TWO DAYS after Steven King was appointed the new coach of Melbourne, he met with Max Gawn for dinner at the skipper's restaurant in Hawthorn. By the time he walked back to his car he was clearer on how to start a new era at the Demons.
King had committed to finishing the finals with Geelong before he won the Melbourne job ahead of semi-final weekend and he stuck to that commitment. But after completing his media and club commitments on the day he was unveiled, sitting down with Gawn at East End Wine Bar was the next priority on his list.
Ahead of King's first game in charge of Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday, the 47-year-old detailed to AFL.com.au how he has led the club through a busy first off-season and pre-season, following a long coaching journey to this point.
>> LISTEN TO THE FULL STEVEN KING INTERVIEW IN THE PLAYER BELOW
"Yes, we had we had a feed, I think a couple of days after I got the job. It was great just to meet him. I mean I'm in awe of Max as much as anyone else being a ruckman, seeing what he's done for such a long period of time. For me, it was like this is going to be pretty cool, coaching someone of Max's stature and what he's done in the game," King told AFL.com.au this week at AAMI Park.
"But the thing that I walked away from was Max saying to me how he felt threatened by change as well. What's it mean for him? So if Max is thinking that, how's every other player on our list thinking? I think every time change happens, everyone thinks 'what's in it for me? Is it a threat or an opportunity?'
"I wanted to make sure that when I got to the club the first time, I got to speak to our players around seeing the opportunity in it and there's a clean slate for everyone. And with all due respect to whatever's happened here in the past, even Max with his eight All-Australians, it's a clean slate for everyone to move forward together. That was without being disrespectful at all. It was more around everyone's got a new opportunity now to put their best foot forward and impress."
Gawn equalled the record for most All-Australian selections after being picked in the team for the eighth time in 10 years in 2025, drawing level with Robert Harvey, Mark Ricciuto, Gary Ablett jnr, Lance Franklin and Patrick Dangerfield.
The now three-time Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy winner turned 34 in December and since 2017, has only played fewer than 21 games in a season once – 14 in the COVID-impacted 2020 season. So will King need to manage Gawn's loads in game with the extra spot on the bench or rest the veteran in 2026?
"Max gets frustrated if he gets managed at training, so I'm certainly not here to manage him out of his career. But I do respect the load he's had to carry for this club for a long period of time in the position that he plays," King said.
"I want Max to play for as long as possible, so we'll explore every avenue to help that, but it'll be in dialogue with him as well. I think Max plays his best footy when he's on the ball a lot and grinds out games, and he prides himself on that as well.
"But having five on the bench does give us an opportunity to play (another ruckman); we brought Max Heath in as well and we need to give him some exposure. I think it'll be horses for courses, but early in the year, it's going to be interesting to see how teams use it because it's pretty frenetic pace early, but we'll certainly look at ways we can help Max."
BREAKING WITH THE PAST
Gawn was the least of King's problems when he swapped his desk inside GMHBA Stadium for an office at Casey Fields and AAMI Park in October. By that stage, Melbourne was prepared to make moves on some 2021 premiership heroes.
King had barely unpacked his stuff when he was involved in the decisions to trade four-time best and fairest winner Clayton Oliver to Greater Western Sydney, move North Smith medallist Christian Petracca to Gold Coast and encourage two-time All-Australian Steven May to explore his options.
Petracca produced one of the best performances of his decorated career in his first game for the Suns in Opening Round and Oliver was close to best-afield first up for the Giants. King knows it was a hard watch for some Melbourne supporters, but believes it was the right decision for everyone involved.
"When I went through this process, it was 'I'll make any decision that's best for the club'. It wasn't a preference of mine either way, it was more the more people you spoke to – even the players themselves – it became pretty clear that it was probably best for both parties to move away.
"Those two players are champions of our club and I wish them nothing but the best in their new environments, but it was pretty clear and obvious after the last couple of seasons that change needed to occur, not only for the individuals, but for the club and for the teammates here as well.
"It's not often you can move a player and get three first-round draft picks to reset your club. Moving forward, there's Tassie coming in, so we get to stock up on some more young talent, which we've done a great job already getting through the door.
"But in saying that, if Christian and Clayton both wanted to stay, that would have been a great opportunity and challenge as well with our environment, but it became pretty clear pretty early that the best decision was to part ways and move on.
"I think we can always get caught up looking at your past clubs or players. They both played pretty significant roles in their team's wins. For me, I just want our members and supporters to be really proud and passionate around how we perform as a team. No individual is bigger than the club. If we can play a brand of footy, which I know we can and how we've been training over summer and we bring that to life, I think our supporters will be happy."
So what exactly will King's brand involve?
"I think the biggest thing for me, even going for the job, was I think Melbourne have always been really strong in the contest, strong defensively. I want us to challenge teams a bit more with ball in hand. I want us all to join in and attack and I feel like the best teams now put scores on the board.
