Melbourne sheds 1274 games as Demons swing from oldest to youngest list
Melbourne, GWS, Western Bulldogs and Sydney all lost at least 1000 AFL games of player experience through retirements and trades.
Four major AFL clubs shed at least 1000 games of player experience this offseason. Such departures force significant list rebuilds.
Melbourne lost 1274 games after Tom McDonald (260), Jake Melksham (255), Steven May (251) and Jack Viney (238) departed. The Demons swing from one of the oldest lists to one of the youngest in 2027.
GWS lost Toby Greene (282), Lachie Whitfield (278), Jake Stringer (250) and Jesse Hogan (190), making them one of the league's youngest sides. Western Bulldogs passed 1000 games lost with Tom Liberatore and Adam Treloar retiring among 10 departures.
They added some experience through Zak Butters and others. Sydney hit 1000 games lost after Dane Rampe's retirement.
Nick Blakey, Joel Amartey, Harry Cunningham and Taylor Adams also departed.
- 1274
- Total games lost
- Melbourne, GWS, Western Bulldogs, Sydney
- Clubs losing 1000+ games
Why it mattersThese departures force major changes to team lists and rosters heading into 2027.
AustraliaFour of the AFL's most recognisable clubs are now rebuilding with much younger lists, reshaping the 2027 competition landscape.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
