Coach: Neale Balme (until Round 9) - Greg Hutchison (from Round 10)
Captain: Garry Lyon
Finishing Position: 16th (last)
Best and Fairest: Jim Stynes
Leading Goalkicker: David Neitz / Jeff Farmer (30)
Best First Year Player: Anthony McDonald
Sponsors: Tooheys Blue
Members: 15,350
| Matches | Ladder | Playing List | Best and Fairest | Reserves | |
Having barely survived a merger with Hawthorn after Hawks fans rejected it, the Demons entered 1997 as one of the popular picks for last place. It didn't help that their Round 1 match pitted them with the reigning premiers. To the shock of the football world the Demons upset North on a Friday night at the MCG.
The team came back down to earth the next week when they were massacred by Collingwood. Despite narrow losses over the next two weeks, players were dropping like flies with injuries.
In a radio interview during the humiliating Round 6 loss against St. Kilda at Waverley Joseph Gutnick hinted that there were big changes on the way at Melbourne. The next week Hassa Mann resigned as CEO and was replaced by Cameron Schwab. Balme struggled through three more losses, culminating in a shambolic two goal performance against Port at Football Park in Round 9. Balme was relieved of his duties, and after Garry Lyon had turned back the opportunity to take the job assistant Greg Hutchison was given the reigns for the rest of the season.
His side shocked Richmond in that week, but soon enough normal service resumed. There were another four disappointing losses before a surprise round 15 victory over Carlton. The side wouldn't win again until Round 22 when they ruined Fremantle's hopes with a win at the MCG.
The Round 17 game against Collingwood was originally scheduled for Victoria Park, but was transferred to the MCG during pre-season.
In July Danny Corcoran joined from Essendon as Football Operations Manager.
At the end of the year Andrew Obst retired and all of Nick Pesch, Andrew Lamprill, Clayton Gardiner, Alastair Clarkson, Robert Pyman, Todd McHardy and Darren O'Brien were delisted.
At the end of the year a panel including Corcoran chose Neale Daniher as the full-time coach over Hutchison, Damien Drum and Peter Schwab.
The club made a profit of $333,858 and also received $500,000 from AFL TV rights.
Practice Matches
| Opposition | Result | Score | |||
| Richmond | WIN | 93-55 | |||
| Collingwood | WIN | 88-43 | |||
| Sydney | WIN | 89-44 | |||
Ansett Australia Cup
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | ||
| 1 | Carlton | LOSS | 64-87 | ||
Premiership Season
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | ||
| 1 | North Melbourne | WIN | 70-55 | ||
| 2 | Collingwood | LOSS | 56-163 | ||
| 3 | Sydney | LOSS | 91-99 | ||
| 4 | Western Bulldogs | LOSS | 87-89 | ||
| 5 | West Coast | LOSS | 78-126 | ||
| 6 | St. Kilda | LOSS | 35-121 | ||
| 7 | Fremantle | LOSS | 69-124 | ||
| 8 | Geelong | LOSS | 49-128 | ||
