AFL Supercoach 2026: Melbourne Demons 2026 Squad Analysis

A new era begins at Melbourne this year, after plenty of change over the off-season.

Steven King is now at the helm and the Dees have parted ways with two of their most decorated players in the past decade in Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver.

Judd McVee and Charlie Spargo also made their way to new clubs, while another seven players were delisted.

King has added a trio of established players from rival clubs including ex-St Kilda captain Jack Steele, former Collingwood spearhead Brody Mihocek and ex-Hawk Changkuoth Jiath. 

Max Heath also came from the Saints, before the Dees added a pair of talented youngsters in Xavier Taylor and Latrelle Pickett, the cousin of star Kysaiah, via the draft.

Given there’s been so much change at the Dees, let’s take a look at Melbourne’s SuperCoach prospects for the upcoming season.

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Predicted Round 1 starting team

FB: Christian Salem, Harrison Petty, Daniel Turner

HB: Changkuoth Jiath, Jake Lever, Xavier Lindsay

C: Ed Langdon, Harvey Langford, Caleb Windsor

HF: Kysaiah Pickett, Brody Mihocek, Jake Melksham

FF: Kade Chandler, Jacob Van Rooyen, Bayley Fritsch
FOLL: Max Gawn, Jack Steele, Trent Rivers

I/C: Jai Culley, Tom Sparrow, Blake Howes, Xavier Taylor, Koltyn Tholstrup

Analysis: Jake Bowey will miss the start of the season due to injury which only adds to the intrigue around how Steven King will set up his defence. Veteran Steven May has had a tumultuous off-season and could definitely be overlooked after being told to explore his options last year, while Tom McDonald, Jed Adams and Andy Moniz-Wakefield are others who are around the mark.

First-round draftee Latrelle Pickett is another who could find his way into the team with a strong summer, likewise the hard-running Harry Sharp. After the departure of some club stalwarts over the off-season, the Dees will be desperately hoping they can get plenty of improvement out of their younger tier of players, such as Harvey Langford, Trent Rivers, Jai Culley, Caleb Windsor and Xavier Lindsay. Culley recently suffered a fractured arm during a training session and is in a race against time to play round one, while veteran Jack Viney is facing a delayed start to 2026 due to injury.

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Fixtures

Round 1: St Kilda (H)

Round 2: Fremantle (A)

Round 3: Carlton (A)

Round 4: Gold Coast (H)

Round 5: Essendon (A)

Byes: Round 16

Verdict: The Dees avoid an early bye given they won’t feature during Opening Round. It’s hard to see Melbourne improving on their 7-16 record from last year given so much change, but their fixture does open up a little bit from round 3 to round 9. The Dees share that round 16 bye with the Bulldogs, Cats and Saints. 

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LOCK

The Melbourne ‘lock’ could be none other than the great Max Gawn ($689,600 RUC). Sure, you’ve got to pay up for the big man but he’s been one of the best SuperCoach performers in the past decade and is a weekly captaincy option. I don’t anticipate that the new ruck rules will have too much of an impact on Gawn’s scoring, given his outstanding ability to get around the ground and drift back behind the ball to support his defence.

He’s currently in just 18 per cent of teams, far less than in past years, which means he’s somewhat of a point of difference play, too.

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POINT OF DIFFERENCE

Following the off-season exodus, there’s plenty of opportunity and SuperCoach points ready to be snapped up by the Dees, the question is, who will benefit the most? Kysaiah Pickett ($494,900 MID/FWD) flourished with added midfield minutes last year and should increase those again in 2026. If Pickett can improve on his weekly consistency, which should happen with more time around the footy, then he could definitely improve on last year’s average of 91.5 points per game.

Elsewhere, former Saint Jack Steele ($510,000 MID) will be hoping a fresh start sees him return to some of his best footy, while Harvey Langford ($384,700 MID), Jai Culley ($291,100 MID) and Trent Rivers ($446,100 DEF) are others who could see an increase in scoring with better roles.

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CHEAPIES

Xavier Taylor ($158,500 DEF) should see plenty of action throughout 2026 for the Dees and is right in the mix for a round one debut against St Kilda. Taylor is an excellent intercept mark who loves to take the game on and is ultra courageous.

Fellow first round pick Latrelle Pickett ($154,000 FWD) could also be in the frame but would probably have mediocre scoring potential and keep an eye on the likes of Andy Moniz-Wakefield ($145,200 DEF), Jed Adams ($119,900 DEF) and Harry Sharp ($156,300 MID) to see if they can establish themselves in the best 23.