Club Focus Melbourne 2026

[bzparkes]

Melbourne clearly made some big moves in the offseason, with the departures of Oliver and Petracca and, to a lesser extent, Judd McVee.

Steven May

1

Steven May

Age

34

Ht

193cm

Wt

101kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.7

4star

K

10.5

4star

HB

4.2

3star

M

5.1

5star

T

1.5

3star

MG

307.3

4star

D

15.5

4star

K

12.1

5star

HB

3.4

2star

M

3.4

3star

T

0.5

1star

MG

378.4

5star

D

12.4

4star

K

8.8

4star

HB

3.6

3star

M

3.2

4star

T

1.8

4star

has been banished to the shadow realm(dunno why they didn't just pay him out but that's neither here nor there), so Turner will get more opportunity and Brody Mihocek

28

Brody Mihocek

Age

33

Ht

192cm

Wt

99kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.9

3star

K

8.2

3star

HB

3.7

3star

M

5.3

5star

T

2.0

4star

G

1.6

5star

D

8.4

2star

K

6.3

3star

HB

2.1

2star

M

4.3

4star

T

1.9

3star

G

1.7

5star

D

10.2

3star

K

6.4

3star

HB

3.8

3star

M

4.6

5star

T

1.8

4star

G

1.6

5star

has been added to bolster their KPF stocks.

They're in a bit of an interesting spot. Clearly they are looking to build for the future, having taken multiple first rounders in the last 3 drafts, however they still do have plenty of experience on the list to transition a bit more 'on the run' unlike West Coast and Richmond, who both spent significant draft capital(WCE Kelly, Rich, Hopper/Taranto) to have another crack at a flag. Having said that, they still have the third oldest list, although that's skewed by Gawn, Melksham, May, Campbell, McDonal and Mihocek, most of whom will be gone in the next 2 years.

Having said that, looking at Melbourne midfield now that Petracca and Oliver are gone, it's definitely taken a big hit. Yes they brought in Steele as a mature body but he's not going to propel them into contention.

Looking at some of the proposed best 23's going around, their midfield looks quite slow, Steele, Culley and Langford not known for being speedsters and the loss of Petracca will exacerbate this further, as champion data had him as the number 1 'speed of ball movement' player in the AFL last season(according to Hoyne on SEN last Friday. This certainly explains the interest in Humphrey and it'll be interesting if he does look to get traded to the Dees again this trade period. Jiath should provide some dash off HB also.

They do have some good young talent they've been stockpiling, so I don't think it'll be WCE levels of shitness for a few years, but they definitely some high end talent to boost a number of areas around the ground.

In terms of position and player types, I probably rank it like this:

1. Speed - Winsdor's got some toe and K.Pickett is pacey(not sure about Pickett #2 although from what I've seen, he isn't slow). Probably need some more speedy players around the ball and on transition(Jiath?).

2. KPF - Van Rooyen has been a slow burn and Jefferson has been on the list for some time and and is yet to have any meaningful impact at AFL level, hence the acquisition of Mihocek. One if, or both, the Williams at WCE could help in this regard. Both are capable tall forwards and can pinch hit in the ruck and will be behind Reid and CDT for opportunity but can certainly hold their own at AFL level.

3. KPD - Need a replacement for Lever to partner with Turner for the next decade. Would be hoping Jed Adams can develop to be that player but it wouldn't hurt to draft an extra to develop behind him. Perhaps Jefferson or Kentfield could be tried back there?

Throw a blanket over the rest.

Thoughts?

 

[Vindicater]

They have drafted well.

Probably need some grunt in the midfield as well.

 

[schmuttt]

Long term I think Langford transitions into the main inside mid, the way the game is going you don't need more than one (And he isn't just limited to playing inside).

I think KPPs are a potential concern going forward. Even if JVR maintains this form I don't rate Jefferson, I'd rather play Kentfield who is 2024 MSD but also no guarantee to make it. I would still like us to get a big KPD, Turner/Petty I rate but don't trust either of them to play on the actual gun KPFs. Would almost rather we develop Kalani White as a KPD rather than ruck, he has an excellent athletic profile and could be a good project player.

