Demonland

The AFL Commission has approved rule changes to remove the centre bounce and the substitute for the 2026 season. The league announced the change on Wednesday morning after “extensive consultation with clubs, umpires, players and the AFLPA”. The AFL’s manager of football performance, Greg Swann, said the game had evolved and removing the bounce would bring benefits in “several areas”. “Currently, umpire pathways are being narrowed by the requirement of the bounce. It is a difficult skill to execute, and we believe is preventing some of our best umpiring prospects from progressing any further in the AFL pathway despite having elite decision-making skills. “By removing the skill aspect of bouncing the ball, umpires can focus their energy on adjudicating the game and consistency of decision-making. “We also anticipate this decision will be safer for umpires and players at the contest and lessen the likelihood of umpire contact at the restart. “The removal of the bounce we predict will also have a positive impact in the reduction of game length and produce a cleaner and fairer ruck contest, two areas we have been monitoring for the past two seasons. “Additionally, it will also create consistency across national competitions.” With the removal of the substitute rule, clubs will name 23 players, with five players named on the interchange. “We have listened to the feedback from players, the clubs and the AFLPA to remove the substitute in favour of a fifth interchange player with rotations to remain the same,” Swann said.

The Demon stalwart surpassed the number of his father's appearances for the club towards the end of the season. As he approaches his thirties, his pace is inevitably slowing, and he is likely to explore alternative opportunities beyond the team's midfield. Date of Birth: 13 April 1994 Height: 178cm Games MFC 2025: 18 Career Total: 237 Goals MFC 2025: 3 Career Total: 69 Brownlow Medal Votes: 8 votes Melbourne Football Club: 10th Best & Fairest: 313 votes

The Demon premiership defender who has the reputation the master of intercept possessions as well as great leadership qualities managed only eight senior games this season as he battled injury and form, prompting speculation that he might be enticed to look elsewhere Date of Birth: 5 March 1996 Height: 194cm Games MFC 2025: 8 Career Total: 186 Goals MFC 2025: 0 Career Total: Games CDFC 2025: 2 Goals CDFC 2025: 0

The diminutive forward who starred in the 2021 finals and was a major contributor to the club’s premiership success, has struggled with injuries over recent seasons. He will move across to his father’s old club North Melbourne as a free agent next year. Date of Birth: 25 November 1999 Height: 172cm Games MFC 2025:10 Career Total: 108 Goals MFC 2025: 1 Career Total: 64 Games CDFC 2025: 6 Goals CDFC 2025: 1

“Disco” took his time (four seasons) but the mid-season draftee has been a shining light of Melbourne's campaign, improving to become a versatile option at either end of the ground. He has great marking skills which allows him to play as a marking target up forward or an intercepting defender down back. Date of Birth: 28 January 2002 Height: 194cm Games MFC 2025: 19 Career Total: 37 Goals MFC 2025: 7 Career Total 24 Games CDFC 2025: 1 Goals CDFC 2025: 5

The skipper delivered another outstanding season, leading the team from the front, participating in every game, and earning club champion honours, while also securing an equal record eighth All-Australian blazer as a ruckman. Max Gawn is arguably the greatest exponent of ruck skills in the history of the game; an exceptional leader who has guided the club to a premiership, through the challenging times that followed, and now into the next phase of its storied history. Date of Birth: 30 December 1991 Height: 209cm Games MFC 2025: 23 Career Total: 247 Goals MFC 2025: 6Career Total: 115 Brownlow Medal Votes: 23 votes Melbourne Football Club: “Bluey” Truscott Memorial Trophy for Best & Fairest: 592 votes

MELBOURNE Demons CEO Paul Guerra has written to club members It’s a great privilege to be writing to you for the first time as the CEO of the Melbourne Football Club. It’s an honour and I’m incredibly excited to be entering this next chapter, together. It’s been a few weeks since I officially started – trust me when I say I had been eager to get my feet under the desk for some time – and I couldn’t have asked for a better welcome. I have been fortunate enough to meet many of our members and supporters at various events and matches, sharing ideas, stories and traditions. As a club, we will aspire to be the best, driving high performance both on and off the field. Our President Brad Green and the Board have done a terrific job in setting the foundations for the next phase of our journey, and I am excited to work with Brad, and in turn Steven Smith, and the Board to build on that momentum. Earlier this month, we proudly made the announcement that Steven King will be our new AFL Senior Coach. Steven was extremely impressive in his presentation to the selection panel, and we were unanimous in the belief that he is the right person to take us forward. Steven will officially commence with the club this week, following Geelong’s grand final appearance over the weekend. We are delighted to welcome him, his wife Danielle and their children to the Melbourne Football Club. As we reach the end of the AFL season, I want to take a moment to thank all our partners who have been with us for the 2025 campaign. Their support plays a vital role in everything we do, and just as importantly, helping our players to perform at their best on the field. Hertz, who have been part of our family for decades, will continue their sponsorship with the club in a different capacity in 2026. This does create an opportunity for a new Co-Principal Partner to feature on our men’s guernsey and excitingly, we are already in conversations with a number of prospective partners. We look forward to sharing more news with you in due course. With the final siren sounding on the season, we know attention quickly turns to the AFL Trade and Free Agency period. There will be plenty of speculation over the next few weeks, and I would like to acknowledge that this can be unsettling for many of our members. While much will be spoken about, I implore you to keep tabs on our official club channels, being our website and social media, for accurate information. We will endeavour to share any updates in a timely fashion. No doubt many of you would have heard Christian Petracca’s name mentioned in recent days. As a footy club we couldn’t be more excited and confident in where our AFL program is headed. We know our future success will be built on people and players who are fully committed to where we are heading. We met with Christian late last week where he expressed his desire to explore a fresh start in 2026. Christian is contracted for a further four years and is a once in a generation player. With this in mind, any decision regarding Christian’s future will be made in the best interest of the Melbourne Football Club. In terms of our overarching strategy for this period, our focus is simple; we will explore every opportunity to strengthen our list. Our job is to ensure our list is the best it can be and that ultimately Melbourne Football Club is competing in September. To give you more insight, please click here to view a member-first interview with our AFL List Manager Tim Lamb, which seeks to provide a preview of what to expect in the weeks ahead. On field, it’s been a strong start to the season for our AFLW team, having notched up six, out of a possible seven, wins to date. Led by Senior Coach Mick Stinear and Captain Kate Hore, the group is playing a terrific brand of footy – one that I know they’re excited to build on over the coming weeks. It’s been fantastic to see the support of the Demon faithful, both at home and away, and I hope you’re looking forward to what lies ahead. Thank you again for the warm welcome I have received so far from everyone involved with the Melbourne Football Club. Together I know we can continue to make everyone proud to belong. I hope to see you at IKON Park on Friday night for our AFLW clash against Essendon. Go Dees, Paul Guerra CEO Melbourne Football Club

