No Christian Petracca or Clayton Oliver, and with Jack Viney sidelined, the Dees' midfield is set to look different in 2026.

HARVEY Langford and Caleb Windsor, come on down. 

Melbourne will start its 2026 season with an unrecognisable midfield from the engine room that steered it towards the 2021 premiership and the many years before and since that drought-breaking flag.

Christian Petracca wanted to go and was traded to Gold Coast. Clayton Oliver was told to look around and headed to Greater Western Sydney. They were big calls given the pair's long history as club champions but change was right for all parties. 

But now, Jack Viney will also be missing for at least half a season after undergoing Achilles surgery on Tuesday, to go with a recent back injury that has ruined his pre-season.

New coach Steven King has known this time was coming and the Demons will start this season throwing the responsibility to a new group.

They added former St Kilda captain Jack Steele in a deadline day trade for a third-round pick – essentially swapping Oliver for Steele – and he will add experience with Viney out. 

But the shift away from Petracca and Oliver had already started to happen last year, when matchwinner Kysaiah Pickett attended the third most centre bounces for the Dees (388) and had an average of 19.4 per game (equal second with Viney behind Oliver). 

Pickett will again be a midfield and forward half mainstay under King, having produced a career-best campaign last year. Champion Data showed between rounds four and 23, he was the No.1 centre bounce player at the club and remained the No.1 player at Melbourne and No.6 player in the AFL for total scoreboard impact over that period too.

Then there was his touch as well, with 86.7 per cent of those leading to a clearance for Melbourne. Only Marcus Bontempelli had a higher rate of the top 75 first-possession players.

Trent Rivers and top-10 draft picks Windsor and Langford are set to get more opportunity around the ball. They're ready for it.

The Demons won a clearance 53.5 per cent of the time Rivers attended a centre bounce last year – which ranked as the best percentage of the top 125 attendees in the AFL. The majority of his midfield work was done in the middle of last season before returning largely to half-back (his season breakdown was 67 per cent game time as a defender), but expect to see him again at the feet of Max Gawn through this season.

Windsor had disruptions last year but the wiry, pacy talent didn't attend a centre bounce until round 20. Three games of midfield presence has lit the fuse for the pre-season and the 20-year-old has made bounds over summer.

Langford, the Dees' prized No.6 pick at the 2024 draft, finished fourth in the Telstra AFL Rising Star last year in his debut season but the Demons will have budgeted for him to hone in on an inside midfield position during their Trade Period moves last year.

Certainly Langford will feel ready, with the Melbourne No.4 having the size and strength to take things up a notch after being sixth in line on the Demons' centre bounce attendances last season, and then there is Tom Sparrow, who had even less centre bounce exposure than Langford last season but will be one of the most experienced players in the Melbourne midfield this year.

Xavier Lindsay started his career last season playing outside of the square but dominated his draft year around the ball and that also looks his long-term projection, with King's first year at the helm giving him a chance to mix and match the best group to fit the Dees.

The change would have been on King's agenda before Viney's interrupted summer. Champion Data's statistics show Viney's first possession to clearance rate at 66.3 per cent was the second lowest of the top 75 players, with Oliver the fourth lowest in that list last year. 

In 2021, 2022 and 2024, the Demons' most used midfield combination next to Gawn was Petracca, Oliver and Viney. In 2023, Angus Brayshaw leapt ahead of Oliver but Petracca and Viney remained in the top three, while last year Pickett was in third place alongside Petracca and Oliver. A new dawn awaits Gawn. 

With the loss of Viney will this expose us…I would of thought getting another seasoned mid body, Tom Mitchell was available as a stop gap and help the young mids, a Brownlow medalist and premiership player

I’ve seen a load of posts for comments saying we will be destroyed in the middle.. which is very possible.

I’m really excited to see how our young midfield go.

Even if they get destroyed, it’s exciting to see the future and the skill they do have, which will only get better, especially with more years of experience and muscle.

1 hour ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

I’ve seen a load of posts for comments saying we will be destroyed in the middle.. which is very possible.

I’m really excited to see how our young midfield go.

Even if they get destroyed, it’s exciting to see the future and the skill they do have, which will only get better, especially with more years of experience and muscle.

I've chortled for some whiles now that I dont see 26as all doom and gloom, far from it imho. I still harbour the notion we will surprise a few and it might well emanate from the engine room itself. Oh we will be a bit rusty and clunky to begin but I think as we settle into more of a real rhythm after a handful of games the new- midfield, as it were, might start meshing. Tbh I don't really understand why many if any were overly enmeshed with the midfield of old. It was a far less formidable entity than 20/21/22 era. Most of our real drive came via the half back line... the days of bang bang bang out of the middle were imho very short lived. After that it was more bang crash walloped!!

Windsor will be the key here . Steele will offer a steady and knowing guiding hand.

The likes of Culley might prove interesting, at least entertaining and speaking of showmen... well.... over to you Kozzie !!

I think we might go ok

👍👍👍

Edited 13 hours ago13 hr by beelzebub

We have a lot to look forward to even though there may be some teething problems

I hadn’t realised just how effective Rivers was in clearance data last year - very impressive.

