Melbourne’s list boss believes they are “ahead of the curve” in their push for another flag despite parting with five premiership players in the past two trade periods.
The Demons were one of this year’s feel-good stories under new coach Steven King after a limp ending to the Simon Goodwin era, which delivered a long-awaited flag in 2021 to a success-starved fan base. But list manager Tim Lamb is confident they are just getting started.
The Demons are the sole club to have picked at least twice in the first round of the AFL draft in each of the past three years, and will take picks four and 14 into next month’s draft after more savvy trading in the past fortnight.
Jack Viney and Trent Rivers were the latest to depart in the final minutes before the trade deadline on Wednesday night, after Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Charlie Spargo went elsewhere last year.
Two other premiership stalwarts, Tom McDonald and Steven May, retired in 2026.
Only nine players remain from that premiership team of five years ago in a dramatic and mostly deliberate overhaul designed to keep pace with the modern game.
“We think we’re ahead of the curve with what we’ve done at the draft over the last few years,” Lamb said. “We’re pumped with what we’ve got and excited about the future, particularly with the draft hand we’ve got again.”
It is not a new strategy in Lamb’s time at the club – and it helps that Melbourne employ one of the league’s sharpest recruiting minds, Jason Taylor.
They aggressively traded into the 2019 first round, grabbing Luke Jackson first before selecting fellow future All-Australian and premiership star Kysaiah Pickett with the pick they acquired from Fremantle after initially collecting North Melbourne’s top-10 choice.
In 2023, it was Caleb Windsor and Koltyn Tholstrup. Harvey Langford and Xavier Lindsay followed a year later. Then in last year’s draft, the Demons swooped on Xavier Taylor and Latrelle Pickett.
Lamb is not just chuffed about having repeated multiple turns at the annual draft, but with how they have executed their plan.
Gold Coast (nine), Richmond and North Melbourne (eight each) have all picked more often in the first round than Melbourne since 2023, while GWS selected an equal number of players in that territory.
But the Demons intentionally targeted athleticism, power, speed, endurance and versatility. In trading for ex-Kangaroo Zane Duursma – the No.4 pick in the 2023 draft – they added to that stockpile.
Duursma was a bust at North Melbourne, but has acknowledged his part in that. The 21-year-old called Lamb himself to tell him he wanted to play for Melbourne.
“We think Zane’s really versatile. We see potential for him to play up on a wing,” Lamb said.
“We’re keen to get Harvey Langford some more exposure inside, so we see a bit of a vacancy there. We like Zane’s aerial ability. He’ll be able to slide forward, back. He’s an excellent kick and decision-maker.”
Ex-skipper Viney’s move to West Coast followed fellow club greats and champion midfielders Petracca and Oliver leaving to continue their careers at the Gold Coast and Giants, respectively.
Viney played just once this year for Melbourne. Achilles and back injuries were largely to blame, but Lamb and King were frank with the 32-year-old in his exit meeting about where he sat in the pecking order.
Petracca and Oliver both enjoyed good campaigns at their new clubs, but the Demons were happy to move on.
They practically packed Oliver’s bags, but cashed in on Petracca – bringing in two top-10 picks last year and another this year as part of the package.
Petracca won the Norm Smith Medal in the 2021 triumph under Goodwin, while Oliver and Viney were also key contributors, along with Angus Brayshaw, who was medically retired after a string of concussions, but long ago stopped being the players they were at their peak.
That landslide grand final win over the Western Bulldogs was only five years ago, but so much has changed.
Goodwin is also gone, and Melbourne have not won a final since that 74-point demolition in Perth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lamb believes the way the sport is played at the highest level has changed, too.
That was a chief reason then-president Brad Green, head of football Alan Richardson, interim CEO David Chippindall and board member Angela Williams sacked Goodwin at his Malvern home last year. And why King and his brand of up-tempo, attacking and high-scoring football replaced him.
“People keep talking about ’21 – it’s a long time ago now,” Lamb said.
“The game’s evolved. We’ve evolved as a footy club. They’ll always be greats of our club, but we’ve got to move forward as a club. The game’s changed, and we need to change with it.”
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