They let two of their best go, and they’ve improved: The Demons’ list masterstroke

April 24, 2026 — 5:00am

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Melbourne list boss Tim Lamb found himself in an unfamiliar position at the end of last year.

Heralded as a key architect in the Demons’ drought-busting 2021 premiership, the former long-serving Victoria Police officer was suddenly under pressure – at least externally – for how he handled the high-profile exits of champion midfielders Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver.

It followed another disastrous season for Melbourne that cost coach Simon Goodwin his job.

Both Petracca and Oliver showed interest in playing elsewhere 12 months before the Demons eventually traded the contracted pair in wildly contrasting deals to Gold Coast and GWS in October.

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They previously refused to trade Oliver despite him meeting with Geelong – although Lamb disputed that he was “desperate” to go – and convinced Petracca to stay after the superstar aired a long list of grievances in the wake of gruesome injuries he suffered in the King’s Birthday game in 2024.

Oliver fetched Melbourne a lowly future third-round selection, and they will continue to pay a chunk of his contract, whereas the Dees scored two top-10 picks and a 2026 first-rounder as the major return for Petracca.

Lamb’s critics dug deeper.

He did not have a hit among any of Luke Dunstan, Brodie Grundy, Josh Schache, Lachie Hunter, Tom Fullarton, Shane McAdam and Jack Billings during a period Melbourne lost the likes of Luke Jackson, Alex Neal-Bullen, Toby Bedford and James Harmes.

They also had the misfortune of Angus Brayshaw’s concussion-enforced premature retirement.

Joining Petracca and Oliver in departing in last year’s trade period was promising defender Judd McVee, who Lamb was bitterly disappointed not to keep.

However, Lamb displayed nothing but defiance during his rare public appearances at the past two trade periods.

Most attention was on Petracca and Oliver, and even Steven May, who Melbourne encouraged to look elsewhere before he retired in March, but Lamb stayed on trend with his budget betting in the trade space.

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Unperturbed by recent bargain-bin misses, he dove in again to fill list holes.

They flagged interest in Brody Mihocek as early as June as his situation with Collingwood became muddied, then made an 11th-hour bid for ex-St Kilda captain Jack Steele, who completed medical testing on the morning of deadline day.

Steele somewhat-begrudgingly met with the Demons a day earlier, almost certain when he walked in that he was returning to Moorabbin for the 2026 season.

Melbourne presented their projected best 23 to the dual All-Australian – with him in the middle – and enthusiastically spelled out his role and how valued he would be, after the Saints did everything but, including selecting him as the substitute late in the year.

Steele was a Demon the next day, on a three-year contract that St Kilda will help pay.

Goodwin’s replacement, Steven King, and Lamb busted a myth, too. They told Steele and Mihocek the same thing: they were reloading with a sprinkle of veterans and mostly emerging youth, but this was absolutely not a rebuild.

Melbourne were stodgy, defensive and predictable under Goodwin at the end, whereas King promised they would play with more flair, dare and freedom with him in charge.

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It has played out that way: the Demons are kicking longer and more often, playing on more, there are fewer stoppages in their games, and they have scored 100-plus points in all four of their wins.

Steele has started in outstanding form, ranking No.1 at the club for disposals, centre clearances and tackles, as well as top three in contested, uncontested and first possessions, clearances and inside 50s. He is comfortably outperforming Petracca’s and Oliver’s output from the past two seasons.

Petracca and Oliver, too, are thriving in their fresh starts.

Mihocek is equal-first for goals and marks inside 50 at Melbourne, has a goal in every match, and the Dees score 48.4 per cent of the time when they target him in their attacking arc, which is the best of anyone at the club.

Lamb also acquired another Saint, developing big man Max Heath, for pennies on the dollar, in the hope he will eventually succeed eight-time All-Australian great Max Gawn.

Trading for dashing Hawk Changkuoth Jiath was another opportunistic move that cost little.

Jiath played the first three games before a calf setback, while Heath made his club debut in Sunday’s rousing victory over back-to-back premiers Brisbane at the MCG.

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Another no-name recruit, hard-running ex-Lion Harry Sharp, who the Demons traded for in 2024 as effectively Neal-Bullen’s replacement, is flourishing under King and has kicked at least one goal in each match this year.

Sharp is another tick for Lamb, whose reputation as a shrewd operator was never tarred within the industry. In fact, Adelaide head-hunted him to replace Justin Reid, who accepted a new role at AFL headquarters – but Lamb politely knocked them back.

The Age spoke to three rival list bosses about Lamb this week.

They painted a picture of a good, but fair, negotiator without an ego who is a popular member of the fraternity with strong relationships.

Something each counterpart highlighted was his pragmatism in deal-making, including how maturely he handled Neal-Bullen’s trade home to South Australia for personal reasons.

Lamb’s partnership with recruiting mastermind Jason Taylor is admired, while others highlighted how the duo identified drafts they liked and set about having a strong presence in them. They struck up a bond during Lamb’s time as Luke Beveridge’s offsider at St Bede’s-Mentone two decades ago.

Melbourne selected twice in the first round in five of the seven drafts since Lamb became list boss, and hold another pair in the 2026 edition, which he said in October had “future-proofed” them ahead of Tasmania’s entry into the competition.

“Our young talent coming through is amazing, and all the decisions we’ve done [in this trade period] have got us closer to winning our next premiership,” he said at the time.

Lamb’s work does not stop.

Kade Chandler and Tom Sparrow, who are playing career-best football under King, are free agents at season’s end and have suitors, while one industry source suggested Lamb must prioritise finding a high-quality key defender.

As for the Demons, they will hunt a fifth win in seven matches this season against Richmond on Friday night. The King era is off to a flying start – and in no small part thanks to Lamb.

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© The Sydney Morning Herald