Newly appointed Melbourne coach Steven King has discussed his expectations and list plans for the Demons going forward.
King takes the helm at Casey following the sacking of coach Simon Goodwin, with the Demons boasting a list that includes a mix of premiership talent and young stars.
Melbourne struggled to get the most out of its list in Goodwin's final campaign, with the Demons finishing their year with seven wins, placing 14th on the ladder.
King believes finals football isn't out of reach for 2026, with the former Geelong and St Kilda ruckman wanting to set the standards of what the club can accomplish in a short period of time.
"For me, (finals) is an expectation," he said on Monday.
"I feel like every staff member and every player should expect to play finals next year. I'd be disappointed if that wasn't an expectation.
"There's no guarantees in footy, I'm aware of that, but if you don't expect something, you won't get it. You have to get after it."
The near future for King will be talking with football boss Alan Richardson and list manager Tim Lamb ahead of next month's trade and free agency period.
King will speak with the list team on his first day on the job, with the Cats assistant coach keen to retain the experienced heads at the club.
"I'll be meeting with the list management team today. I've done a lot of research on the list before applying for the position," King said.
"The experience we've got here... we want to keep those experienced players, because premiership players don't grow on trees.
"To have them on your side while you're bringing in the youth of tomorrow, that's going to be a really important part of the way I want our team to play.
"I'll look at what the possibilities are (for recruitment), but I'm sure there's been an enormous amount of work that has gone into that space in the months leading up to today."
The Demons have seen premiership stalwarts Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver, Jake Lever, Bayley Fritsch, and Steven May, among others, linked to exits this year alone.
Quizzed on the futures of Petracca and Oliver, King expressed his desire to help the pair return to their best football in the red and blue.
"Absolutely ( I want them to be Melbourne players). They're both superstars of the competition," he said.
"To get the opportunity to work with those guys and get them back to playing their best footy is something I pride myself on as a coach."
Melbourne has been linked to Suns gun Sam Flanders, who worked under King during their time together on the Gold Coast.
When asked if Flanders is a player in his sights, King said the Gippsland product would be "an amazing player at this footy club", but conceded no discussion on the prospect of reuniting had been had.
"Not yet, no," King said with a smile.
"I've got a lot of connections around the industry. If anyone wanted to join this club, I'd be a huge part in that.
"Sam would be an amazing player at this footy club, that's for sure."
The free agency period will open on October 3, with the Demons set to lose small forward Charlie Spargo to North Melbourne.
Melbourne has already confirmed the exits of Kynan Brown (delisted), Tom Fullarton (delisted), Marty Hore (delisted), Oliver Sestan (delisted), Will Verrall (delisted) and Jack Billings (delisted) this off-season.