| 9 | Port Adelaide | LOSS | 27-78 | ||
| 10 | Richmond | WIN | 92-67 | ||
| 11 | Adelaide | LOSS | 45-97 | ||
| 12 | Brisbane Lions | LOSS | 50-135 | ||
| 13 | Hawthorn | LOSS | 55-118 | ||
| 14 | Essendon | LOSS | 57-120 | ||
| 15 | Carlton | WIN | 119-100 | ||
| 16 | North Melbourne | LOSS | 58-114 | ||
| 17 | Collingwood | LOSS | 82-134 | ||
| 18 | Sydney | LOSS | 53-169 | ||
| 19 | Western Bulldogs | LOSS | 64-102 | ||
| 20 | West Coast | LOSS | 59-97 | ||
| 21 | St. Kilda | LOSS | 62-114 | ||
| 22 | Fremantle | WIN | 119-79 | ||
Ladder
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| St. Kilda | 15 | 0 | 7 | 119.6 | 60 |
| Geelong | 15 | 0 | 7 | 117.9 | 60 |
| Western Bulldogs | 14 | 0 | 8 | 101.8 | 56 |
| Adelaide | 13 | 0 | 9 | 121.6 | 52 |
| West Coast | 13 | 0 | 9 | 111.2 | 52 |
| Sydney | 12 | 0 | 10 | 116.2 | 48 |
| North Melbourne | 12 | 0 | 10 | 111.8 | 48 |
| Brisbane | 10 | 1 | 11 | 105.2 | 42 |
| Port Adelaide | 10 | 1 | 11 | 91.8 | 42 |
| Collingwood | 10 | 0 | 12 | 111.4 | 40 |
| Carlton | 10 | 0 | 12 | 96.7 | 40 |
| Fremantle | 10 | 0 | 12 | 91.9 | 40 |
| Richmond | 10 | 0 | 12 | 83.6 | 40 |
| Essendon | 9 | 0 | 13 | 92.4 | 36 |
| Hawthorn | 8 | 0 | 14 | 87.4 | 32 |
| Melbourne | 4 | 0 | 18 | 60.8 | 16 |
Playing List
| Number | Player | Games | Goals | ||
| 1 | Sean Charles | 18 | 17 | ||
| 2 | Stephen Tingay | 3 | 0 | ||
| 3 | Garry Lyon | 5 | 7 | ||
| 4 | Andrew Obst | 18 | 3 | ||
| 5 | David Schwarz | 10 | 18 | ||
| 6 | Glenn Lovett | 14 | 3 | ||
| 7 | Darren Kowal | 6 | 1 | ||
| 9 | David Neitz | 17 | 30 | ||
| 10 | Marcus Seecamp | 15 | 0 | ||
| 11 | Jim Stynes | 22 | 3 | ||
| 12 | Todd Viney | 22 | 7 | ||
| 13 | Adem Yze | 19 | 9 | ||
| 14 | Leigh Newton | 13 | 6 | ||
| 15 | Paul Hopgood | 20 | 2 | ||
| 16 | Robert Pyman | 19 | 8 | ||
| 17 | Brett Lovett | 18 | 4 | ||
| 18 | Craig Nettelbeck | 13 | 5 | ||
| 20 | Matthew Febey | 11 | 0 | ||
| 21 | Steven Febey | 20 | 2 | ||
| 22 | Shane Woewodin | 22 | 4 | ||
| 23 | Alastair Clarkson | 19 | 11 | ||
| 27 | Anthony Ingerson | 22 | 4 | ||
| 28 | Nick Pesch | 4 | 0 | ||
| 29 | Shaun Smith | 12 | 9 | ||
| 30 | David Cockatoo-Collins | 1 | 0 | ||
| 31 | Donald Cockatoo-Collins | 4 | 4 | ||
| 32 | Damien Gaspar | 12 | 0 | ||
| 33 | Jeff Farmer | 17 | 30 | ||
| 34 | Dean Irving | 2 | 0 | ||
| 35 | Anthony McDonald | 19 | 7 | ||
| 36 | Andrew Leoncelli | 12 | 1 | ||
| 37 | Andrew Lamprill | 3 | 0 | ||
| 38 | Darren O'Brien | 11 | 2 | ||
| 42 | Russell Robertson | 3 | 5 | ||
| 44 | Alistair Nicholson | 1 | 0 | ||
| 45 | Todd McHardy | 2 | 0 | ||
| 48 | Brent Grgic | 9 | 5 | ||
| 54 | James McDonald | 4 | 3 | ||
Best and Fairest
| Player | Votes | ||||
| 1st | Jim Stynes | 404 | |||
| 2nd | Todd Viney | 355 | |||
| 3rd | Andrew Leoncelli | 185 | |||
| 4th | Glenn Lovett | 179 | |||
| 5th | Anthony Ingerson | 163 | |||
| 6th | Robert Pyman | 155 | |||
| 7th | Adem Yze | 128 | |||
| 8th | Marcus Seecamp | 123 | |||
