See also 2026 AFLW season
Coach: Steven King
Captain: Max Gawn
Finishing Position: 7th (lost Wildcard Final)
Best and Fairest: Max Gawn
Leading Goalkicker: Jacob van Rooyen (42)
Best Young Player: Koltyn Tholstrup
Major Sponsor: Zurich-Drivers Depot (until Round 23)/New Balance (from Round 24)
Financial result: TBD
Members: TBD
| Practice matches | Ladder | Playing list | Best and Fairest | Tribunal | VFL | Trading and Drafts |
Melbourne started the season with its first new coach, Steven King, since 2017. Despite expectatons of a development year under King, Melbourne was a fixture in the finals race all season. They finished 7th, becoming one of the first teams to play in the AFL's new 'Wildcard' finals, which pitted 7th and 10th against each other for a spot in the Elimination Final.
The first official practice match was abandoned midway through the third quarter due to nearby lightning strikes.
Melbourne used three selections in the Mid-Season Draft, due to the retirements of Tom Campbell and Shane McAdam, and long term injury to Jai Culley.
Off-field, the club had a less successful year. Various figures, including coach King, were sued by ex-Demon Steven May and his partner over a privacy breach during a pre-season meeting. Paul Guerra saw his contract as Chief Executive Officer terminated seven games into the season and later sued the club. The plan to build a training and administrative facility at Caulfield Racecourse failed to meaningfully process, and before the last Home and Away round, it was revealed that the club had terminated its partnership with co-sponsor Driver's Depot over non-payment of sponsorship money.
A potential short-term move to facilities at Waverley formerly occupied by Hawthorn while the Caulfield project progressed did not occur, leaving Richmond to take the short term lease while works were completed on the Punt Road headquarters.
Practice matches
| Opposition | Result | Score | ||||
| North Melbourne | WIN | 129-49 | ||||
| Richmond | WIN | 78-43 | ||||
Premiership season
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | |||
| 1 | St Kilda | WIN | 120-107 | |||
| 2 | Fremantle | LOSS | 70-118 | |||
| 3 | Carlton | WIN | 100-77 | |||
| 4 | Gold Coast | WIN | 109-89 | |||
| 5 | Essendon | LOSS | 68-113 | |||
| 6 | Brisbane Lions | WIN | 104-102 | |||
| 7 | Richmond | WIN | 126-72 | |||
| 8 | Sydney | LOSS | 114-131 | |||
| 9 | West Coast | WIN | 99-67 | |||
| 10 | Hawthorn | WIN | 120-81 | |||
| 11 | Western Bulldogs | LOSS | 90-93 | |||
| 12 | Greater Western Sydney | LOSS | 70-119 | |||
| 13 | Collingwood | WIN | 83-75 | |||
| 14 | Essendon | WIN | 95-50 | |||
| 15 | Adelaide | LOSS | 62-79 | |||
| 16 | BYE | |||||
| 17 | Hawthorn | WIN | 125-90 | |||
| 18 | Richmond | WIN | 111-65 | |||
| 19 | North Melbourne | WIN | 92-76 | |||
| 20 | Geelong | LOSS | 97-117 | |||
| 21 | Gold Coast | WIN | 114-105 | |||
| 22 | Fremantle | WIN | 113-109 | |||
| 23 | Port Adelaide | WIN | 132-56 | |||
| 24 | Western Bulldogs | LOSS | 87-108 | |||
| WC | Carlton | LOSS | 55-74 | |||
Ladder
| W | D | L | % | P | ||
| Fremantle | 19 | 0 | 4 | 137.2 | 76 | |
| Sydney | 18 | 0 | 5 | 136.1 | 72 | |
| Brisbane Lions | 16 | 0 | 7 | 121.7 | 64 | |
| Hawthorn | 15 | 2 | 6 | 120.1 | 64 | |
| Geelong | 15 | 0 | 8 | 122.3 | 60 | |
| Adelaide | 15 | 0 | 8 | 117.3 | 60 | |
| Melbourne | 15 | 0 | 8 | 109.6 | 60 | |
| Western Bulldogs | 13 | 1 | 9 | 95.4 | 54 | |
| Collingwood | 12 | 2 | 9 | 102.4 | 52 | |
| Carlton | 12 | 1 | 10 | 101.5 | 50 | |
| St Kilda | 10 | 0 | 13 | 102.8 | 40 | |
| Greater Western Sydney | 10 | 0 | 13 | 98.9 | 40 | |
