Two hundred and five days have elapsed since the final siren sounded at the MCG, bringing Melbourne’s 2025 season to a close and marking the end of an era.

It’s been an eternity waiting for the next chapter under Steven King. As the team takes on St Kilda, what resonates most is the opportunity for a clean slate – a chance for King to imprint his vision and for the Demons to rediscover their winning DNA.

We’ve moved on from the past - away from 2001, from 2011 and even beyond 2021. It’s finally the first Gameday of 2026: The Dawn of the New Melbourne.

What are you most hoping to see from the team today?

hoping to see a game style that can match it with the best, showing off blistering speed moving the ball while also being able to slow the game down if need be

Windsor is my watch for a big game

Edited 9 hours ago9 hr by Flagdees
Fixing

Early start for me with a 5.15am ‘throw up’. Will be up to watch to see if they can carry through on the pre-season game plan when there are 4 points up for grabs.

It will all be over before I sit down for my brekky.

Dees to squeak home and early season pressure to be Ross the boss.

We were put in the bottom 6 from alot of the “experts” meanwhile stkilda were put in the top 8/6 by them same experts.

come out and have some fun and show some fight and i think we could get very close to an upset win.

Langford BOG and dees by a point 🙏

We’ve got this.

Let’s hope it’s not this one…

So long between drinks, seems like a lifetime ago.

Impossible to feel optimistic or pessimistic about this, no idea what we're going to see.

But alarm bell for me is the way that the teams that played in Opening Round have the rub on the teams just starting their season. Longmuir was pretty filthy on it after the Dockers ran out of legs against Geelong. If we're to have a chance we could need a decent margin at the last break. But heh ... go dees.

Salem to have a blinder in his 200th , if he does dees win. We seem to win when this man plays well.

3 hours ago, CHF said:

Early start for me with a 5.15am ‘throw up’. Will be up to watch to see if they can carry through on the pre-season game plan when there are 4 points up for grabs.

It will all be over before I sit down for my brekky.

Dees to squeak home and early season pressure to be Ross the boss.

Is it wrong that I like these matches where I can get up and it's already over?

Your good old Uncle Bitter will be trotting off to the G today to enjoy some beer, some sunshine and a rebirth of the club. I shall be meeting twice excommunicated Demonlander - Moonshadow and shall indulge in some intellectual discussion with Demonland's " voice of reason" - @picket fence !

I have invested some of The Manor's cash reserves on a Dees win but .... with a degree of trepidation.

It's all new today so there will be many points of interest. Latrelle will certainly be one of them and I'm sure will prove to be as exciting a prospect as his cousin was. Hopefully the new 'old' faces in Steele, Mihocek and CJ will also settle quickly.

Our preseason opposition was ordinary so it's difficult to gauge where we are ,but there was some refreshing footy played and hope to see some of that pace and risk taking.

St Kilda is seared in my brain as a part of my worst footy memory and taking some of huff and puff out of the over hyped Saints would go a little way to erasing it.

Dees by 17.

Here we goooooo!

Go you demons!!

The saints with a game under their belt have a big advantage

I'm hoping to see some fluency and slick ball movement. Some excitement after the stodge we've endured for the last few seasons.

I'm not too focussed on the win/loss column. Embedding our new game plan and getting games into the youngsters is the objective this year.

Best of luck to our debutants and go dees

Feeling pretty optimistic about today. I don't think the Saints have the fire power up forward to kick a winning score. With no Marshall, TDK will have to play majority ruck. Keeler coming in for them is interesting. Last year he looked like a player with no conditioning from a ressie side but he somehow gave Steven May a bath.

I think we'll start really well but the extra conditioning for the Saints playing in OR will help them in the second half. We'll hold on to win by 17 pts.

Let's go Melbourne! I'll be watching on from the hospital. My wife just gave birth to our first child. ❤️💙

Just now, Where Demons Dare said:

Let's go Melbourne! I'll be watching on from the hospital. My wife just gave birth to our first child. ❤️💙

Congratulations!

Would love a win by any amount.

Doubtful Set up by the AFL to lose the first two.

I will look for competitiveness from the start of the first not the second like last couple of years.

Would love some run carry and vigor right through each quarter past the red time, and especially into the 4th,

Go dees

17 minutes ago, Where Demons Dare said:

Let's go Melbourne! I'll be watching on from the hospital. My wife just gave birth to our first child. ❤️💙

Congratulations mate, another Dee.

