Coach: Neale Daniher
Captain: David Neitz
Finishing Position: 7th
Best and Fairest: James McDonald
Leading Goalkicker: David Neitz (68)
Best First Year Player: Clint Bartram
Major Sponsor: Primus Telecommunications
Members: 24,698
| Matches | Ladder | Playing List | Best and Fairest | Coaching Staff | |
The leadership group consisted of David Neitz as captain, along with Russell Robertson, Cameron Bruce, Brad Miller and Brad Green.
Melbourne's third consecutive appearance in the finals, and last before they imploded in 2007, was a rough road. They lost to eventual wooden spooners Carlton in Round 1, 2006 and didn't register a victory until Round 4. Winning 10 of their next 11 put them back in the race for the finals before one win in their last five put them out of the running for a double chance. They won a final for the first time since 2002 but bowed out against Fremantle a week later.
At the end of the season Shannon Motlop, Phil Read, Alistair Nicholson and Nick Smith were delisted.
Practice Matches
| Opposition | Result | Score | |||
| Kangaroos | WIN | 22pts | |||
NAB Cup
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | ||
| 1 | Western Bulldogs | WIN | 69-63 | ||
| QF | Brisbane | WIN | 90-81 | ||
| SF | Adelaide | LOSS | 44-129 | ||
Premiership season
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | ||
| 1 | Carlton | LOSS | 72-93 | ||
| 2 | Western Bulldogs | LOSS | 90-137 | ||
| 3 | Adelaide | LOSS | 97-102 | ||
| 4 | Sydney | WIN | 97-92 | ||
| 5 | Kangaroos | WIN | 90-86 | ||
| 6 | Geelong | WIN | 87-81 | ||
| 7 | Fremantle | WIN | 117-58 | ||
| 8 | Hawthorn | WIN | 136-61 | ||
| 9 | West Coast | LOSS | 75-97 | ||
| 10 | St. Kilda | WIN | 103-90 | ||
| 11 | Collingwood | WIN | 141-94 | ||
| 12 | Essendon | WIN | 111-75 | ||
| 13 | Port Adelaide | WIN | 120-82 | ||
| 14 | Brisbane Lions | WIN | 98-90 | ||
| 15 | Richmond | WIN | 70-52 | ||
| 16 | Fremantle | LOSS | 67-96 | ||
| 17 | Western Bulldogs | WIN | 119-68 | ||
| 18 | Carlton | LOSS | 73-80 | ||
| 19 | Sydney | LOSS | 63-95 | ||
| 20 | Kangaroos | WIN | 132-82 | ||
| 21 | Geelong | DRAW | 94-94 | ||
| 22 | Adelaide | LOSS | 94-152 | ||
| EF | St. Kilda | WIN | 90-72 | ||
| SF | Fremantle | LOSS | 74-102 | ||
Ladder
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| West Coast | 17 | 0 | 5 | 120.4 | 68 |
| Adelaide | 16 | 0 | 6 | 142.1 | 64 |
| Fremantle | 15 | 0 | 7 | 109.8 | 60 |
| Sydney | 14 | 0 | 8 | 128.7 | 56 |
| Collingwood | 14 | 0 | 8 | 119.3 | 56 |
| St. Kilda | 14 | 0 | 8 | 118.4 | 56 |
| Melbourne | 13 | 1 | 8 | 109.7 | 54 |
| Western Bulldogs | 13 | 0 | 9 | 106.4 | 52 |
| Richmond | 11 | 0 | 11 | 86.1 | 44 |
| Geelong | 10 | 1 | 11 | 99.0 | 42 |
| Hawthorn | 9 | 0 | 13 | 85.7 | 36 |
| Port Adelaide | 8 | 0 | 14 | 88.8 | 32 |
| Brisbane Lions | 7 | 0 | 15 | 82.4 | 28 |
| Kangaroos | 7 | 0 | 15 | 80.9 | 28 |
| Essendon | 3 | 1 | 18 | 81.9 | 14 |
| Carlton | 3 | 1 | 18 | 74.2 | 14 |
Senior List
| Number | Player | Games | Goals | ||
| 1 | Simon Buckley | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2 | Nathan Jones | 8 | 2 | ||
| 3 | Clint Bizzell | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Ben Holland | 16 | 1 | ||
| 5 | Brock McLean | 18 | 14 | ||
| 6 | Matthew Bate | 14 | 8 | ||
| 7 | Brad Miller | 15 | 4 | ||
| 9 | David Neitz | 21 | 68 | ||