| Gold Coast | 9 | 0 | 14 | 94.5 | 36 | |
| North Melbourne | 9 | 0 | 14 | 88.8 | 36 | |
| Port Adelaide | 7 | 0 | 16 | 88.0 | 28 | |
| West Coast | 4 | 0 | 19 | 69.2 | 16 | |
| Richmond | 3 | 0 | 20 | 62.5 | 12 | |
| Essendon | 2 | 0 | 21 | 64.6 | 8 | |
Senior list
| Number | Player | Games | Goals | |||
| 1 | Steven May | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2 | Jacob van Rooyen | 22 | 42 | |||
| 3 | Christian Salem | 9 | 1 | |||
| 4 | Harvey Langford | 24 | 23 | |||
| 5 | Xavier Lindsay | 7 | 1 | |||
| 6 | Caleb Windsor | 21 | 9 | |||
| 7 | Jack Viney | 1 | 0 | |||
| 8 | Jake Lever | 22 | 0 | |||
| 9 | Jack Steele | 24 | 4 | |||
| 10 | Daniel Turner | 20 | 2 | |||
| 11 | Max Gawn | 24 | 13 | |||
| 12 | Koltyn Tholstrup | 24 | 3 | |||
| 14 | Changkuoth Jiath | 16 | 0 | |||
| 15 | Ed Langdon | 24 | 12 | |||
| 16 | Bailey Laurie | 17 | 13 | |||
| 17 | Jake Bowey | 16 | 2 | |||
| 18 | Jake Melksham | 7 | 8 | |||
| 19 | Xavier Taylor | 3 | 0 | |||
| 20 | Thomas Matthews | 0 | 0 | |||
| 21 | Matthew Jefferson | 16 | 18 | |||
| 22 | Blake Howes | 20 | 0 | |||
| 23 | Shane McAdam | 0 | 0 | |||
| 24 | Trent Rivers | 17 | 3 | |||
| 25 | Tom McDonald | 11 | 3 | |||
| 26 | Jed Adams | 0 | 0 | |||
| 27 | Max Heath | 7 | 2 | |||
| 28 | Brody Mihocek | 10 | 16 | |||
| 29 | Tom Campbell | 0 | 0 | |||
| 30 | Harry Sharp | 24 | 26 | |||
| 31 | Bayley Fritsch | 22 | 36 | |||
| 32 | Tom Sparrow | 24 | 12 | |||
| 33 | Latrelle Pickett | 16 | 10 | |||
| 35 | Harrison Petty | 20 | 26 | |||
| 36 | Kysaiah Pickett | 24 | 28 | |||
| 37 | Kade Chandler | 23 | 22 | |||
| 42 | Aidan Johnson | 1 | 0 | |||
Rookie list
| Number | Player | Games | Goals | |||
| 13 | Jai Culley | 7 | 1 | |||
| 34 | Kalani White | 0 | 0 | |||
| 38 | Oscar Berry | 0 | 0 | |||
| 39 | Ricky Mentha | 0 | 0 | |||
| 40 | Riley Onley | 0 | 0 | |||
| 41 | Paddy Cross | 11 | 6 | |||
| 43 | Jack Henderson | 0 | 0 | |||
| 44 | Luker Kentfield | 3 | 1 | |||
| 45 | Andy Moniz-Wakefield | 2 | 1 | |||
| 46 | Lukas Cooke | 2 | 0 | |||
| 47 | Joel Fitzgerald | 11 | 2 | |||
| 48 | Max Mapley | 0 | 0 | |||
Best and Fairest
| Player | Votes | |||||
| 1 | Max Gawn | 680 | ||||
| 2 | Kysaiah Pickett | 611 | ||||
| 3 | Tom Sparrow | 545 | ||||
| 4 | Kade Chandler | 537 | ||||
| 5 | Jack Steele | 526 | ||||
| 6 | Koltyn Tholstrup | 455 | ||||
| 7 | Harry Sharp | 415 | ||||
| 8 | Ed Langdon | 389 | ||||
| 9 | Daniel Turner | 379 | ||||
| 10 | Harvey Langford | 376 | ||||
Other awards
Trademark Player – Kade Chandler and Daniel Turner
Club Ambassador Award - Koltyn Tholstrup
Leadership Award - Jack Steele
Coaches Award - Tom Sparrow
Best VFL Player - Jack Henderson
Brownlow Medal votes
| Player | Votes | |||||
| Max Gawn | 28 | |||||
| Kysaiah Pickett | 20 | |||||
| Tom Sparrow | 12 | |||||
| Jacob van Rooyen | 10 | |||||
| Jack Steele | 4 | |||||
| Kade Chandler | 3 | |||||
| Ed Langdon | 3 | |||||
| Harvey Langford | 3 | |||||
| Joel Fitzgerald | 1 | |||||
| Changkuoth Jiath | 1 | |||||
| Harrison Petty | 1 | |||||
Tribunal
| Round | Player | Charge | Sanction | |||
| Round 3 | Latrelle Pickett | Careless umpire contact | $1000 fine | |||
| Round 5 | Jake Lever | Striking | $1000 fine | |||
| Round 8 | Jack Steele | Engaging in melee/wrestle | $1000 fine | |||
| Round 10 | Tom Sparrow | Careless umpire contact | $1000 fine | |||
| Round 13 | Kysaiah Pickett | Tripping | $2000 fine | |||
| Round 18 | Max Heath | Rough conduct | $2000 fine | |||
| Round 22 | Kysaiah Pickett | Staging | $1000 fine | |||
| Round 23 | Jacob van Rooyen | Striking | 3 matches | |||
VFL
Links
AFL Tables page
Media
melbournefc.com.au - 20/08/2026, 02/10/2026