“Positive frame of mind”: Update on sidelined Demon

Former Melbourne ruckman Jeff White has provided an update on his son, who is currently sidelined with glandular fever.

Selected at the 2025 AFL Rookie Draft as a father-son pickup, Kalani is currently in Queensland with his family recovering and is several weeks from returning to training.

“He's in a really positive frame of mind,” former 268-gamer Jeff said.

“He's obviously flat because he wants to be around the boys but needs to be isolated.

“He turned a corner a little bit (on Wednesday) but he's done every session over pre-season and the club have been amazing in supporting him and checking in.

“He was meant to fly back today (Thursday) but was feeling a little bit unwell so the club have extended that until next week.

“All kids coming through go through adversity and it builds them stronger - he's looking forward to being back amongst the boys and cheering them on.”

Ironically, Jeff also suffered from glandular fever in his first year on an AFL list in 1995.

Kalani has been training mostly as a forward/ruck in his first AFL pre-season, learning about leading patterns off the likes of Brody Mihocek to complement his leap and athleticism.

A member of the AFL Academy last year, he also had the option of nominating as a Gold Coast-tied player but instead chose to follow in his Dad's footsteps and will don Jeff's 34 guernsey in 2026.