Coach: Norm Smith
Captain: Hassa Mann
Finishing Position: 11th
Best and Fairest: Terry Leahy
Leading Goalkicker: Barrie Vagg (20)
Best First Year Player: Terry Leahy
| Matches | Ladder | Playing list | Night Series | Best and Fairest | Reserves | Under 19s | Tribunal |
The year began with a contested election, with former player and Seconds coach Bill Adams running for election. He was unsuccessful and the existing directors retained their position. A motion that MCC representation on the club's board be reduced from eight to six and MFC members be given four seasons instead of two was carried, but the club still needed to ratify the decision with the MCC.
Speaking before the season, Norm Smith said: "Our morale fell to an all-time low last year, but there is no use crying over spilt milk. Discipline must be maintained. This year I am going to be hard on the players, but fair. I want respect above all". He said, "There has been a lot of criticism about my coaching methods. My only desire is to get the best out of the players - firstly for the club, then the player, and if anything is left over for myself". Chairman Donald Duffy said Smith's sacking was "a thing of the past", and at the same meeting Brian Dixon refuted claims he'd been disloyal to Smith.
A novel recruiting plan to have 1000 young players at an open trial in March was derailed when hot weather meant only 101 showed up. 60 of those had to be rejected because they were residentially tied to other clubs. None of the three players unearthed from the sessions played senior football. The club desperately needed players, with many suffering carry-over injury issues from 1965, and ongoing absences from the start of the year. With every line of the team affected, Norm Smith couldn't field stable lineups in any of the intra-club practice matches. VFL clubs weren't allowed to play each other, VFA clubs, or any country side within 60 miles of Melbourne, leading to the game against East Ringwood.
The rules of the game were altered by the Australian National Football Council to ban open-handed 'flick' passes. Players were now required to hit the ball with a clenched fist.
Having won just two matches since they started the 1965 season 8-0, the Demons crashed to defeat in their first six matches of the new season. Three times they kicked four goals or less and Smith was forced to use five different full-forwards in the first five games. After the side kicked three goals against Carlton in Round 5 Smith was forced to issue an ultimatum to his players that they had to meet his demands or leave the club. In July, Melbourne went to a four-night-a-week training program to try and improve their position but only avoided the wooden spoon due to Fitzroy winning a single game. They used 46 players for the year, the most since 1919, and fielded 22 rookies. It was the equal most players used in any Melbourne season.
The players went on an end of season trip to Surfers Paradise.
Melbourne's VFL delegates were Arthur King and Tom Trumble.
Practice Matches
| Opposition | Result | Score | |||||
| East Ringwood | Unknown | Unknown | |||||
Premiership Season
| Round | Opposition | Result | |||||
| 1 | St. Kilda | LOSS | 33-109 | ||||
| 2 | Hawthorn | LOSS | 29-56 | ||||
| 3 | Richmond | LOSS | 80-123 | ||||
| 4 | South Melbourne | LOSS | 89-119 | ||||
| 5 | Carlton | LOSS | 32-79 | ||||
| 6 | Collingwood | LOSS | 57-90 | ||||
| 7 | Essendon | WIN | 94-60 | ||||
| 8 | Footscray | LOSS | 50-71 | ||||
| 9 | North Melbourne | LOSS | 36-65 | ||||
| 10 | Fitzroy | WIN | 83-25 | ||||
| 11 | Geelong | LOSS | 75-93 | ||||
| 12 | St. Kilda | LOSS | 42-85 | ||||
| 13 | Hawthorn | WIN | 151-59 | ||||
| 14 | Richmond | LOSS | 72-97 | ||||
| 15 | South Melbourne | LOSS | 109-125 | ||||
| 16 | Carlton | LOSS | 70-99 | ||||
| 17 | Collingwood | LOSS | 84-141 | ||||
| 18 | Essendon | LOSS | 49-84 | ||||
Ladder
| W | D | L | % | P | |||
| Collingwood | 15 | 0 | 3 | 157.2 | 60 | ||
| St. Kilda | 14 | 0 | 4 | 142.8 | 56 | ||
| Geelong | 14 | 0 | 4 | 137.6 | 56 | ||
| Essendon | 14 | 0 | 4 | 121.0 | 56 | ||
| Richmond | 13 | 1 | 4 | 123.2 | 54 | ||
| Carlton | 10 | 0 | 8 | 107.9 | 40 | ||
