Daniel Jones has been unveiled as the new head of high performance at the Melbourne Demons, reuniting him with head coach Steven King.
The pair spent two seasons together at the Cattery, and will now join forces in the hopes of spurring the storied club to a second flag this decade.
Jones has also previously spent time with the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA, with a stint at Arden St populating his CV, too.
In 2026, the Demons saw a season of promise end somewhat prematurely, running into a white-hot Carlton at the most inopportune moment - the Wildcard.
No doubt buoyed by their seemingly instant bounce back up the ladder under King, the Demons will be put through their paces by Jones this pre-season. Jones replaces the highly regarded Selwyn Griffith - a figure poached by neighbours the Richmond Tigers in the hopes of ending their run of injury-derailed seasons.
Jones, speaking to Demons media, offered an insight into the program he will put players through, with an intentional focus on speed and power, while praising the character of the head coach he now reports to.
“I spent two years working with "Kingy" and it was a great couple of years,” Jones said.
“He's a really good operator, a great human being and someone I was really keen to reconnect with when the job came up.
“[We're hoping to] continue what "Kingy" has been able to build in that first 12 months as coach. It was a really exciting, fast brand of football, which definitely leads into my passion of speed and power in the game.
“Hopefully we can continue to marry that together and keep pushing forward with that really exciting style of football.
“[Fans can expect to see] a bit more high-speed running than what has been done in the past, and that's purely just the way football is going now,” Jones said.
“I think the program that's been in place has been phenomenal, and you could see that in the way in which Melbourne performed last year.
“It's more about continuing what's been done, but hopefully we can see couple of players improving in their time trials, increasing their strength and first and foremost, improving their football.
“That's what we're here as a performance group to do.”
