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The Melbourne Football Club boasts a legacy as rich as any sporting organisation on the planet. Founded in May 1859, it is the world’s oldest professional football club of any variety.
It is rare that a team who makes the semi-final can have a season to forget, but that is exactly how Melbourne supporters will feel after 2023.
With off-field distractions surrounding Brodie Grundy and Clayton Oliver throughout the year, coupled with back-to-back straight sets finishes in the finals, the Dees will be hoping for more on-field stories to take the limelight in 2024.
Can the Dees get back to that ruthless 2021 form and win the 2024 AFL Premiership? Let’s find out.
Established: | 1859 |
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Home ground: | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
Coach: | Simon Goodwin |
Captain: | Max Gawn |
Premierships: | 13 – 1900, 1926, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1948, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1964, 2021 |
2021 ladder finish: | 4th (16-7-0) |
Betting on futures markets surround the Melbourne Demons is easy, with all of the best Australian online betting sites boasting extensive AFL prices. We recommend always checking Demons odds on markets with multiple bookies, so you always get the best AFL odds.
2024 Premiership | Top 10 Brownlow Medal | |
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Odds @ BetOnline | – | Max Gawn +1600 |
See more Melbourne AFL futures odds at Bet365.com.au
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Round | Date | Opponent | Time (local) | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|
Opening Round | Thursday, March 7 | Sydney Swans | 7:30 PM | SCG, NSW |
1 | Sunday, March 17 | Western Bulldogs | 1:00 PM | MCG, VIC |
2 | Saturday, March 23 | Hawthorn Hawks | 4:35 PM | MCG, VIC |
3 | Saturday, March 30 | Port Adelaide Power | 7:30 PM | Adelaide Oval, SA |
4 | Thursday, April 4 | Adelaide Crows | 7:40 PM | Adelaide Oval, SA (GATHER ROUND) |
5 | Thursday, April 11 | Brisbane Lions | 7:30 PM | MCG, VIC |
6 | BYE | |||
7 | Wednesday, April 24 | Richmond Tigers | 7:25 PM | MCG, VIC |
8 | Saturday, May 4 | Geelong Cats | 7:30 PM | MCG, VIC |
9 | Thursday, May 9 | Carlton Blues | 7:30 PM | MCG, VIC |
10 | Sunday, May 19 | West Coast Eagles | 6:20 PM | Optus Stadium, WA |
11 | Sunday, May 26 | St Kilda Saints | 3:20 PM | MCG, VIC |
12 | Sunday, June 2 | Fremantle Dockers | 1:00 PM | TIO Traeger Park, NT |
13 | Monday, June 10 | Collingwood Magpies | 3:20 PM | MCG, VIC |
14 | BYE | |||
15 | Saturday, June 22 | North Melbourne Kangaroos | 7:30 PM | MCG, VIC |
16 | TBC | Brisbane Lions | TBC | Gabba, QLD |
17 | TBC | West Coast Eagles | TBC | MCG, VIC |
18 | TBC | Essendon Bombers | TBC | MCG, VIC |
19 | TBC | Fremantle Dockers | TBC | Optus Stadium, WA |
20 | TBC | GWS Giants | TBC | MCG, VIC |
21 | TBC | Western Bulldogs | TBC | Marvel Stadium, VIC |
22 | TBC | Port Adelaide Power | TBC | MCG, VIC |
23 | TBC | Gold Coast Suns | TBC | Heritage Bank Stadium, QLD |
24 | TBC | Collingwood Magpies | TBC | MCG, VIC |
Born: 22/7/1997
Games: 162
Goals: 51
Position: Midfielder
Clayton Oliver had his 2023 season halted by a low-grade hamstring injury that saw him miss a month of football before the mid-season bye. However, post-bye, Oliver was still on the sidelines with a new injury. After a well-publicised disagreement with the club doctor, the off-field issues quickly mounted on the premiership-winning midfielder. Melbourne were rumoured to be happy to part ways with their ball magnet, but nothing eventuated, and Oliver remained a Demon. It is fair to say that Clayton Oliver will be one of, if not the most watched, players in 2024.
Born: 2/6/2001
Games: 85
Goals: 125
Position: Forward
Kysaiah Pickett entered the 2023 season with high hopes of becoming one of the best small forwards in the competition. Unfortunately, Pickett’s form was up and down throughout the year, and he began to slide late in the season, much like Melbourne did as a team. Entering his fifth season with the Dees, Pickett will once again have the spotlight on him in a forward line that lacked goals and couldn’t kick winning scores. The addition of Shane McAdam in the offseason will bolster the forward stocks, but if Pickett turns in another sub-par year, it could be more of the same for Melbourne in 2024.
Born: 28/5/1995
Games: 50
Goals: 72
Position: Forward
Although Shane McAdam only has 50 AFL games to his name, he came across from Adelaide as Melbourne’s high-profile recruit, whom they hope will help with their goal-kicking woes. McAdam couldn’t hold his spot in an improving Crows side, as he played just seven games in 2023. After requesting a trade from South Australia to Victoria, McAdam will join a forward line that contains other young talents such as Kysaiah Pickett, Jacob Van Rooyen and Koltyn Tholstrup.
The team’s origins can be traced back to 1858, when a group led by Victoria’s cricket captain, Tom Wills, published a letter calling for the codification of a new sport to keep players fit during the winter months. Meetings held at Parade Hotel the following May spawned ‘The Rules of the Melbourne Football Club’ – and so both MFC and Aussie rules were born.
While the Redlegs were the driving force behind footy’s early development, on-field success was scarce. They failed to win a VFA Premiership despite reaching the grand final four times and managed only a single VFL flag (1900) before the outbreak of World War I.
It was not until World War II that Melbourne became a true powerhouse of the competition. Frank ‘Checker’ Hughes coached the team to four premierships between 1933 and 1948, including three on the bounce from ’39 to ’41. Hughes is also widely credited with rebranding the club as the Demons.
The following two decades were even more glorious. Four-time premiership star Norm Smith was installed as coach in 1952 and Ron Barassi made his debut a year later. That pairing would lead Melbourne to six flags, including an astonishing run of five in six years from 1955 to 1960.
Everything changed in 1964. Shortly after helping the Dees to their 12th VFL title, Barassi left to take over as captain-coach at Carlton. Frictions between Smith and the Melbourne board – much of which had to do with Barassi’s departure – led to the superstar coach’s sensational axing during the ’65 season.
So came about the ‘Curse of the Red Fox’. After 1964, the Dees went the better part of six decades without winning a flag, reaching the big dance only twice – 1988 and 2000 – in that time. A massive overhaul starting in 2013 led to two critical appointments: Paul Roos as coach and Simon Goodwin as his assistant. Roos manned the helm while the Dees rebuilt their culture from the ground up, stepping aside in 2017 and handing the reins to Goodwin. Four years later, the club broke its premiership drought with a resounding win over the Western Bulldogs.
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