For the 2022 AFLW summer season see 2022 AFLW summer season
For the 2022 AFLW spring season see 2022 AFLW spring season
Coach: Simon Goodwin
Captain: Max Gawn
Finishing Position: 2nd (lost in finals)
Best and Fairest: Clayton Oliver
Leading Goalkicker: Bayley Fritsch - 55
Best Young Player: Jake Bowey
Major Sponsor: Zurich/Jaguar
Financial result: +$2,711,624
Members: 66,484
| Ladder | Playing List | Best and Fairest | Tribunal | Drafts and Trading | |
Entering the season as defending premiers for the first time in 57 years, Melbourne won the Grand Final rematch against Western Bulldogs in Round 1, and extended their unbeaten streak to 17 games by starting the year 10-0. The first loss precipitated a mini collapse, losing three in a row before the club recovered to finish second on the ladder, ensuring their second consecutive double chance. They were knocked out of the finals after losing close games to Sydney and Brisbane, the club's first straight sets exit since 1961.
Melbourne's six losses from 22 or more points in front during a game was the most by any side in a season since 2001.
The membership tally of 66,484 was a club record.
Melbourne's VFL affiliate Casey Demons won that competition's premiership, the first since the clubs began their alignment.
Practice matches
| Opposition | Result | Score | |||
| North Melbourne | WIN | 132-44 | |||
AAMI Community Series
| Opposition | Result | Score | |||
| Carlton | LOSS | 93-98 | |||
Premiership Season
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | ||
| 1 | Western Bulldogs | WIN | 97-71 | ||
| 2 | Gold Coast | WIN | 82-69 | ||
| 3 | Essendon | WIN | 99-70 | ||
| 4 | Port Adelaide | WIN | 68-36 | ||
| 5 | Greater Western Sydney | WIN | 120-53 | ||
| 6 | Richmond | WIN | 76-54 | ||
| 7 | Hawthorn | WIN | 91-81 | ||
| 8 | St Kilda | WIN | 93-38 | ||
| 9 | West Coast | WIN | 112-38 | ||
| 10 | North Melbourne | WIN | 100-53 | ||
| 11 | Fremantle | LOSS | 56-94 | ||
| 12 | Sydney | LOSS | 61-73 | ||
| 13 | Collingwood | LOSS | 56-82 | ||
| 14 | BYE | ||||
| 15 | Brisbane Lions | WIN | 117-53 | ||
| 16 | Adelaide | WIN | 94-65 | ||
| 17 | Geelong | LOSS | 63-91 | ||
| 18 | Port Adelaide | WIN | 83-69 | ||
| 19 | Western Bulldogs | LOSS | 100-110 | ||
| 20 | Fremantle | WIN | 85-39 | ||
| 21 | Collingwood | LOSS | 89-96 | ||
| 22 | Carlton | WIN | 79-74 | ||
| 23 | Brisbane Lions | WIN | 115-57 | ||
| QF | Sydney | LOSS | 69-91 | ||
| SF | Brisbane Lions | LOSS | 79-92 | ||
Ladder
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| Geelong | 18 | 0 | 4 | 144.2 | 72 |
| Melbourne | 16 | 0 | 6 | 130.5 | 64 |
| Sydney | 16 | 0 | 6 | 127.9 | 64 |
| Collingwood | 16 | 0 | 6 | 104.3 | 64 |
| Fremantle | 15 | 1 | 6 | 117.0 | 62 |
| Brisbane Lions | 15 | 0 | 7 | 119.3 | 60 |
| Richmond | 13 | 1 | 8 | 121.6 | 54 |
| Western Bulldogs | 12 | 0 | 10 | 108.9 | 48 |
| Carlton | 12 | 0 | 10 | 108.3 | 48 |
| St Kilda | 11 | 0 | 11 | 99.3 | 44 |
| Port Adelaide | 10 | 0 | 12 | 110.3 | 40 |
| Gold Coast | 10 | 0 | 12 | 102.8 | 40 |
| Hawthorn | 8 | 0 | 14 | 89.8 | 32 |
| Adelaide | 8 | 0 | 14 | 86.7 | 32 |
| Essendon | 7 | 0 | 15 | 83.2 | 28 |
| Greater Western Sydney | 6 | 0 | 16 | 84.6 | 24 |