2 minutes ago, monoccular said:

We have a lot to look forward to even though there may be some teething problems

I hadn’t realised just how effective Rivers was in clearance data last year - very impressive.

Ought to be even more effective now..... now we have some idea of what to do going forward 😉

Time to get behind new midfield. Give them time.

4 hours ago, Demonland said:

No Christian Petracca or Clayton Oliver, and with Jack Viney sidelined, the Dees' midfield is set to look different in 2026.

HARVEY Langford and Caleb Windsor, come on down. 

Melbourne will start its 2026 season with an unrecognisable midfield from the engine room that steered it towards the 2021 premiership and the many years before and since that drought-breaking flag.

Christian Petracca wanted to go and was traded to Gold Coast. Clayton Oliver was told to look around and headed to Greater Western Sydney. They were big calls given the pair's long history as club champions but change was right for all parties. 

But now, Jack Viney will also be missing for at least half a season after undergoing Achilles surgery on Tuesday, to go with a recent back injury that has ruined his pre-season.

New coach Steven King has known this time was coming and the Demons will start this season throwing the responsibility to a new group.

They added former St Kilda captain Jack Steele in a deadline day trade for a third-round pick – essentially swapping Oliver for Steele – and he will add experience with Viney out. 

But the shift away from Petracca and Oliver had already started to happen last year, when matchwinner Kysaiah Pickett attended the third most centre bounces for the Dees (388) and had an average of 19.4 per game (equal second with Viney behind Oliver). 

Pickett will again be a midfield and forward half mainstay under King, having produced a career-best campaign last year. Champion Data showed between rounds four and 23, he was the No.1 centre bounce player at the club and remained the No.1 player at Melbourne and No.6 player in the AFL for total scoreboard impact over that period too.

Then there was his touch as well, with 86.7 per cent of those leading to a clearance for Melbourne. Only Marcus Bontempelli had a higher rate of the top 75 first-possession players.

Trent Rivers and top-10 draft picks Windsor and Langford are set to get more opportunity around the ball. They're ready for it.

The Demons won a clearance 53.5 per cent of the time Rivers attended a centre bounce last year – which ranked as the best percentage of the top 125 attendees in the AFL. The majority of his midfield work was done in the middle of last season before returning largely to half-back (his season breakdown was 67 per cent game time as a defender), but expect to see him again at the feet of Max Gawn through this season.

Windsor had disruptions last year but the wiry, pacy talent didn't attend a centre bounce until round 20. Three games of midfield presence has lit the fuse for the pre-season and the 20-year-old has made bounds over summer.

Langford, the Dees' prized No.6 pick at the 2024 draft, finished fourth in the Telstra AFL Rising Star last year in his debut season but the Demons will have budgeted for him to hone in on an inside midfield position during their Trade Period moves last year.

Certainly Langford will feel ready, with the Melbourne No.4 having the size and strength to take things up a notch after being sixth in line on the Demons' centre bounce attendances last season, and then there is Tom Sparrow, who had even less centre bounce exposure than Langford last season but will be one of the most experienced players in the Melbourne midfield this year.

Xavier Lindsay started his career last season playing outside of the square but dominated his draft year around the ball and that also looks his long-term projection, with King's first year at the helm giving him a chance to mix and match the best group to fit the Dees.

The change would have been on King's agenda before Viney's interrupted summer. Champion Data's statistics show Viney's first possession to clearance rate at 66.3 per cent was the second lowest of the top 75 players, with Oliver the fourth lowest in that list last year. 

In 2021, 2022 and 2024, the Demons' most used midfield combination next to Gawn was Petracca, Oliver and Viney. In 2023, Angus Brayshaw leapt ahead of Oliver but Petracca and Viney remained in the top three, while last year Pickett was in third place alongside Petracca and Oliver. A new dawn awaits Gawn. 

Excellent summary. I’m excited in anticipation, and growing in confidence!

Put Sparrow on the ball & leave him there.

And Windsor is a natural wing or flanker nowhere near a midfielder.

1 hour ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

I’ve seen a load of posts for comments saying we will be destroyed in the middle.. which is very possible.

I’m really excited to see how our young midfield go.

Even if they get destroyed, it’s exciting to see the future and the skill they do have, which will only get better, especially with more years of experience and muscle.

Also it will be good to see a bit of speed and 'pizazz'(insert giif here) instead of just pure grunt work

2 minutes ago, Cranky Franky said:

Put Sparrow on the ball & leave him there.

And Windsor is a natural wing or flanker nowhere near a midfielder.

We now have options Cranky, give them all a run I say let’s see who can cut the mustard.

Our midfield has been incredibly one paced for many of the Goodwin years, which was not in itself always problematic but three midfield bulls doesn't seem to be what the game requires anymore.

We've now got Steele who ticks the contested possession beast box, we have the dynamism of kozzy and then the third is a suprise packet. Rivers, Culley, Langford, Windsor and even the much maligned sparrow (whose best footy is played in the middle and not in some pseudo high half forward role he was shoehorned into), are all incredibly exciting prospects.

We should not quickly forget that we still have the best ruckman in the game.