 

[MarcMaverick]

I think personally this year's going to be a wait and see or pretty much an experimental year for us because of the changes that we've made on the previous off-season.

Let's see how we go and then we can assess it later on in the year

 

[Vindicater]

Done a great job bringing in talented players.

Do they have a backup for Gawn however? The current form is mostly riding on him being absolutely dominant but you wouldn't think he will be there when they are contending again.

 

[whatwhatsaywhat]

Done a great job bringing in talented players.

Do they have a backup for Gawn however? The current form is mostly riding on him being absolutely dominant but you wouldn't think he will be there when they are contending again.

max 'the younger' heath would be playing in other afl sides now; dominant in the vfl last weekend, after being recruited from st. kilda last offseason

watching him play for casey last weekend was like watching a blonde max gawn - super tall player who was not just dominant in hit-outs but also took marks floating back, just like max the elder, and won his fair share of clearances from his own taps too

super promising

 

[whatwhatsaywhat]

as i see it, our biggest weakness is talll defensive depth, with turner the only young-ish tall back - he's another potential swingman, who has shown promise forward too, but they've clearly decided to let him settle as a key defender to pair with petty and lever, which i think is the right move; adams really doesn't look up to it and other than that we don't really have anyone else who can play a kpd role

losing mcvee annoyed me more than oliver and petracca - i think he's got the capacity to be the best lockdown defender in the competition; he clearly wants to be more involved in the play, and i think he's a great get for flagmantle - it also means we're now short on that medium sized / small defender options, albeit that salem, lindsay, and tholstrup have played the roles well in 2026 so far; cj is a worry with his disposal, but i think every supporter knew that coming in

midfield class might be an issue going forward but it might not - i'm hopeful that windsor and langford and linsday plus koz pickett, of course, can emerge as our next a-grade midfield unit after petracca, oliver, and viney - plus now steele - have been traded and eventually retire, while langdon remains one of the best running wingmen in the competition, and i think culley has the potentially to be very good playing inside or outside

i'm reasonably bullish on our tall forward options with the likes of jvr being a real hard-working tall forward - don't think he'll ever be a star, but his repeat efforts are excellent and always have been from debut, which bodes super well for his development into a mihocek-type; he should be learning everything he can from him now that they're teammates

kentfield looks super promising imo; moreso than jefferson, who needs a clean run of health to show that he can get more involved - el jefe is a true lead-up forward who gets absolutely monstered in physical battles so he's got to get on his bike a lot more; has good hands but his kicking is...unpredictable

fritsch is ridiculously underrated and imo is one of the best mid-sized key forwards in the competition; he's not old, he's smart, and i expect him to play for some time to come

my biggest concern with our corrent and future side is i hope we don't get caught in the no-man's land of finishing 6th-14th - like every team, the more class and skill we can bring into the side the better we'll be; the game has moved in that direction which we pleasingly obviously saw coming with the drafting over the last few years to focus on players who show good skills

 

[Bluelegs]

We'll be chips in to get Humphrey again this year. Finding a May replacement a bit harder as really good key defenders are hard to come by but our young group in that part of the ground have all shown a bit even if they aren't the typical gorilla full back types. Outside of that, keep investing in the draft and affordable role players that might fit in our side.

Guys like Gawn, Viney, Melksham, Mihocek, Tmac all probably with 1-3 seasons left in them but only Gawn and Mihocek would be difficult to replace if they weren't in our side this weekend.

 

[MarcMaverick]

I reckon we need a bigger KPD. All our KPDs are roughly in the mid 190cms

 

[Orange Agent]

How much do they pay to keep Fritsch? Im surprised he hasnt been talked about in the media yet. Signed for 5 years off the back of the flag win which would suggest the buy in was at peak level so likely on under market value. Could get a good pay day if he wants to.

 

[Vindicater]

I reckon we need a bigger KPD. All our KPDs are roughly in the mid 190cms

Ben McKay is bigger than that?