Four games into his senior coaching tenure, Steven King made a telling comment in the context of Melbourne Football Club emerging from a period beset by inner turmoil.
The new Demons coach was basking in the aftermath of Easter Sunday’s surprise victory over the Gold Coast Suns, but was keen to reference the events of the previous week.
King noted that his team had come together to celebrate the 250-game milestones of veterans Max Gawn and Tom McDonald after their inspiring come-from-behind victory against Carlton at the MCG.
“That’s what footy clubs are about,” King said.
“For me, that was the moment after the game when we all had a beer with each other and recognising T-Mac and Max, that was to me – it felt like a proper footy club.
“It felt like people who were invested and really cared for each other and a willingness to celebrate memories and occasions together.”
From the outside, Melbourne had not resembled a proper footy club for several years.
The lustre began to fade soon after they returned from Perth in 2021 with a drought-breaking premiership cup.
They made the top four in 2022 and 2023 under Simon Goodwin, but instead of stamping themselves as a dynasty side, as many had predicted, they bowed out of the finals in straight sets both times.
In the following years, there was no reversing the slide. They missed the top eight altogether in 2024 and 2025, but by then the exodus had begun.
President Kate Roffey and CEO Gary Pert stood down at the end of 2024, Goodwin was sacked the following season, the club jettisoned premiership stars Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver during the 2025 trade period, and key defender Steven May retired at the start of this year.
After such a high turnover, few predicted a sudden bounce.
But the club’s regeneration under King, new president Steven Smith and new CEO Paul Guerra has been as swift as it has been surprising.
Even their ability to navigate an off-field crisis appears to have changed.
Just last week, it was alleged that football department boss Alan Richardson had shared private information about retired player May and his partner Sachi Dade during an online meeting between senior club figures and players’ partners.
Melbourne was quick to apologise. The club said the meeting was designed to reaffirm their support for families, but they acknowledged it had instead caused a moment of distress.
Unlike in the past, the fallout was not felt on the field. The Demons upset the Suns by 20 points and are now 3-1 heading into Saturday’s Gather Round clash against Essendon.
Here are four key reasons that Melbourne have been able to turn things around.
The coach
Two facets stood out during King’s interview for the highly sought-after Melbourne job.
The first was his comprehensive apprenticeship, including stints under premiership coaches Luke Beveridge at the Western Bulldogs and Chris Scott at Geelong, as well as time as an assistant to Stuart Dew at the Gold Coast.
This told the panel he understood the meaning of success, and failure.
The second was his calming presence. The former ruckman was seen as humble, as well as composed.
Essendon great Jobe Watson sat on the interview panel alongside then president Brad Green, Smith, Guerra, Richardson, Melbourne Storm’s Frank Ponissi and HR executive Meahan Callaghan.
“I felt like he really had a good understanding and grasp of himself – what he wanted and who he was,” Watson told this masthead. “And then there was his belief in where he thought the club was at … and from an outsider’s view, where he thought that there could be improvement.”
A large part of that improvement, according to premiership captain Max Gawn, has come from putting power in the players’ hands.
“Without making Kingy’s game plan sound really easy, we basically have a licence with the ball,” Gawn told the ABC after their Gold Coast win.
“When we have the ball, no matter what I do, Kingy’s not going to yell at me. Which is kind of a cool spot to be in.”
The game style
King flagged from the beginning that Melbourne were heading in a new direction. From day one of pre-season, the Demons trained at higher speeds and for longer.
Under Goodwin, the Demons placed a premium value on winning contested ball. But they lost the art of scoring.
Under King, they have embraced a high-octane brand that pushes the boundaries of greater risk for greater reward.
“I think you have got to let your players play sometimes,” King said.
So far this season, their scoring is up almost three goals a game, their kick-to-handball ratio has increased, and they are taking more uncontested marks. They rank third in the competition for disposals per goal.
They also have the Picketts – Kysaiah and his cousin Latrelle – a point not lost on Gawn after the Gold Coast win.
“Late in the game we wanted to shut the game down, and the Picketts said, ‘screw that, we’re just going to keep playing footy’, which is kind of exciting to watch, but also if they turn it over, we are cooked,” Gawn said.
But King was not complaining. He was in no mind to shut down their unscripted and magical moments.
“If you try to quell what those two can do with the ball, and what their instincts are, I think you would be suppressing the potential damage that they can do in a game,” he said.
The list changes
King’s first Christmas cards this year should be addressed to Melbourne’s list management team of Tim Lamb and Jason Taylor.
Together, they were able to provide the incoming coach with a talented list and a clean slate.
They traded out Norm Smith medallist Petracca and four-time best-and-fairest winner Oliver last year, while bringing in bargain buys Jack Steele for a future third-round pick and Brody Mihocek, an exchange that saw Melbourne hand over pick 61 and a future third-round pick for the premiership Magpie and pick 71.
“That’s the art of list management,” Watson said of the club’s ability to identify surplus talent on an opponent’s books.
Mihocek has eased the pressure on key forward Jacob van Rooyen, while Steele has proved an instant hit, averaging 25.25 possessions and nine tackles a game. He has been the jab to Pickett’s punch.
“We are so lucky to have him,” King said of Steele. “He plays footy the right way. As an inside midfielder, who runs two ways. His calming influence on our young midfield group has been unbelievable.”
More importantly, following the 2021 premiership, the Dees continued to replenish at the draft.
In 2023, they took Caleb Windsor (No.7) and Koltyn Tholstrup (No.13). In 2024, they brought in Harvey Langford (No.6) and Xavier Lindsay (No.11). In 2025, they used the Petracca trade to grab Xavier Taylor (No.11) and Latrelle Pickett (No.12).
Watson said the loss of Petracca and Oliver might yet hurt the Demons at the back-end of the season, but so far their absence has allowed King to pursue fast ball movement with a new midfield blend – Windsor, Tholstrup, Steele and Kysaiah Pickett.
The Channel 7 commentator said bringing in the younger Pickett had also helped.
“Latrelle playing as a forward just means that when Kozzie is up in the midfield, they haven’t lost what he was able to do in the forward line with that leg speed and that pressure,” Watson said. “They have just added a leg-speed player into the midfield.”
The vibe
As resilient Demon Jake Melksham prepared for his 250th game this weekend, he said the energy at Melbourne had shifted.
“When I look around while I’m out there on the field at training, I think for the first time in a little while, the youth and energy at our club in the younger guys is outweighing that older, more experienced player,” he said.
“There’s also a lot of guys that have been on the fringe in previous years, who have played every game this year, and they are really providing value to our team.”
Even former coach Goodwin was applauding Melbourne’s resurgence from afar, revealing this week he was “really proud of what they’re doing”.
“You sit there with a little smile on your face when you see Gawny and Kozzie and Melky and the boys that you coached for a long time still doing their thing,” Goodwin said, having taken up a coaching role at Sydney.
“But you also have a lot of joy when you look at the guys like Harvey Langford, Xavier Lindsay, Koltyn Tholstrup, van Rooyen; guys that you’ve worked with for a few years, come and do their thing.”
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