In great news for the Dees, skipper Max Gawn has signed a four-year extension with the club, tying him to Melbourne until at least the end of the 2025 season.
Gawn, 29, was set to enter free agency at the end of the 2021 season, but has opted to sign on with the Demons instead.
The star ruckman has become one of the premier players in the competition since being selected with the 34th pick in the 2009 draft by the Demons and has played 134 games for the club to date.
Speaking to Melbourne Media, Gawn said he loves the direction the Demons are heading.
“I’ve got a fair bit of faith in where the club’s going,” Gawn said.
“We’ve got some really good, elite players now in the competition, and that, mirrored with some really good young talent … it’s a really good mix.
"It makes me really excited to be part of this club for the next few years and hopefully achieve something great."
He added that free agency wasn't even a thought.
“Free Agency – I don’t even know what it is really, I wouldn’t even know how it works,” Gawn said.
“Melbourne showed a fair bit of faith in me from the get-go and I’ve been on a little journey.
“I’ve been out of contract thinking I wasn’t going to get one, to being well and truly comfortably in contract, and I think that makes me a well-rounded leader now – that I’ve been involved in almost every little thing you could be involved in on a football list.
“There wasn’t really an option for me to leave in my own mental state.
"I love the line of ‘one-club player’, but it’s more the team we have right now.
“You’d be a very, very stupid person to leave at 29 after doing all that hard work, to miss the exciting part that we have in front of us.”
Melbourne list manager Tim Lamb says that it's a great sign for the club if a player of Gawn's stature has turned down other opportunities to remain at the Demons.
“In a great sign of his leadership, Max has turned his back on Free Agency and did not even consider exploring other options,” Lamb said.
“As one of the premier players in the game he would have been able to attract significant offers from other clubs.
“Instead he showed he is fully committed to Melbourne and understands what we are trying to achieve in retaining our talent – this deal reflects that.
“Max and his manager, Anthony McConville of Macs Sports, have been fantastic and totally professional throughout the whole process and we’re rapt to come to an agreement before the start of the season."
The Demons open up their 2021 campaign on Saturday, March 20 against the Fremantle Dockers at the MCG.