| 9th | Paul Hopgood | 103 | |||
| 10th | Steven Febey | 102 | |||
| 11th | Anthony McDonald | 102 | |||
| 12th | Alastair Clarkson | 99 | |||
| 13th | David Neitz | 99 | |||
| 14th | Jeff Farmer | 59 | |||
| 15th | Shane Woewodin | 58 | |||
| 16th | Shaun Smith | 47 | |||
| 17th | Damien Gaspar | 43 | |||
| 18th | Andrew Obst | 23 | |||
| 19th | Craig Nettelbeck | 22 | |||
| 20th | Sean Charles | 18 | |||
| 21st | Matthew Febey | 17 | |||
| 22nd | Brent Grgic | 12 | |||
| 23rd | Garry Lyon | 12 | |||
| 24th | Leigh Newton | 11 | |||
| 25th | Russell Robertson | 11 | |||
| 26th | Darren O'Brien | 4 | |||
Other Awards
Most Improved - Brent Grgic
Most Consistent - Jim Stynes
Best Team Player - Anthony Ingerson
Inspirational Player - Todd Viney
Redlegs Player of the Year - Todd Viney
Jim Cardwell Award - Todd Viney
Trainers' Award - Marcus Seecamp
Redlegs Trophy (Best Clubman) - Shane Woewodin
Tribunal
| Round | Player | Charge | Sanction | ||
| Round 3 | Jeff Farmer | Striking | 2 matches | ||
| Round 3 | Andrew Obst | Striking | 1 match | ||
| Round 6 | David Neitz | Wrestling | 1 match payment | ||
| Round 6 | Todd Viney | Wrestling | 1 match payment | ||
| Round 6 | Andrew Obst | Striking | Not Guilty | ||
| Round 9 | Donald Cockatoo-Collins | Headbutting | Two matches | ||
| Round 9 | Damien Gaspar | Charging | Not Guilty | ||
| Round 13 | Marcus Seecamp | Striking | 1 match | ||
| Round 17 | Adem Yze | Wrestling | 1 week pay, 1 match payment. | ||
| Round 19 | Marcus Seecamp | Kneeing | 2 matches | ||
| Round 20 | Andrew Obst | Striking | 2 matches | ||
Reserves
Best and Fairest
| Player | Votes | ||||
| 1st | Heath Goodale | 222 | |||
| 2nd | Dean Irving | 197 | |||
| 3rd | Russell Robertson | 121 | |||
| 4th | Leigh Newton | 83 | |||
| 5th | Nathan Bassett | 74 | |||
| 6th | Mark Bradly | 69 | |||
| 7th | Todd McHardy | 68 | |||
| 8th | Nick Pesch | 66 | |||
| 9th | Andrew Lamprill | 54 | |||
| 10th | Darren O'Brien | 52 | |||
| 11th | David Cockatoo-Collins | 50 | |||
| 12th | James McDonald | 45 | |||
| 12th | Marcus Seecamp | 45 | |||
| 14th | Mark Winterton | 44 | |||
| 15th | Brent Grgic | 41 | |||
| 16th | Alistair Nicholson | 38 | |||
| 16th | Clayton Gardiner | 38 | |||
| 18th | Craig Black | 34 | |||
| 19th | Daniel Ward | 33 | |||
| 20th | Alastair Clarkson | 32 | |||
| 21st | Anthony Hardie | 29 | |||
| 21st | Mark Bolton | 29 | |||
| 23rd | Donald Cockatoo-Collins | 26 | |||
| 23rd | Adem Yze | 26 | |||
| 25th | Darren Kowal | 24 | |||
| 25th | Craig Nettelbeck | 24 | |||
| 25th | Jeremy Sutcliffe | 24 | |||
| 28th | Guy Rigoni | 23 | |||
| 29th | Hayden Lamaro | 21 | |||
| 30th | Andrew Obst | 19 | |||
| 31st | Brett Lovett | 18 | |||
| 32nd | Fraser Stevenson | 13 | |||
| 33rd | Matthew Febey | 10 | |||
| 34th | Lee Anderson | 10 | |||
| 35th | Duncan O'Toole | 6 | |||
| 36th | Chris Frost | 5 | |||
Media
Age - 22/02/1997
Links
Demon Chronicle