President Kate Roffey has quit strife-torn Melbourne and her successor Brad Green will lead a review of the AFL club’s board.
The Demons announced late on Friday afternoon that Roffey had resigned as president and was also leaving the board, effective immediately.
Roffey’s resignation comes after a succession of dramas on and off the field that have plagued Melbourne since their drought-breaking 2021 premiership.
Most recently, Roffey was roundly criticised for a radio interview she gave late last month amid fevered speculation over the future of star Melbourne player Christian Petracca.
While Petracca announced last weekend that he is staying at the club, the fall-out from the interview had fed media talk that Roffey would not remain president.
Green, a board member since 2020, played 254 games for Melbourne.
“Kate’s legacy as president is outstanding and we owe her a debt of gratitude,” Green said in the club statement.
“She took over at a tumultuous time, brought great stability to the board and backed our management team and football department to deliver premierships.”
Green added the review would aim to reset and refresh the board’s performance.
“I am honoured to have been chosen as president by my colleagues and proud to continue to serve this great club which has given me so many opportunities in life,” he said.
“I have told my colleagues that I will lead the review process and once it is completed I would like to give the board the opportunity to vote again on the presidency.
“This will be a collaborative reset of the board and it’s important that we are honest with each other about where we have succeeded, and where we could have done better.
“There is no doubt that we need to turn the faith and belief of our members and fans into results and performance, and the board stands at the top of that process.”
Roffey took over as president in 2021 and oversaw their drought-breaking AFL premiership that season.
“As I finish up my incredible time with Melbourne, I pass on my sincere thanks to all those who have supported me along the way,” Roffey said.
“As always, I will be sitting in the stands cheering you on. My best goes to everyone for the ongoing success of the mighty Dees.”
Soon after the Demons won the flag, leaks to the media emerged alleging off-field dramas at the club.
On the field, the Demons had straight-sets exits from the 2022 and ’23 finals series and failed to make the top eight this season.
Melbourne were also dealt two incredibly unlucky blows, with star onballer Angus Brayshaw forced to retire prematurely earlier this year because of repeated concussions.
Then Petracca, another of their best players, had his season ended in June when he suffered serious internal injuries in the King’s Birthday game against Collingwood.
Petracca needed surgery and as he struggled with his recovery, it emerged he was also in two minds about staying at the club.
There have been numerous other problems – top on-baller Clayton Oliver has struggled with off-field health issues, while teammate Joel Smith remains under investigation after failing a drugs test.
Roffey’s predecessor, Glenn Bartlett, remains at loggerheads with the club after his sudden exit from the role.
Earlier this year, federal politician Andrew Wilkie used parliamentary privilege to allege Melbourne had helped players evade testing under the AFL illicit drugs code.
While a Sport Integrity Australia investigation cleared Melbourne and the AFL of wrongdoing, it made a series of key recommendations about the league’s controversial illicit drugs policy.
