For the AFLW season see 2023 AFLW season
Coach: Simon Goodwin
Captain: Max Gawn
Finishing Position: 4th
Best and Fairest: Christian Petracca
Leading Goalkicker: Bayley Fritsch - 38
Best Young Player: Judd McVee and Jacob van Rooyen (tied)
Major Sponsor: Zurich/Jaguar
Financial result: +$2,163,988
Members: 71,388
| Practice matches | Ladder | Playing list | Best and Fairest | Tribunal | VFL | Trading and Drafts |
For the first time a season was played over 23 games, with the new 'Gather Round' playing every Round 5 match in South Australia. After a surprise loss to Essendon at Adelaide Oval, Melbourne's record was 3-2 and their top four credentials were in question. Four consecutive victories had them well placed, before four defeats in their next six again meant finals were no certainty, let alone the double chance. With their forward line struggling, Melbourne tried a number of ways to score more, including the move of Harrison Petty to full forward (until a serious foot injury ended his year), and playing Christian Petracca forward more often.
Melbourne survived their scoring issues to finish in the top four again, earning Simon Goodwin an extension to remain as coach until 2026. They fell short in September again, knocked out in consecutive finals for the second consecutive year, becoming the first side in the top eight era to be knocked out in straight sets two years running.
Due to the combined results of the men's and women's teams, Melbourne won the revamped McClelland Trophy in the first year where the top club earned a $1 million prize.
The club recorded a new record membership figure, and an operating profit of $2,163,988 was boosted to a statutory profit $3,054,173 due to facility related fundraising.
A contested board election was held at the end of the season. Existing board members Brad Green (5028 votes), Geoff Porz (3394 votes) and Sarah Robinson (3901 votes) were reelected beating challenged by Peter Lawrence (1941), Alison Anthony (1065), Victoria Williams (1018), Barry McIlwaine (786), and Paul Rushton (270).
Practice matches
| Opposition | Result | Score | ||||
| St Kilda | WIN | 105-46 | ||||
| Richmond | WIN | 121-71 | ||||
Premiership Season
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | |||
| 1 | Western Bulldogs | WIN | 115-65 | |||
| 2 | Brisbane Lions | LOSS | 82-93 | |||
| 3 | Sydney | WIN | 134-84 | |||
| 4 | West Coast | WIN | 126-63 | |||
| 5 | Essendon | LOSS | 77-104 | |||
| 6 | Richmond | WIN | 96-78 | |||
| 7 | North Melbourne | WIN | 139-49 | |||
| 8 | Gold Coast | WIN | 90-85 | |||
| 9 | Hawthorn | WIN | 103-49 | |||
| 10 | Port Adelaide | LOSS | 76-80 | |||
| 11 | Fremantle | LOSS | 72-79 | |||
| 12 | Carlton | WIN | 61-44 | |||
| 13 | Collingwood | WIN | 66-62 | |||
| 14 | BYE | |||||
| 15 | Geelong | LOSS | 63-78 | |||
| 16 | Greater Western Sydney | LOSS | 45-47 | |||
| 17 | St Kilda | WIN | 79-58 | |||
| 18 | Brisbane Lions | WIN | 105-104 | |||
| 19 | Adelaide | WIN | 97-93 | |||
| 20 | Richmond | WIN | 130-98 | |||
| 21 | North Melbourne | WIN | 103-71 | |||
| 22 | Carlton | LOSS | 56-60 | |||
| 23 | Hawthorn | WIN | 87-60 | |||
| 24 | Sydney | WIN | 77-56 | |||
| QF | Collingwood | LOSS | 53-60 | |||
| SF | Carlton | LOSS | 71-73 | |||
Ladder
| W | D | L | % | P | ||
| Collingwood | 18 | 0 | 5 | 127.0 | 72 | |
| Brisbane Lions | 17 | 0 | 6 | 123.1 | 68 | |
| Port Adelaide | 17 | 0 | 6 | 112.7 | 68 | |
| Melbourne | 16 | 0 | 7 | 125.2 | 64 | |
| Carlton | 13 | 1 | 9 | 113.3 | 54 | |
| St Kilda | 13 | 0 | 10 | 107.8 | 52 | |
| Greater Western Sydney | 13 | 0 | 10 | 107.1 | 52 | |
| Sydney | 12 | 1 | 10 | 110.0 | 50 | |
| Western Bulldogs | 12 | 0 | 11 | 108.7 | 48 | |
| Adelaide | 11 | 0 | 12 | 116.8 | 44 | |
| Essendon | 11 | 0 | 12 | 89.7 | 44 | |
| Geelong | 10 | 1 | 12 | 112.6 | 42 | |
| Richmond | 10 | 1 | 12 | 93.6 | 42 | |
| Fremantle | 10 | 0 | 13 | 96.7 | 40 | |
| Gold Coast | 9 | 0 | 14 | 91.7 | 36 | |
| Hawthorn | 7 | 0 | 16 | 80.2 | 28 | |
| North Melbourne | 3 | 0 | 20 | 71.5 | 12 | |
| West Coast | 3 | 0 | 20 | 53.0 | 12 | |