| North Melbourne | 7 | 1 | 10 | 93.7 | 30 | ||
| South Melbourne | 7 | 0 | 11 | 98.7 | 28 | ||
| Hawthorn | 5 | 0 | 13 | 74.2 | 20 | ||
| Footscray | 4 | 0 | 14 | 68.9 | 16 | ||
| Melbourne | 3 | 0 | 15 | 78.2 | 12 | ||
| Fitzroy | 1 | 0 | 17 | 53.8 | 4 | ||
Playing List
| Number | Player | Games | Goals | ||||
| 1 | Rob Foster | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 2 | Robert Stewart | 7 | 0 | ||||
| 3 | Sid Catlin | 3 | 1 | ||||
| 3 | Maurie Bartlett | 4 | 6 | ||||
| 4 | Peter Smith | 8 | 5 | ||||
| 5 | Neil Crompton | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 6 | Frank Davis | 13 | 0 | ||||
| 7 | Graham Osborne | 7 | 11 | ||||
| 8 | Tassie Johnson | 18 | 2 | ||||
| 9 | Brian Dixon | 11 | 0 | ||||
| 10 | Ken Emselle | 14 | 18 | ||||
| 11 | Tony Anderson | 5 | 0 | ||||
| 14 | Barry Bourke | 15 | 14 | ||||
| 15 | Stan Alves | 18 | 2 | ||||
| 16 | John Townsend | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 17 | Jeff Chapman | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 18 | Neville Stone | 16 | 13 | ||||
| 19 | Terry Leahy | 18 | 6 | ||||
| 20 | Graeme Jacobs | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 21 | Ed Burston | 8 | 13 | ||||
| 22 | Bryan Kenneally | 18 | 3 | ||||
| 23 | Graham Wise | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 24 | Ross Dillon | 6 | 3 | ||||
| 25 | Kerry Rattray | 7 | 2 | ||||
| 26 | Frank Vearing | 6 | 4 | ||||
| 29 | Hassa Mann | 14 | 19 | ||||
| 30 | Ken Rowe | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 31 | Ray Groom | 16 | 7 | ||||
| 32 | Barrie Vagg | 16 | 20 | ||||
| 34 | Bob Russell | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 35 | Don Williams | 18 | 0 | ||||
| 36 | Kerry Ryan | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 37 | Bernie Massey | 16 | 0 | ||||
| 38 | Rob Dowsing | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 39 | Rick Feldmann | 6 | 0 | ||||
| 40 | Gary Wynd | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 42 | John Hamilton | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 44 | Les Harrison | 3 | 1 | ||||
| 45 | John Quirk | 3 | 2 | ||||
| 46 | Adrian Bowden | 14 | 0 | ||||
| 49 | John Murnane | 5 | 0 | ||||
| 50 | Ken Jungwirth | 4 | 5 | ||||
| 51 | Ken Osborne | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 52 | Bob Langford | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 53 | Tony Hirst | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 53/34 | Brent Jones | 10 | 4 | ||||
Night Series
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | ||||
| 1 | Richmond | WIN | 73-70 | ||||
| SF | Hawthorn | LOSS | 60-88 | ||||
Best and Fairest
| Player | |||||||
| 1st | Terry Leahy | ||||||
| 2nd | Tassie Johnson | ||||||
| 3rd | Hassa Mann | ||||||
| 4th | Ray Groom | ||||||
| 5th | Barry Bourke | ||||||
Other Awards
Outstanding Service - Ray Groom and Barry Bourke
Tribunal
| Round | Player | Charge | Sanction | ||||
| Round 7 | Tassie Johnson | Striking | Not Guilty | ||||
| Round 8 Reserves | Bob Langford | Throwing opponent to ground after mark | Unknown | ||||
| Round 8 Reserves | Bob Langford | Striking | Unknown | ||||
Round 14 | Neville Stone | Striking |Not Guilty||
Reserves
1966 Reserves Season
Captain - Peter McLean
Best and Fairest - Frank Vearing
Second Best and Fairest - Rick Feldmann
Outstanding service - Tony Hirst, Brent Jones, Gary Wynd
Richmond lost three wins for fielding an unregistered player
Under 19s
1966 Under 19s Season
Best and Fairest - John Callery
Second Best and Fairest - Greg Smith
Best Clubman - P. Kingston
Outstanding Service - Rod Orr, Neville Stone
Richmond lost seven wins and were replaced in the finals by South Melbourne for fielding an unregistered player.
Fourths
Best and Fairest - K. Williams
Second Best and Fairest - S. Goodwin
Outstanding service - Robert McKenzie, R. Mervcich, G. Fraser
Media
Age - [https://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=BSVVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3ZQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7000%2C4199994|28/01/1966, 18/02/1966,
09/03/1966, 24/03/1966, 28/07/1966
Football Record R1 1966