Demonland

A series of meetings between the club’s hierarchy, welfare team and his manager this week has the club confident he will take on St Kilda and find a way to manage the early months of the season. Pickett flew to Darwin earlier in the week to be with his daughter Belleny after a separation from his partner in recent weeks but is expected to fly back into Melbourne on Thursday night. It would allow him to train on Friday and Saturday and then play against St Kilda at the MCG on Sunday, with all signs pointing to a debut for his housemate and cousin Latrelle. The club’s highest-paid player is on a $12.5 million deal that extends to nine seasons. The 24-year-old had been thrilled to be so close to first-round draftee Latrelle Pickett across summer and had put in a flawless summer that meant he was in career-best shape. Pickett’s manager Anthony Van Der Wielen has been in town meeting with Melbourne across the weekend and putting in place preliminary plans for the weeks and months ahead. The best-case scenario is that Pickett doesn’t miss early-season games but is able to make quick trips north before returning for the main training sessions across the week. The Demons bye is in round 16, but they do have an eight-day break after Adelaide’s Gather Round clash leading into round 6 and an eight-day break leading into round 8. Having signed a new seven-year contract extension Pickett had finally committed to spending his AFL career in Melbourne and the club’s drafting of Latrelle only solidified that view. It is a far-from-ideal lead-in to a debut game for Latrelle but the No. 12 draft selection has taken the pre-season in his stride. Coach Steven King said on Wednesday the club would work with Pickett throughout the season to help him return to Darwin when required. “Kozzie needed to get back for family reasons and I fully support any father at our club to make sure they get to support their family. It was a no-brainer for us,’ King said. “He will play (on Sunday). I want to provide flexibility for our staff and players. Family is equally or more important than a game of footy, and we can make the two coexist.” Demons captain Max Gawn said on Thursday he was confident Pickett would play against St Kilda. “I get why it’s news because he’s the best player in our team. His family is in Darwin. My family is in Malvern, so it’s easier for me. So he’s had to go back to Darwin,” Gawn said. “It’s a real mature decision from all involved, and ideally, he’s back tonight for our training session tomorrow. Nothing to see here, it’s just unlucky his family is four hours away on a flight.”

With Opening Round done and dusted, Round 1 sees the full AFL competition finally swing into action for 2026. Discuss all the games this week that do not involve the Dees, share your tips, and let us know which results would suit Demons best.

Was this recorded on a potato?

The issue is not so much any one individual post stating a fact, but that once that aspect of the matter is opened up for discussion it can quickly lead to further commentary and speculation, which is exactly what we are trying to avoid. The relevant facts have already been presented, so from here we are asking posters to leave the personal side of it there and keep any discussion to football-related implications only.

STEVEN King says Kozzy Pickett is expected to play in the club's season-opening clash, during his first game-week press conference as head coach of the Melbourne Football Club. He shared news that star Demon Kysaiah Pickett has travelled to Darwin to deal with personal issues ahead of the club's season-opening clash with St Kilda. Kozzy Pickett "We were pretty proactive with it, Kozzy needed to get back for family reasons and I fully support any father at our club to make sure they get to support their family," King said. "Kozzy will be back tomorrow, he'll do our T2 (main training session two) and play. "That's something I want to provide flexibility for our staff and players that family is equally or more important than just the game of footy. "We'll give Kozzy all the time he needs to take care of his family and his daughter and he'll be fine. We'll work that with him throughout the season as it progresses but he'll play." MORE TO COME

@BLWNBA @GawnOfTheDead

Please respect Kozzy’s and his family’s privacy and avoid speculating about the reasons behind the split. It is a personal matter and not our business. A statement has been made confirming the separation, and that should be left at that. Discussion about any football-related ramifications for Kozzy’s future is fine, but personal details and private matters should not be discussed here.