| West Coast | 2 | 0 | 20 | 59.8 | 8 |
| North Melbourne | 2 | 0 | 20 | 55.8 | 8 |
Senior list
| Number | Player | Games | Goals | ||
| 1 | Steven May | 22 | 0 | ||
| 3 | Christian Salem | 13 | 1 | ||
| 4 | James Harmes | 21 | 12 | ||
| 5 | Christian Petracca | 24 | 19 | ||
| 6 | Luke Jackson | 22 | 11 | ||
| 7 | Jack Viney | 22 | 8 | ||
| 8 | Jake Lever | 19 | 1 | ||
| 9 | Charlie Spargo | 24 | 10 | ||
| 10 | Angus Brayshaw | 24 | 2 | ||
| 11 | Max Gawn | 22 | 13 | ||
| 12 | Toby Bedford | 16 | 9 | ||
| 13 | Clayton Oliver | 23 | 5 | ||
| 14 | Michael Hibberd | 12 | 0 | ||
| 15 | Ed Langdon | 23 | 13 | ||
| 16 | Bailey Laurie | 0 | 0 | ||
| 17 | Jake Bowey | 17 | 2 | ||
| 18 | Jake Melksham | 11 | 12 | ||
| 19 | Fraser Rosman | 0 | 0 | ||
| 20 | Adam Tomlinson | 8 | 0 | ||
| 21 | Jacob van Rooyen | 0 | 0 | ||
| 22 | Blake Howes | 0 | 0 | ||
| 23 | James Jordon | 22 | 7 | ||
| 24 | Trent Rivers | 18 | 2 | ||
| 25 | Tom McDonald | 9 | 15 | ||
| 26 | Sam Weideman | 10 | 13 | ||
| 27 | Luke Dunstan | 5 | 0 | ||
| 29 | Jayden Hunt | 20 | 0 | ||
| 30 | Alex Neal-Bullen | 23 | 9 | ||
| 31 | Bayley Fritsch | 24 | 55 | ||
| 32 | Tom Sparrow | 23 | 7 | ||
| 33 | Oskar Baker | 0 | 0 | ||
| 35 | Harrison Petty | 18 | 1 | ||
| 36 | Kysaiah Pickett | 23 | 41 | ||
| 40 | Taj Woewodin | 0 | 0 | ||
| 44 | Joel Smith | 7 | 0 | ||
| 50 | Ben Brown | 19 | 30 | ||
Rookie list
| Number | Player | Games | Goals | ||
| 28 | Majak Daw | 0 | 0 | ||
| 34 | Deakyn Smith | 0 | 0 | ||
| 37 | Kade Chandler | 4 | 0 | ||
| 38 | Mitch Brown | 3 | 2 | ||
| 41 | Judd McVee | 0 | 0 | ||
| 42 | Daniel Turner | 1 | 0 | ||
| 45 | Andy Moniz-Wakefield | 0 | 0 | ||
Best and Fairest
| Player | Votes | ||||
| 1st | Clayton Oliver | 608 | |||
| 2nd | Christian Petracca | 553 | |||
| 3rd | Steven May | 473 | |||
| 4th | Jack Viney | 471 | |||
| 5th | Angus Brayshaw | 446 | |||
| 6th | Max Gawn | 430 | |||
| 7th | Bayley Fritsch | 395 | |||
| 8th | Kysaiah Pickett | 391 | |||
| 9th | Alex Neal-Bullen | 384 | |||
| 10th | Ed Langdon | 367 | |||
| 11th | Tom Sparrow | 360 | |||
| 12th | James Jordon | 358 | |||
| 13th | Charlie Spargo | 349 | |||
| 14th | Luke Jackson | 332 | |||
| 15th | Harrison Petty | 322 | |||
| 16th | James Harmes | 313 | |||
| 17th | Jayden Hunt | 237 | |||
| 18th | Ben Brown | 236 | |||
| 18th | Jake Lever | 236 | |||
| 20th | Jake Bowey | 220 | |||
Other awards
Troy Broadbridge Memorial Trophy - Luke Dunstan
James McDonald Trophy – Jack Viney
Ian Ridley Memorial Trophy – Ben Brown
Ron Barassi Jnr Trophy – Angus Brayshaw
Norm Smith Memorial Trophy – Tom Sparrow
Tribunal
| Round | Player | Charge | Sanction | ||
| VFL Round 3 | Ben Brown | Striking | 1 match | ||
| Round 9 | Kade Chandler | Dangerous tackle | 2 matches | ||
| Round 16 | Kysaiah Pickett | Striking | $2000 fine | ||
| Round 20 | Kysaiah Pickett | Staging | $1000 fine | ||
Coaching Staff
General Manager of Football Performance - Alan Richardson
Backline coach - Troy Chaplin
Midfield coach - Adem Yze
Forward coach - Greg Stafford
Head of Development - Mark Williams
Casey Demons coach - Mark Corrigan
VFL
Links
AFL Tables page
Wikipedia page
Media
Insight Lane - 10/09/2022