As the Melbourne Demons push toward a top-four finish and the September finals series, two key injured players are gearing up for a return through the club’s Victorian Football League (VFL) affiliate — but one of the team’s most decorated stars will not get a free pass back to the senior side based on his career legacy.
Vice-captain Jack Viney has not featured in a senior AFL match since the final round of the 2023 season, sidelined first by an Achilles tendon injury that required off-season surgery, followed by a persistent back problem that kept him off the field for the entire 2024 campaign to date. Young forward Latrelle Pickett, meanwhile, has missed the past two weeks of game time after sustaining a concussion.
Both players will hit the field for Melbourne’s VFL side this weekend, when the affiliate team faces Box Hill in its final regular season match Sunday. Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning, Demons interim senior coach Steven King clarified that while selection is not a matter of “earning” a spot through a grueling trial, the star midfielder will not be handed a senior game purely off his reputation.
“The first thing for him is just to get through a whole game,” King explained. “It’s just about making sure he’s had a great runway to set him up to succeed. He’s coming from a back injury that has held him out for the whole season, so we have to respect what he’s been through. I feel like you can’t just get given a game on reputation and you have to actually perform.”
King also addressed off-field speculation surrounding first-year player Pickett, dismissing recent reports in the *Herald Sun* that claimed club officials had confronted Pickett over drinking alcohol following his concussion. King labeled the story a “bit of a non-story” and said he was caught off guard by the published report.
“He’s a first-year player who’s still just finding the balance between being a professional and a first-year player,” King said. “From me, there was no sanction, no conversation. I was surprised it was an article this morning.”
The coach also provided an injury update on star forward Brody Mihocek, who was ruled out for the remainder of the 2024 season after sustaining a neck injury during the annual King’s Birthday match in June. Mihocek has progressed to light jogging as part of his rehabilitation, but King confirmed he would not return to competitive play this year.
For the Demons’ senior side, the next fortnight will shape their finals aspirations. This weekend, the team travels to Adelaide to face Port Adelaide, before closing out the regular season at home against the Western Bulldogs. Melbourne is currently vying for a top-four finish that would grant them a home qualifying final to open the September finals series.