Coach: John Northey
Captain: Robert Flower
Finishing Position: 11th
Best and Fairest: Greg Healy
Leading Goalkicker: Greg Healy (35)
Best First Year Player: Garry Lyon
Major Sponsor: Drake
Members: 4511
| Matches | Ladder | Playing List | Best and Fairest | Reserves | Under 19s |
With Ron Barassi retiring at the end of 1985, the search was on for a coach to try and do what he, Beckwith, Ridley, Skilton, Jones and Ditterich couldn't do - get Melbourne into the finals.
Interviewees for the vacant coaching role included David Parkin, Kevin Bartlett, Carl Ditterich, John Northey, Tom Hafey, Stan Alves, Robert Walls and Greg Wells but it was Northey - formerly of Sydney who got the nod. The former Richmond player had spent a year north of the border, but had been sacked when his pragmatic style didn't fit into the flashy, marketing friendly vision of Swans owner Geoffrey Edelsten. The cost of Melbourne's coaching panel was said to have dropped from $212,000 to $80,000. Francis Bourke had been linked with the role early after working as an assistant to Barassi but declined to apply because of business commitments. Ray Jordon and Collingwood assistant Mick Erwin were also rumoured to be contenders.
Interchange rules in the lower grades changed, reverting to two in the bench (from three) in Reserves and three on the bench (from four) in the Under 19s.
Melbourne was unable to use the Junction Oval until shortly before the start of the season due to St Kilda Cricket Club playing in finals.
The club created a new structure for payment of players. The top 20 players on the list were given guaranteed contracts ranging from $10k to $30k a year. Robbie Flower was the only player given the maximum amount. Players ranked from 21 to 50 received a payment based on the games they played in.
1-9 games - $300 per game
10-16 games - $400 per game
17+ games - $500 per game
Senior listed players earned $200 per reserves win and $100 per reserves loss. The five best players in each game earned $2k, $1.5k, $1.2k, $800 and $500 respectively.
The top five in the Best and Fairest were given bonus of $8k, $6k, $3k, $2k and $1k.
Northey used 46 players for the year, the equal most of any Melbourne season ever. He was forced to field a defence lacking the retired Steven Smith and the injured Steven Icke and Peter Giles.
In June it was revealed that Melbourne and Fitzroy had engaged in merger talks. President Stuart Spencer said "There is no point in Melbourne merging with anyone unless it becomes an immediate finals side. That would be the only reason we would consider a merger".
The club made a profit of $106,324, plus $666,667 in their share of the Brisbane and West Coast licence fees.
Practice Matches
| Opposition | Result | ||||
| Carlton | LOSS | ||||
| Geelong | LOSS | ||||
Fosters Cup
| Round | Opposition | Result | |||
| 1 | North Adelaide | LOSS | |||
Premiership Season
| Round | Opposition | Result | |||
| 1 | Richmond | WIN | |||
| 2 | St. Kilda | WIN | |||
| 3 | Fitzroy | LOSS | |||
| 4 | Essendon | LOSS | |||
| 5 | Sydney | LOSS | |||
| 6 | Collingwood | LOSS | |||
| 7 | Geelong | LOSS | |||
| 8 | Footscray | WIN | |||
| 9 | North Melbourne | LOSS | |||
| 10 | Carlton | LOSS | |||
| 11 | Hawthorn | LOSS | |||
| 12 | Richmond | LOSS | |||
| 13 | St. Kilda | LOSS | |||
| 14 | Fitzroy | WIN | |||
| 15 | Essendon | LOSS | |||
| 16 | Hawthorn | LOSS | |||
| 17 | Sydney | LOSS | |||
| 18 | Collingwood | WIN | |||
| 19 | Geelong | WIN | |||
| 20 | Footscray | LOSS | |||
| 21 | North Melbourne | WIN | |||
| 22 | Carlton | LOSS | |||
Ladder
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| Hawthorn | 18 | 0 | 4 | 141.6 | 72 |
| Sydney | 16 | 0 | 6 | 118.4 | 64 |
| Carlton | 15 | 0 | 7 | 141.8 | 60 |
| Fitzroy | 13 | 0 | 9 | 100.2 | 52 |
| Essendon | 12 | 0 | 10 | 120.3 | 48 |
| Collingwood | 12 | 0 | 10 | 109.2 | 48 |
| North Melbourne | 12 | 0 | 10 | 98.6 | 48 |
| Footscray | 11 | 0 | 11 | 97.7 | 44 |
| Geelong | 7 | 0 | 15 | 82.1 | 28 |
| Richmond | 7 | 0 | 15 | 78.4 | 28 |
| Melbourne | 7 | 0 | 15 | 74.9 | 28 |
