Club Update

Melbourne CEO has written to club members for the first time.

MELBOURNE Demons CEO Paul Guerra has written to club members

It’s a great privilege to be writing to you for the first time as the CEO of the Melbourne Football Club. It’s an honour and I’m incredibly excited to be entering this next chapter, together.

It’s been a few weeks since I officially started – trust me when I say I had been eager to get my feet under the desk for some time – and I couldn’t have asked for a better welcome. I have been fortunate enough to meet many of our members and supporters at various events and matches, sharing ideas, stories and traditions.

As a club, we will aspire to be the best, driving high performance both on and off the field. Our President Brad Green and the Board have done a terrific job in setting the foundations for the next phase of our journey, and I am excited to work with Brad, and in turn Steven Smith, and the Board to build on that momentum.

Earlier this month, we proudly made the announcement that Steven King will be our new AFL Senior Coach. Steven was extremely impressive in his presentation to the selection panel, and we were unanimous in the belief that he is the right person to take us forward. Steven will officially commence with the club this week, following Geelong’s grand final appearance over the weekend. We are delighted to welcome him, his wife Danielle and their children to the Melbourne Football Club.

As we reach the end of the AFL season, I want to take a moment to thank all our partners who have been with us for the 2025 campaign. Their support plays a vital role in everything we do, and just as importantly, helping our players to perform at their best on the field.

Hertz, who have been part of our family for decades, will continue their sponsorship with the club in a different capacity in 2026. This does create an opportunity for a new Co-Principal Partner to feature on our men’s guernsey and excitingly, we are already in conversations with a number of prospective partners. We look forward to sharing more news with you in due course.

With the final siren sounding on the season, we know attention quickly turns to the AFL Trade and Free Agency period. There will be plenty of speculation over the next few weeks, and I would like to acknowledge that this can be unsettling for many of our members. While much will be spoken about, I implore you to keep tabs on our official club channels, being our website and social media, for accurate information. We will endeavour to share any updates in a timely fashion.

No doubt many of you would have heard Christian Petracca’s name mentioned in recent days.

As a footy club we couldn’t be more excited and confident in where our AFL program is headed. We know our future success will be built on people and players who are fully committed to where we are heading.

We met with Christian late last week where he expressed his desire to explore a fresh start in 2026. 

Christian is contracted for a further four years and is a once in a generation player. With this in mind, any decision regarding Christian’s future will be made in the best interest of the Melbourne Football Club.

In terms of our overarching strategy for this period, our focus is simple; we will explore every opportunity to strengthen our list. Our job is to ensure our list is the best it can be and that ultimately Melbourne Football Club is competing in September. To give you more insight, please click here to view a member-first interview with our AFL List Manager Tim Lamb, which seeks to provide a preview of what to expect in the weeks ahead.

On field, it’s been a strong start to the season for our AFLW team, having notched up six, out of a possible seven, wins to date. Led by Senior Coach Mick Stinear and Captain Kate Hore, the group is playing a terrific brand of footy – one that I know they’re excited to build on over the coming weeks. It’s been fantastic to see the support of the Demon faithful, both at home and away, and I hope you’re looking forward to what lies ahead.

Thank you again for the warm welcome I have received so far from everyone involved with the Melbourne Football Club. Together I know we can continue to make everyone proud to belong. I hope to see you at IKON Park on Friday night for our AFLW clash against Essendon.

Go Dees,
Paul Guerra
CEO Melbourne Football Club