuriating that the club would use AI to put Culley's head on my body

I feel your pain. Producers did the same thing back in the 80’s with me and Ron Jeremy.