2013 Melbourne Football Club season

Melbourne Football Club
2013 season
PresidentDon McLardy
(to 14 June)
Peter Spargo
(interim)
Glen Bartlett
(from 16 August)
CoachMark Neeld
(2nd season)
(rounds 1–12)
Neil Craig
(rounds 13–23)
Captain(s)Jack Grimes
(2nd season)
Jack Trengove
(2nd season)
Home groundMCG
(100,018 capacity)
Pre-season14th
AFL season17th
Finals seriesDNQ
Best and fairestNathan Jones
Leading goalkickerJeremy Howe
(28 goals)
Highest home attendance50,835
(round 11 vs. Collingwood)
Lowest home attendance7,615
(round 17 vs. Brisbane Lions)
Average home attendance24,974
Club membership33,117
(Decrease 2,228 / Decrease 6.30%)

The 2013 Melbourne Football Club season was the club's 114th year in the VFL/AFL since it began in 1897.

Mark Neeld entered into his second year as senior coach of Melbourne. After a horrid season in 2012, Neeld made a vast amount of list changes in the 2012 AFL Draft. These changes included the addition of experienced and key position players from other clubs such as Shannon Byrnes, Tom Gillies, Chris Dawes, David Rodan and Cameron Pedersen. Melbourne also added five new players from the National Draft, two new players from the Rookie Draft as well as one new player from the Greater Western Sydney Mini-Draft who will play in 2014. Jack Grimes and Jack Trengove continued their roles as co-captains of the football club.[1]

With no Friday night games and only three home games against fellow Victorian sides at the MCG, Melbourne faced a financially challenging fixture. At the same time Melbourne received a simple fixture when compared to other teams by playing fellow-cellar dwellers in 2012 Greater Western Sydney, Gold Coast and Western Bulldogs twice and all 2012 finalists with the exception of Fremantle once. Melbourne hosted nine home games at the MCG, a sold home game against Brisbane Lions at TIO Stadium in Round 17 and a home game against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium in Round 18.

Melbourne endured one of their worst seasons in the club's 155-year history and arguably their worst in the modern era. They finished with only 2 wins (their least since the 1981 season) and a percentage of 54.07% (their worst since the 1919 season). It was also the worst seasonal performance from an established club since the demise of Fitzroy in 1996.