Senior list
| Number | Player | Games | Goals | |||
| 1 | Steven May | 23 | 0 | |||
| 2 | Jacob van Rooyen | 20 | 28 | |||
| 3 | Christian Salem | 16 | 0 | |||
| 4 | James Harmes | 9 | 1 | |||
| 5 | Christian Petracca | 25 | 28 | |||
| 6 | Brodie Grundy | 17 | 10 | |||
| 7 | Jack Viney | 24 | 8 | |||
| 8 | Jake Lever | 24 | 0 | |||
| 9 | Charlie Spargo | 14 | 11 | |||
| 10 | Angus Brayshaw | 24 | 2 | |||
| 11 | Max Gawn | 22 | 10 | |||
| 12 | Lachie Hunter | 24 | 6 | |||
| 13 | Clayton Oliver | 15 | 6 | |||
| 14 | Michael Hibberd | 12 | 0 | |||
| 15 | Ed Langdon | 25 | 6 | |||
| 16 | Bailey Laurie | 5 | 0 | |||
| 17 | Jake Bowey | 23 | 4 | |||
| 18 | Jake Melksham | 13 | 20 | |||
| 19 | Josh Schache | 3 | 1 | |||
| 20 | Adam Tomlinson | 9 | 0 | |||
| 21 | Matthew Jefferson | 0 | 0 | |||
| 22 | Blake Howes | 0 | 0 | |||
| 23 | James Jordon | 18 | 4 | |||
| 24 | Trent Rivers | 25 | 2 | |||
| 25 | Tom McDonald | 8 | 9 | |||
| 26 | Jed Adams | 0 | 0 | |||
| 27 | Luke Dunstan | 0 | 0 | |||
| 29 | Joel Smith | 14 | 11 | |||
| 30 | Alex Neal-Bullen | 25 | 19 | |||
| 31 | Bayley Fritsch | 17 | 38 | |||
| 32 | Tom Sparrow | 23 | 11 | |||
| 35 | Harrison Petty | 14 | 12 | |||
| 36 | Kysaiah Pickett | 23 | 37 | |||
| 37 | Kade Chandler | 23 | 24 | |||
| 40 | Taj Woewodin | 4 | 2 | |||
| 50 | Ben Brown | 7 | 11 | |||
Rookie list
| Number | Player | Games | Goals | |||
| 28 | Will Verrall | 0 | 0 | |||
| 33 | Kye Turner | 0 | 0 | |||
| 34 | Deakyn Smith | 0 | 0 | |||
| 38 | Oliver Sestan | 0 | 0 | |||
| 41 | Judd McVee | 25 | 0 | |||
| 42 | Daniel Turner | 2 | 0 | |||
| 43 | Kyah Farris-White | 0 | 0 | |||
| 45 | Andy Moniz-Wakefield | 0 | 0 | |||
Best and Fairest
| Player | Votes | |||||
| 1 | Christian Petracca | 602 | ||||
| 2 | Jack Viney | 527 | ||||
| 3 | Jake Lever | 456 | ||||
| 4 | Angus Brayshaw | 453 | ||||
| 5 | Steven May | 451 | ||||
| 6 | Alex Neal-Bullen | 450 | ||||
| 7 | Kysaiah Pickett | 444 | ||||
| 8 | Max Gawn | 426 | ||||
| 9 | Judd McVee | 424 | ||||
| 10 | Trent Rivers | 416 | ||||
Other awards
Best VFL player - Deakyn Smith
James McDonald Trophy - Tom Sparrow
Club Ambassador - Ben Brown
Leadership Award - Angus Brayshaw
Coaches Award - Trent Rivers
Tribunal
| Round | Player | Charge | Sanction | |||
| Round 1 | Kysaiah Pickett | Rough conduct | 2 matches | |||
| Round 5 | Angus Brayshaw | Tripping | $1500 fine | |||
| Round 7 | Jacob van Rooyen | Striking | Not Guilty (appealed) | |||
| Round 8 | Tom Sparrow | Dangerous tackle | 1 match | |||
| Round 8 | Lachie Hunter | Unsportsmanlike conduct | $1500 fine | |||
| Round 10 | Lachie Hunter | Forceful front-on contact | 1 match | |||
| Round 10 | Christian Salem | Tripping | $2000 fine | |||
| Round 10 | Jack Viney | Rough conduct | $2000 fine | |||
| Round 12 | James Harmes | Rough conduct | 1 match | |||
| Round 13 | Christian Salem | Striking | $3000 fine | |||
| Semi Final | Kysaiah Pickett | Rough conduct | 1 match | |||
| Semi Final | Kysaiah Pickett | Striking | 1 match | |||
| Semi Final | Jack Viney | Rough conduct | $3000 fine | |||
| Semi Final | Tom Sparrow | Misconduct | $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 - Taylor Whitford
VFL
Trading and drafts
Trades
| Received | From | Exchanged | ||||
| 2024 National Draft third round selection | Western Bulldogs | James Harmes | ||||
| 2023 National Draft selection #46 2024 National Draft second round selection | Sydney | Brodie Grundy | ||||
| 2023 National Draft selection #11 | Gold Coast | 2023 National Draft selections 14, 27 and 35 | ||||
| Tom Fullarton | Brisbane Lions | 2023 National Draft selection 47 | ||||
| Shane McAdam | Adelaide | 2024 National Draft second round selection | ||||
| Jack Billings | St Kilda | 2024 National Draft third round selection | ||||
| 2024 National Draft third round selection | St Kilda | 2023 National Draft selection #42 | ||||
Media
melbournefc.com.au - [https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/1447767/keith-bluey-truscott-memorial-trophy|06/10/2023,
24/11/2023, 20/12/2023