When the Demons blew their 46-point lead at Marvel Stadium in Round 20 last year, the fallout was enormous. Like an event straight out of a Shakespearean tragedy, Melbourne’s final-quarter collapse left fans reeling and the club grappling with the aftermath. Within ten days came the premature end of the tenure of the only premiership coach in the living memory of much of the Demon faithful. The conspiracy theories surrounding his removal rivalled the whispered intrigue that followed the demise of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar in the great bard’s telling. The club replaced Simon Goodwin not with another Caesar, but with a King - one who quickly set about reshaping his army, removing one by one a number of highly decorated foot soldiers no longer deemed suitable for the new battle plan. And now, as if by design, his forces are ready for the rematch on the very day my kinsman, the soothsayer, warned us to beware: the fifteenth day of the third month on the Gregorian calendar. Beware the Ides of March. The opening round of the football season is always a challenging one to predict. In this game, we only have the exposed form of one of the combatants who clearly demonstrated that preseason form is inconsequential. We saw the Saints underperform on Sunday night against Collingwood given the elevated expectations generated by the off-season spending spree that secured four highly priced and highly touted recruits and the retention at increased cost of budding superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera followed by some easy wins in the meaningless preseason competition. Melbourne, on the other hand, are seemingly at a disadvantage because they were never put under pressure during their 1½ match simulation/ Community Cup series. On the weekend, while the Saints were slugging it out in front of 82,528 at a packed-out MCG, the Demons had to settle for some more match simulation in front of an almost empty stadium out at Casey Fields. From my perspective, another concern is the assumption that Melbourne is somehow exempt from pressure this season because a rookie coach has taken over following two disappointing years. That line of thinking doesn’t hold up. When you strip it back to the fundamentals, the Demons’ list profile - both in terms of age demographic and overall talent - should place genuine expectations and pressure on the club heading into a new season. It shouldn’t be used as a ready-made excuse for underperformance. Steven King’s debut as an AFL senior coach has received a boost, with injured trio Jai Culley (arm), Bayley Fritsch (hand) and Brody Mihocek (concussion) all given the green light to face St Kilda. Their availability could set up a potential debut for Mihocek, while Jack Steele and Changkuoth Jiath are also in line to pull on the red and blue for the first time. Young gun forward Latrelle Pickett, taken with pick No.12 in last year’s draft, is firmly in the mix, along with promising young ruckman Max Heath, as excitement builds around the Demons ahead of the clash. Steele and Heath, both former Saints, will have extra incentive to shine against their old club although the latter’s prospects might have been damaged by the injury to Rowan Marshall given the apparent preference of the Demons’ eight time All-Australian Max Gawn to go it mostly alone in the ruck. "You're going to see a different looking Melbourne" - Steven King. The big plus for Melbourne is the fact that the style of play that is being promoted appears to have finally have been embraced by a playing group working in unison so we can expect faster ball movement leading to superior forward connection and better conversion since the team started slipping off the rails three seasons ago. It hasn’t been tested under full match pressure and while I take on board the soothsayer’s warning to beware the Ides of March, I have confidence in the Demons to overcome Naz and the Saints and to finally put an end to the club’s Shakespearean nightmare. Melbourne to win by 18 points. THE GAME Melbourne vs St Kilda at The MCG on Sunday 15 March 2026 at 3.15pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 126 wins St Kilda 96 wins 1 drawn At The MCG Melbourne 61 wins St Kilda 37 wins Past five meetings Melbourne 3 wins St Kilda 2 wins The Coaches King 0 wins Lyon 0 wins THE LAST TIME THEY MET St Kilda 15.6.96 defeated Melbourne 13.12.90 at Marvel Stadium in Round 20 2025 They were sublime for three quarters and looked home and hosed at the final break. What followed in the next 32 minutes and 41 seconds was downright embarrassing for a team that included so many premiership players and heralded the end of an era at the Melbourne Football Club. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B H. Petty, J. Lever, B. Howes HB C. Jiath, D. Turner, C. Salem C X. Lindsay, J. Steele, E. Langdon HF K. Pickett, J. van Rooyen, T. Sparrow F B. Fritsch, B. Mihocek, K. Chandler FOLL M. Gawn, C. Windsor, H. Langford I/C J. Culley, L. Pickett, T. Rivers, H. Sharp, K. Tholstrup EMG M. Heath, T. McDonald, J. Melksham NEW C. Jiath, B. Mihocek, L. Pickett, J. Steele ST KILDA B J. Silvagni, C. Wilkie, A. Caminiti HB A. Tauru, B. Hill, N. Wanganeen-Milera C M. Windhager, M. Hall, D. Wilson HF M. Phillipou, H. Boxshall, M. Owens F L. Ryan, C. Sharman, J. Higgins FOLL T. De Koning, S. Flanders, J. Sinclair I/C J. Carroll, H. Garcia, I. Keeler, J. Macrae, M. Wood EMG: C. Banfield, A. Dodson, L. Stocker IN I. Keeler OUT R. Marshall (concussion) Injury List: Round 1 Jai Culley — arm / available Bayley Fritsch — hand / available Jack Henderson — sacrum / available Brody Mihocek — concussion / available Andy Moniz-Wakefield — knee / available Shane McAdam — Achilles / 2-4 weeks Matthew Jefferson — foot / 4-6 weeks Aidan Johnson — knee / 4-6 weeks Luker Kentfield — knee / 4-6 weeks Kalani White — glandular fever / 4-6 weeks Jake Bowey — foot / 8-10 weeks Tom Campbell — neck / TBC Jack Viney — Achilles / TBC

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NEW MELBOURNE coach Steven King will start his coaching career on Sunday with access to a few players that have been under injury clouds ahead of round one. Jai Culley had been one of the standouts of the summer at the Demons until he broke his arm in February. But after fully training across the past fortnight, Culley has been cleared to face St Kilda at the MCG. The 23-year-old landed another AFL chance this time last year via a late SSP spot, before impressing across the final month of the home and away season to earn another contract. Bayley Fritsch has also been given the green light to start the season after undergoing surgery to repair his hand, which became infected from a dog bite. Brody Mihocek has now exited concussion protocols after an incident in a practice match and will play his first game for the club since crossing from Collingwood in the off-season. The Collingwood premiership player is set to be joined by former St Kilda captain Jack Steele and ex-Hawk Changkuoth Jiath, who have both become even more important to the Demons since the deadline day moves. Vice-captain Jack Viney isn’t expected to be available until midway through the season due to Achilles surgery, while Jake Bowey is set to be sidelined for another few months due to a Lisfranc injury in his foot. Steele has put his head down across the pre-season and is set to play a key midfield role alongside eight-time All-Australian ruckman Max Gawn. With Christian Petracca moving to Gold Coast and Clayton Oliver traded to Greater Western Sydney, King is set to expose Caleb Windsor and Harvey Langford to increased midfield time in 2026. King and his coaching team got a close look at the Saints at the MCG on Sunday night ahead of the first game of a new era for Melbourne this Sunday.

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