24 minutes ago, Where Demons Dare said:

Let's go Melbourne! I'll be watching on from the hospital. My wife just gave birth to our first child. ❤️💙

Woohoo congratulations!! Enjoy the first little bit with bub it is a truly magical time, unmactched by pretty much anything else ever (including second child when you've already got number 1 running around demanding attention).

25 minutes ago, Where Demons Dare said:

Let's go Melbourne! I'll be watching on from the hospital. My wife just gave birth to our first child. ❤️💙

well done mate are you recovering ok

Game day how ive missed you GO DEES GO YOU GOOD THINGS

2 hours ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

Your good old Uncle Bitter will be trotting off to the G today to enjoy some beer, some sunshine and a rebirth of the club. I shall be meeting twice excommunicated Demonlander - Moonshadow and shall indulge in some intellectual discussion with Demonland's " voice of reason" - @picket fence !

I have invested some of The Manor's cash reserves on a Dees win but .... with a degree of trepidation.

It's all new today so there will be many points of interest. Latrelle will certainly be one of them and I'm sure will prove to be as exciting a prospect as his cousin was. Hopefully the new 'old' faces in Steele, Mihocek and CJ will also settle quickly.

Our preseason opposition was ordinary so it's difficult to gauge where we are ,but there was some refreshing footy played and hope to see some of that pace and risk taking.

St Kilda is seared in my brain as a part of my worst footy memory and taking some of huff and puff out of the over hyped Saints would go a little way to erasing it.

Dees by 17.

2 hours ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

Your good old Uncle Bitter will be trotting off to the G today to enjoy some beer, some sunshine and a rebirth of the club. I shall be meeting twice excommunicated Demonlander - Moonshadow and shall indulge in some intellectual discussion with Demonland's " voice of reason" - @picket fence !

I have invested some of The Manor's cash reserves on a Dees win but .... with a degree of trepidation.

It's all new today so there will be many points of interest. Latrelle will certainly be one of them and I'm sure will prove to be as exciting a prospect as his cousin was. Hopefully the new 'old' faces in Steele, Mihocek and CJ will also settle quickly.

Our preseason opposition was ordinary so it's difficult to gauge where we are ,but there was some refreshing footy played and hope to see some of that pace and risk taking.

St Kilda is seared in my brain as a part of my worst footy memory and taking some of huff and puff out of the over hyped Saints would go a little way to erasing it.

Dees by 17.

2 hours ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

Your good old Uncle Bitter will be trotting off to the G today to enjoy some beer, some sunshine and a rebirth of the club. I shall be meeting twice excommunicated Demonlander - Moonshadow and shall indulge in some intellectual discussion with Demonland's " voice of reason" - @picket fence !

I have invested some of The Manor's cash reserves on a Dees win but .... with a degree of trepidation.

It's all new today so there will be many points of interest. Latrelle will certainly be one of them and I'm sure will prove to be as exciting a prospect as his cousin was. Hopefully the new 'old' faces in Steele, Mihocek and CJ will also settle quickly.

Our preseason opposition was ordinary so it's difficult to gauge where we are ,but there was some refreshing footy played and hope to see some of that pace and risk taking.

St Kilda is seared in my brain as a part of my worst footy memory and taking some of huff and puff out of the over hyped Saints would go a little way to erasing it.

Dees by 17.

It might be pertinent to mention at this piont Uncle that Latrelle's playing style reminds me so much of my former playing style, which, used to mesmerise opposition and guarantee admiring looks from our female supporters!

Genuinely excited. I’ve got a lot of optimism about this season, at least relative to expectation, but even if we’re a bottom 6-8 side this year I’m still excited to see our new players, our new coach, our new game plan and our new club (but not our new game day “activations”).

28 minutes ago, Where Demons Dare said:

Let's go Melbourne! I'll be watching on from the hospital. My wife just gave birth to our first child. ❤️💙

Eh, she is in hospital not you, I expect to see you at the G , CONGRATULATIONS!

I just want to see instinctive, in-your-face footy. Run hard both ways. Play for the team and the win.

There will be ups and downs and twists and turns but it certainly wont be boring to watch.

Best of luck to Salem in his 200th and to Latrelle, Steele, Mihocek, CJ and King on their red and blue debuts.

Check list 2 packs cigs 2 bottle of scotch (i START EARLY)brie cheese ,pies chips ,think i am ready.Now where is my little sheet rack