NEW MELBOURNE coach Steven King will start his coaching career on Sunday with access to a few players that have been under injury clouds ahead of round one. 

Jai Culley had been one of the standouts of the summer at the Demons until he broke his arm in February. 

But after fully training across the past fortnight, Culley has been cleared to face St Kilda at the MCG. 

The 23-year-old landed another AFL chance this time last year via a late SSP spot, before impressing across the final month of the home and away season to earn another contract.

Bayley Fritsch has also been given the green light to start the season after undergoing surgery to repair his hand, which became infected from a dog bite. 

Brody Mihocek has now exited concussion protocols after an incident in a practice match and will play his first game for the club since crossing from Collingwood in the off-season. 

The Collingwood premiership player is set to be joined by former St Kilda captain Jack Steele and ex-Hawk Changkuoth Jiath, who have both become even more important to the Demons since the deadline day moves. 

Vice-captain Jack Viney isn’t expected to be available until midway through the season due to Achilles surgery, while Jake Bowey is set to be sidelined for another few months due to a Lisfranc injury in his foot. 

Steele has put his head down across the pre-season and is set to play a key midfield role alongside eight-time All-Australian ruckman Max Gawn. 

With Christian Petracca moving to Gold Coast and Clayton Oliver traded to Greater Western Sydney, King is set to expose Caleb Windsor and Harvey Langford to increased midfield time in 2026. 

King and his coaching team got a close look at the Saints at the MCG on Sunday night ahead of the first game of a new era for Melbourne this Sunday. 

Subscribe to the Your Coach podcast series to listen to Steven King's full interview with Josh Gabelich later this week.