It was a frustrating season for the former number 13 draft selection, who failed to build momentum in his second campaign; Tholstrup played only nine games, having been omitted twice and substituted out three times. However, he demonstrated promising signs in the midfield at Casey towards the end of the season, and big things are anticipated from him in the coming years. Date of Birth: 25 July 2005 Height: 186cm Games MFC 2025: 9 Career Total: 19 Goals MFC 2024: 3 Career Total: 8 Games CDFC 2025: 8 Goals CDFC 2025: 4

Darcy Fogarty Stats Year Team # GM W-D-L KI MK HB DI GL BH HO TK RB IF CL CG FF FA BR CP UP CM MI 1% BO GA 2018 Adelaide 32 10 4-0-6 57 32 27 84 9 3 20 3 20 1 24 7 15 43 51 6 11 17 1 7 2019 Adelaide 32 4 1-0-3 28 22 14 42 9 1 1 2 11 3 1 2 1 12 30 5 6 5 1 2 2020 Adelaide 32 10 3-0-7 41 19 33 74 8 1 2 22 2 13 3 21 11 10 49 23 7 5 13 1 3 2021 Adelaide 32 17 5-0-12 95 53 42 137 24 12 1 21 34 5 28 19 16 73 71 15 28 19 6 2022 Adelaide 32 17 6-0-11 113 75 54 167 33 14 2 31 41 6 41 11 20 2 85 91 24 32 39 8 2023 Adelaide 32 21 9-0-12 157 102 80 237 34 23 1 41 1 41 8 50 11 24 3 102 139 24 42 24 2 16 2024 Adelaide 32 23 8-1-14 165 111 85 250 41 16 35 1 49 4 48 17 23 2 113 140 32 39 35 4 15 2025 Adelaide 32 24 18-0-6 186 115 83 269 41 16 26 2 52 5 54 16 19 86 183 22 41 31 19 Totals 126 54-1-71 842 529 418 1260 199 86 7 198 9 261 32 269 93 129 8 563 728 135 204 183 9 76 Averages 15.75 43.25% 6.68 4.20 3.32 10.00 1.58 0.68 0.06 1.57 0.07 2.07 0.25 2.13 0.74 1.02 0.06 4.47 5.78 1.07 1.62 1.45 0.07 0.60

Clayton Oliver, a four-time best and fairest winner at the club, has navigated a challenging period over the past two years, marked by injuries and personal issues, but has demonstrated promising signs suggesting a return to his optimal form in 2025. He is presently contracted to the club for an additional five years, with a substantial annual salary of approximately $1.7 million in the final seasons of his agreement. All at Melbourne are eagerly anticipating his resurgence to his previous peak performance levels. Date of Birth: 22 July 1997 Height: 189cm Games MFC 2025: 22 Career Total: 205 Goals MFC 2025: 4 Career Total: 58 Melbourne Football Club: 7th Best & Fairest: 353 votes

Billings managed only one game at Melbourne in the final year of his contract but was outstanding at VFL level where he played a significant role in Casey’s run into the finals often collecting 30 + touches during that period. His delisting was announced on the night of the club’s best and fairest count. Date of Birth: 18 August 1995 Height: 185cm Games MFC 2025: 1 Career Total: 172 Goals MFC 2025: 0 Career Total: 112 Games CDFC 2025: 17 Goals CDFC 2025: 14

Langdon showcased his versatility when he was asked to leave his customary wing position at times to undertake midfield and tagging roles. A consistent performer at the Demons, he’s contracted for three more years. Date of Birth: 1 February 1996 Height: 185cm Games MFC 2025: 23 Career Total: 202 Goals MFC 2025: 8 Career Total: 84 Melbourne Football Club: 8th Best & Fairest: 333 votes

Seemingly out of favour in 2025, the smooth moving Laurie spent the year in the VFL as a leading light in the Casey Demons midfield, and he will likely be hoping that a new coach can revitalise his career or, alternatively, find a potential suitor from another AFL club. Date of Birth: 24 March 2002 Height: 179cm Games MFC 2025: 1 Career Total: 12 Goals MFC 2025: 0 Career Total: 2 Games CDFC 2025: 18 Goals CDFC 2025: 17

Jake Bowey experienced a breakout season as Melbourne's primary ball handler operating off half back. As a skilled distributor of the football, he deserved the recognition he received for his invaluable contribution to the team cause. Date of Birth: 12 September 2002 Height: 175cm Games MFC 2025: 23 Career Total: 84 Goals MFC 2025: 2 Career Total: 8 Brownlow Medal Votes: 3 votes Melbourne Football Club: Ivor Warne Smith Memorial Trophy 4th Best & Fairest: 459 votes