| 10 | Daniel Ward | 17 | 3 | ||
| 11 | Paul Johnson | 2 | 2 | ||
| 12 | Colin Sylvia | 17 | 10 | ||
| 13 | Adem Yze | 24 | 30 | ||
| 14 | Lynden Dunn | 11 | 13 | ||
| 15 | Nick Smith | 1 | 0 | ||
| 16 | Travis Johnstone | 22 | 10 | ||
| 17 | Chris Johnson | 9 | 0 | ||
| 18 | Brad Green | 23 | 11 | ||
| 19 | Clint Bartram | 22 | 6 | ||
| 21 | Daniel Bell | 12 | 0 | ||
| 22 | Brent Moloney | 7 | 1 | ||
| 23 | James McDonald | 24 | 6 | ||
| 24 | Russell Robertson | 23 | 44 | ||
| 25 | Nathan Brown | 9 | 3 | ||
| 26 | Heath Neville | 0 | 0 | ||
| 27 | Jared Rivers | 22 | 4 | ||
| 28 | Phil Read | 5 | 1 | ||
| 29 | Michael Newton | 0 | 0 | ||
| 30 | Simon Godfrey | 16 | 4 | ||
| 31 | Paul Wheatley | 7 | 1 | ||
| 32 | Cameron Bruce | 24 | 21 | ||
| 33 | Byron Pickett | 20 | 9 | ||
| 34 | Jeff White | 24 | 11 | ||
| 35 | Ryan Ferguson | 3 | 0 | ||
| 36 | Aaron Davey | 22 | 37 | ||
| 40 | Mark Jamar | 22 | 10 | ||
| 41 | Nathan Carroll | 24 | 1 | ||
| 44 | Shannon Motlop | 3 | 0 | ||
| 45 | Matthew Whelan | 19 | 3 | ||
Rookie List
| Number | Player | Games | Goals | ||
| 37 | Matthew Warnock | 2 | 0 | ||
| 38 | Daniel Hughes | 0 | 0 | ||
| 39 | Shane Neaves | 0 | 0 | ||
| 42 | Andre Gianfagna | 0 | 0 | ||
| 43 | Jace Bode | 0 | 0 | ||
Best and Fairest
The match committee selected up to eight players per game and rated them out of 10. The maximum number of votes a player can receive per game is 40.
| Player | Votes | ||||
| 1 | James McDonald | 464 | |||
| 2 | Cameron Bruce | 317 | |||
| 3 | Brock McLean | 303 | |||
| 4 | David Neitz | 290 | |||
| 5 | Brad Green | 259 | |||
| 6 | Nathan Carroll | 257 | |||
| 7 | Matthew Whelan | 250 | |||
| 8 | Jared Rivers | 224 | |||
| 9 | Jeff White | 204 | |||
| 10 | Travis Johnstone | 197 | |||
Other Awards
Most consistent - James McDonald
Most improved - Nathan Carroll
AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year
| Player | Votes | ||||
| 1 | Cameron Bruce | 49 | |||
| 2 | David Neitz | 45 | |||
| 3 | Brock McLean | 38 | |||
| 4 | James McDonald | 29 | |||
| 5 | Byron Pickett | 27 | |||
| 6 | Travis Johnstone | 24 | |||
| 7 | Aaron Davey | 23 | |||
| 8 | Matthew Whelan Nathan Carroll | 22 | |||
| 10 | Adem Yze | 18 | |||
| 11 | Brad Green | 15 | |||
| 12 | Russell Robertson | 12 | |||
| 13 | Daniel Ward | 10 | |||
| 14 | Brad Miller | 9 | |||
| 15 | Jeff White Jared Rivers | 6 | |||
| 17 | Simon Godfrey | 5 | |||
| 18 | Matthew Bate Nathan Jones | 3 | |||
| 20 | Clint Bartram | 2 | |||
| 21 | Ben Holland Colin Sylvia | 1 | |||
Coaching staff
Peter Curran - Assistant coach
Mark Riley - Assistant coach
Anthony Rock - Assistant coach
| Round | Player | Charge | Sanction | ||
| Round 1 | Byron Pickett | Wrestling | $900 fine | ||
| Round 5 | Adem Yze | Wrestling | $900 fine | ||
| Round 9 | Brad Miller | Striking | 2 matches | ||
| Round 16 | Adem Yze | Abusive Language | $900 fine | ||
| Round 16 | Brad Green | Headbutting | 1 match | ||
| Round 16 | Matthew Whelan | Melee | $1500 fine | ||
| Round 16 | Paul Wheatley | Melee | $1500 fine | ||
| Round 16 | Daniel Ward | Melee | $1500 fine | ||
| Round 16 | Nathan Carroll | Melee | Not guilty | ||
| Round 19 | David Neitz | Charging | Not Guilty | ||
| Round 22 | Brock McLean | Rough Conduct | Reprimand | ||
| Elimination Final | Jared Rivers | Wrestling | $900 | ||