I'm not contending that we will win every centre clearance for the whole year but i think we've got a lot more to be excited about than it might seem.

I’m liking the look of Other - but then he is a brother from another mother.

Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by TRIGON

I might be ostracised here for saying this, but I honestly think the age of a midfield group of superstars is over. The best teams are the ones that can

• Bat deep in the midfield

• Constantly rotate players through

• Keep oppositions guessing with a mix of different players in different positions at set ups

• Mix of speed, agression, grunt at different times

It worked for us in our flag year, then got exposed when teams with a much weaker midfield dominating us because they kept us guessing, and we always did the same thing and never tried different players. Just relying on our 'stars' which wasn't the way anymore.

It does not require bonafide midfield stars to win the midfield game. It requires hard running, cohesion and ability to adapt.

34 minutes ago, Cranky Franky said:

Put Sparrow on the ball & leave him there.

And Windsor is a natural wing or flanker nowhere near a midfielder.

If you'd seen his preseason work, and his limited work in the midfield at the end of last year, you'd realise that is a terrible take on Windsor

40 minutes ago, TRIGON said:

I’m liking the look of Other - but then he is a brother from another mother.

Do you mean Onley Trigon 194cm with pace?

34 minutes ago, Trident22 said:

If you'd seen his preseason work, and his limited work in the midfield at the end of last year, you'd realise that is a terrible take on Windsor

I thought he was poor last year although that wasn't his fault. As I said a natural winger & will be very surprised if he makes it as a mid.

13 minutes ago, DeeZone said:

Do you mean Onley Trigon 194cm with pace?

I’ve been rumbled.

1 hour ago, Cranky Franky said:

Put Sparrow on the ball & leave him there.

And Windsor is a natural wing or flanker nowhere near a midfielder.

we seemed to have quickly forgotten about our most talked up midfield player in preseason...Culley. I thought our midfield could be one of the worst but Pickett, Rivers, Steele, Langford, Culley, Windsor should compete with most teams.

1 hour ago, Cranky Franky said:

Put Sparrow on the ball & leave him there.

And Windsor is a natural wing or flanker nowhere near a midfielder.

The last 3 matches by Windsor showed why he is every bit an outside mid , which we badly need. On the other hand unless Sparrow makes great improvement , yes he should play as a Mid. At Casey!

1 hour ago, Cranky Franky said:

Put Sparrow on the ball & leave him there.

And Windsor is a natural wing or flanker nowhere near a midfielder.

The last 3 matches showed why Windsor is a gun outside mid, with pace . On the other hand each year Sparrow’s stats get worse. Averaged 13 possessions a game in 25, compared with 17 in 23. I expected great things from him and have been SO disappointed . In the last match v Collingwood we would have won but for some real blunders by Sparrow in q4

1 hour ago, Demon_JB said:

I might be ostracised here for saying this, but I honestly think the age of a midfield group of superstars is over. The best teams are the ones that can

• Bat deep in the midfield

• Constantly rotate players through

• Keep oppositions guessing with a mix of different players in different positions at set ups

• Mix of speed, agression, grunt at different times

It worked for us in our flag year, then got exposed when teams with a much weaker midfield dominating us because they kept us guessing, and we always did the same thing and never tried different players. Just relying on our 'stars' which wasn't the way anymore.

It does not require bonafide midfield stars to win the midfield game. It requires hard running, cohesion and ability to adapt.

I agree, look at the Hawks. Jai Newcombe aside in parts they did not have a single dominant mid for most of last season but a large group of dynamic players who can rotate through there, playing an attacking style with elite speed and running power. It will take a while to get there for us but I think this is more the way the game is trending, Geelong have a similar setup as well.

Who’s Dawn?

21 minutes ago, chook fowler said:

Who’s Dawn?

French

2 hours ago, Tom Dyson said:

Our midfield has been incredibly one paced for many of the Goodwin years, which was not in itself always problematic but three midfield bulls doesn't seem to be what the game requires anymore.

We've now got Steele who ticks the contested possession beast box, we have the dynamism of kozzy and then the third is a suprise packet. Rivers, Culley, Langford, Windsor and even the much maligned sparrow (whose best footy is played in the middle and not in some pseudo high half forward role he was shoehorned into), are all incredibly exciting prospects.

We should not quickly forget that we still have the best ruckman in the game.

I'm not contending that we will win every centre clearance for the whole year but i think we've got a lot more to be excited about than it might seem.

Completely agree with all of that.

For all the 'gee the Dees don't have Clarry, Viney or Trac' there this year, well, yeah, but having them there last year (and the year before) didn't do much for us, anyway...

I reckon the kids will be great - being thrown into it, is the BEST way to learn. With the other 3 there, their opportunities will be limited. Not anymore. They have skills and now a golden opportunity.

We will lose a bit this year (again, that reality already set in last year), but now we will lose with promise of the next game and building towards something.

I think we will surprise a few. Seriously.

the game is won and lost in the midfield

for the last three to four seasons we've been incredibly predictable in terms of how we were setting up and what we were going to do

2026 is a blank slate for what our engine room is going to deliver