"Watching Opening Round, you have to be able to score. I think teams are going to kick over 100 points a lot, and if you're not ready to walk into that fight, you're going to be on your heels the whole game. I think you have to be able to take the game to your opponents and play it in your front half.
"I think there's some untapped potential there around our players using their instincts and trusting themselves to be comfortable making the odd mistake around what they can do. That 18-man attack, getting all our players invested in the offensive phase of the game – a lot of our preseason's been around our formation, around how we set the ground up initially, but then getting all 18 players to play a role in that."
OVERHAULING THE ENGINE ROOM
The midfield looks different in 2026. Very different. Petracca and Oliver are gone. Jack Viney is recovering from Achilles surgery and not expected to return until midway through the season. That makes the deadline day signing of Jack Steele more valuable than it was in October.
Steele was contracted at St Kilda for two more years and had been captain for the previous four seasons, but the Saints were keen to move him on. He didn't want to meet with another club, let alone leave.
King got in front of him in the final 48 hours of the trade period and sold him on a fresh start. Steele and his manager Dave Trotter met the Demons inside a suite at the MCG where list manager Tim Lamb led a pitch in front of new Melbourne CEO Paul Guerra, GM Alan Richardson and midfield coach Nathan Jones. They completed a medical on the final morning of the trade period, before completing the trade that afternoon for a 2027 third-round pick.
"I think Jack was probably a reluctant person in that interview. He was club captain, loyal, everything. Everyone you speak to about Jack knows the type of character and quality of person he is, and when the opportunity came up, we weren't even sure if it was real," he said.
"But obviously there's been a bit of experience leave our midfield and to get the opportunity to bring someone like Jack Steele into our club… I think he's had a brilliant pre-season.
"You just know what you're going to get inside with him … some of our young midfielders that we've thrown some big minutes to already in the pre-season, (he's) just helped them along on the journey and helped bring them in the game. I think Jack's going to play a significant part. He's had a great preparation for us.
"I think with Jack I've sort of given him some clear air around 'just be yourself'. When you're an older player going to a new club, it's significant. You could tell it was still unnatural for him at the start, so just let him integrate with the players and get to know each other. We couldn't be happier to have him part of our club."
Gawn and Steele will be two key puzzle pieces in the midfield this year. Trent Rivers, Tom Sparrow and Kysaiah Pickett will all spend time inside. But King is keen to expose Caleb Windsor and Harvey Langford to plenty more midfield minutes in 2026.
"They are (ready), yes," he said. "Caleb, especially, I think he had an interrupted pre-season last year, had some unique injuries I think, then this year he hasn't missed a session. He's one that's got that attribute of speed that you need in your midfield now. His ability to pounce on loose balls and carry the footy for us is going to be really important.
"And then Langford, I'm mindful of him being second year and not just throwing him in full-time inside. I think there are other kids that can carry that load a bit with Sparrow and Steele and do the heavy lifting. And I still want him to have a good balance in his game inside, outside. I think statistically what he did in his first year of footy has been unmatched.
"I want him to take another step forward and not just burden him too much with full-time midfield minutes. We're really mindful of still looking after him being a second-year player, but they're both ready to continue their trajectory."
KING'S PLANS FOR 2026
The Melbourne job was the second coaching process King went through after he missed out on the West Coast position in 2024. That happened quickly, from Zoom interview to in-person in a matter of days, amid a finals series. It didn't go his way, but the experience helped him win the only vacancy available across the AFL at the end of 2025.
Andrew McQualter managed only one win in his first year in charge of the Eagles, after Adem Yze sang the song just twice in his maiden season as Richmond senior coach in 2024. So after an off-season of change, what's possible for King across the next six months?
"I'm certainly not putting a ceiling on anything we can achieve. I want to be a side that can challenge and contend against every team in the competition. I'm also realistic that I'm asking our players to look at the game and play the game a lot differently than what they've done in the past, so there's going to be some teething problems," he said.
"I want us to make sure our brand is identifiable for our supporters and our members. I'm optimistic about what this club and team can achieve this year. I feel like we've got that blend of premiership experience, but also the club's done a great job the last few years bringing in some young talent that I think is ready to pop a bit now with some more exposure.
"It's a bloody difficult competition, so I'm really aware of that. But in saying that, there's an opportunity because it is so marginal. We go into the season optimistic. The external noise, I think, is one of low expectation, but I'm certainly preparing our players to be challenging and contending each week."
Melbourne won only seven games last year – its lowest total since Simon Goodwin's third season in 2019 – and the Demons haven't won a final since they ended a 57-year premiership drought in 2021. Expectations are low.
The team looks and feels different, not just with the names on the whiteboard but the mood within the club. But a new era starts on Sunday under King. He has experience as a caretaker coach when he stepped up for the final seven games of 2023 when Stuart Dew was sacked, but now he gets the keys to his own team, following a long journey in coaches' boxes across the country.