Melbourne's midfield ensemble under new coach Steven King continues to take shape in the wake of the exits of premiership champions Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver.
The Demons and their rookie coach will be tasked with finding the right mix of midfielders to commence their new era of the red and blue, with a balance of youth and household names set to lead from the middle.
Captain Max Gawn is set to be surrounded by a new-look pack of ball winners, with his vice-captain Jack Viney and livewire Kysaiah Pickett now the most familiar of faces to their eight-time All-Australian.
His old St Kilda counterpart, Jack Steele, is among the new names set to roll through King's engine room, while first-round draft selections Harvey Langford, Koltyn Thlstrup, Caleb Windsor, Xavier Lindsay and Bailey Laurie will each get their turn.
The Demon who could take on a much larger midfield slice looks to be second-year onballer Jai Culley, who has continued to impress at pre-season training under King.
Having added size and strength, as well as bringing a high-level work rate, Culley could be the Melbourne midfielder who helps fill the hole left by Petracca and Oliver.
The 194cm talent, who will coincidentally wear Oliver's vacant No.13 jumper, is positioned to be a key piece of Melbourne's midfield unit for 2026 after just four games at AFL level this year, three of which came in Troy Chaplin's trio of appearances as interim.
Had it not been for Andy Moniz-Wakefield's cruel ACL injury midway through the pre-season, and the AFL's decision to approve the signing of Culley as his replacement via the Supplemental Selection Period following the acquisition window's deadline days prior, Culley would have likely spent the entire 2025 season in the VFL for Casey.
A rise to prominence for Culley would see that exception bear fruit for the Demons, while also leaving West Coast to rue their decision to part ways with the 22-year-old at the end of 2024.
Taken with the first overall pick in the 2022 Mid-Season Draft, Culley managed just a dozen games for the Eagles in his two-and-a-half seasons in Perth
Culley couldn't break into West Coast's midfield pack during his time in WA, however the Eagles have since looked to uncover bargain options to aid their centre bounces, adding cut AFL trio Harry Schoenberg, Finlay Macrae and Deven Robertson via the SSP last week.
What was West Coast's has been Melbourne's gain, with both sides set to put forward refreshed midfield groups in 2026.
The Demons have looked to add height and power to their cohort, with Culley, Langford and Rookie Draft addition Riley Onley all stopping the tape above 190cm tall. The latter was among the new names to impress at training on Monday.
The taller trio will complement Pickett's speed and agility, with Steele and Viney bringing experience and proven contested games.
Viney has been one of several senior Demons limited on the track so for this pre-season, with the likes of Jake Bowey, Shane McAdam, Jack Henderson, Moniz-Wakefield and draftee Thomas Matthews not taking part in skills drills at their latest session.
Bowey was kept to running for the entirety of training at Gosch's Paddock, while key forward Jacob van Rooyen joined him after some friendly fire left him with blood pouring from his mouth.
The Demons returned to Melbourne last week after spending time in Bright as part of their pre-season community camp.