| St. Kilda | 2 | 0 | 20 | 71.9 | 8 |
Playing List
| Number | Player | Games | Goals | ||
| 2 | Robert Flower | 16 | 15 | ||
| 3 | Garry Lyon | 20 | 26 | ||
| 4 | Peter Giles | 1 | 1 | ||
| 5 | Robin White | 9 | 1 | ||
| 6 | Michael O'Sullivan | 5 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Brian Wilson | 12 | 5 | ||
| 8 | Graeme Yeats | 5 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Alan Johnson | 10 | 9 | ||
| 10 | Danny Hughes | 15 | 6 | ||
| 12 | David Williams | 5 | 14 | ||
| 14 | Rod Grinter | 11 | 9 | ||
| 15 | Mark Withers | 12 | 3 | ||
| 16 | Adrian Battiston | 19 | 16 | ||
| 17 | Frank Rugolo | 2 | 4 | ||
| 18 | Steven Stretch | 18 | 4 | ||
| 19 | Rodney Wright | 2 | 0 | ||
| 20 | Russell Richards | 20 | 13 | ||
| 21 | Michael Reynolds | 6 | 9 | ||
| 22 | Chris Connolly | 12 | 5 | ||
| 23 | Daryl Bourke | 9 | 0 | ||
| 24 | Bret Bailey | 10 | 2 | ||
| 25 | Simon Eishold | 5 | 3 | ||
| 26 | Joe Rugolo | 4 | 0 | ||
| 27 | Sean Wight | 6 | 0 | ||
| 28 | David Cordner | 9 | 3 | ||
| 29 | Dale Dickson | 9 | 4 | ||
| 30 | Peter Moore | 16 | 15 | ||
| 32 | Shane Zantuck | 9 | 3 | ||
| 33 | Greg Healy | 17 | 35 | ||
| 34 | Stephen Newport | 18 | 13 | ||
| 35 | Darryl Cox | 2 | 1 | ||
| 36 | Ted Fidge | 8 | 15 | ||
| 37 | David Allday | 11 | 3 | ||
| 38 | Nigel Kol | 17 | 9 | ||
| 39 | Jeremy Nichols | 4 | 2 | ||
| 40 | Tony Campbell | 12 | 5 | ||
| 41 | Steve Turner | 17 | 7 | ||
| 43 19 | Paul Payne | 15 | 0 | ||
| 43 | Len Gandini | 5 | 1 | ||
| 44 | John Fidge | 4 | 12 | ||
| 45 | Ricky Jackson | 2 | 0 | ||
| 46 | Darren Louttit | 2 | 1 | ||
| 47 | Alan Jarrott | 18 | 11 | ||
| 50 | Brett Lovett | 8 | 0 | ||
| 57 | Greg Sizer | 1 | 1 | ||
| 59 | Andrew Dale | 2 | 0 | ||
Best and Fairest
| Player | Votes | ||||
| 1st | Greg Healy | 237 | |||
| 2nd | Garry Lyon | 172 | |||
| 3rd | Alan Jarrott | 141 | |||
| 4th | Stephen Newport | 114 | |||
| 4th | Chris Connolly | 114 | |||
| 6th | Adrian Battiston | 113 | |||
| 7th | Danny Hughes | 110 | |||
| 7th | Nigel Kol | 110 | |||
| 9th | Paul Payne | 96 | |||
| 10th | Alan Johnson | 80 | |||
| 11th | Steven Stretch | 66 | |||
| 12th | Steve Turner | 65 | |||
| 13th | David Allday | 62 | |||
| 14th | Bret Bailey | 59 | |||
| 15th | Brett Lovett | 44 | |||
| 15th | Graeme Yeats | 44 | |||
| 17th | Dale Dickson | 42 | |||
| 18th | Robert Flower | 40 | |||
| 19th | Robin White | 34 | |||
| 20th | Sean Wight | 33 | |||
| 21st | David Williams | 31 | |||
| 22nd | Rod Grinter | 29 | |||
| 23rd | Daryl Bourke | 23 | |||
| 23rd | Ted Fidge | 23 | |||
| 25th | Tony Campbell | 21 | |||
| 26th | Brian Wilson | 15 | |||
| 27th | David Cordner | 13 | |||
| 27th | Peter Moore | 13 | |||
| 29th | Frank Rugolo | 11 | |||
| 30th | Andrew Dale | 5 | |||
| 30th | Len Gandini | 5 | |||
| 30th | Michael Reynolds | 5 | |||
| 30th | Shane Zantuck | 5 | |||
Other Awards
Redlegs Trophy - Steven Stretch
Tribunal
| Round | Player | Charge | Sanction | ||
| Practice Match | Russell Richards | Time wasting | Cleared | ||
| Practice Match | Steve Turner | Striking | $750 fine | ||
| Round 3 | Michael Reynolds | Striking | Guilty | ||
| Round 4 1986 Reserves | Robin White | Striking | ? | ||
| Round 10 Under 19s | Dallas Normington | Striking | Severe reprimand | ||
| Round 11 | Steve Turner | Striking | 2 matches | ||
| Round 15 | Graeme Yeats | Striking | 2 matches | ||
| Round 15 Reserves | Shane Zantuck | Striking | ? | ||
| Round 15 Reserves | Shane Zantuck | Striking | ? | ||
| Round 16 Reserves | Daryl Bourke | Striking | ? | ||
| Round 17 Reserves | Frank Rugolo | Striking | ? | ||
| Round 21 Reserves | Rod Grinter | Striking | ? | ||
| Round 22 Reserves | Mark Withers | Striking | ? | ||
Reserves
1986 Reserves Season
Best and Fairest - Mark Withers
Finals
| Round | Opposition | Result | |||
| EF | North Melbourne | WIN | |||
| SF | Hawthorn | LOSS | |||
Under 19s
1986 Under 19s Season
Captain - Glen Kiley
Best and Fairest - Tony Hannant
Media
Inside Football - 25/07/1985
Age - 27/09/1985
Inside Football - 06/03/1986
Inside Football - 20/03/1986
Inside Football - 27/03/1986