ELEVEN Demons have been added to Melbourne’s rich history, receiving life membership at the Keith ‘Bluey’ Truscott Memorial Trophy on Friday night.
Jack Viney, Christian Salem, Angus Brayshaw, Alex Neal-Bullen, Ben Brown, Tony Anderson, Peter McLean, Keith Truscott, Sid Anderson, Ron Barassi Snr and Harold Ball were all honoured, following their significant achievements and service in the red and blue.
Club legend David Neitz was on hand to present the living recipients and descendants with their framed accolade at the club’s best and fairest event, alongside Melbourne CEO Gary Pert.
Among those honoured, Viney and Salem were recognised for 10 years of service to the Dees, having been held since 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Viney, who committed himself to Melbourne as a father-son prospect in 2010, officially became a Demon in 2012, and made his debut in Round 1 the following year.
Often referred to as the heart and soul of the club, the 30-year-old has since tallied 219 games and 66 goals, earning the Keith ‘Bluey’ Truscott Memorial Trophy in 2016 and a premiership medallion in 2021.
Originally drafted as a midfielder in the 2013 Draft, Salem pulled the guernsey on for his first senior game in Round 6, 2014. He featured another 11 times in his debut year before switching lines to defence in 2015.
He formed an important part of Melbourne’s drought-breaking premiership backline in 2021 and now, with 176 games under his belt, earns another significant honour.
For Neal-Bullen, 2024 marked his 10th season as a Demon, having been selected with pick No.40 in the 2014 Draft.
He first represented the club in Round 10 of 2015, playing 11 matches that year. He has since accumulated 176 games and 116 goals in the red and blue, as well as premiership honours as one of the side’s most important pressure forwards in 2021.
A fellow 2014 draftee, Brayshaw receives life membership for his 10-year contribution to the club, as well as a retiring member of Melbourne’s 2021 premiership side.
The much-loved Demon made his senior debut in Round 1, 2015, running out in the No.10 – the first of 167 times. A team-first player, he played various roles across his career, before having to medically retire from the game on the eve of the 2024 season due to concussion.
Brayshaw, a leader on and off the field, finished fifth in the 2015 Rising Star voting, third in the 2018 Brownlow Medal count and fourth on the club’s 2023 best and fairest leaderboard.
Brown, who called time on his 11-year career in August, was also acknowledged for his impact in 2021, where he played 13 matches and kicked 25 goals, including three in the grand final.
Joining at the end of 2020, Brown finished with 175 matches and 360 majors across two clubs in Melbourne and North Melbourne.
The night also marked the recognition for seven of the club’s historical premiership players, with T.Anderson and McLean, who were part of the victorious 1964 side, recognised on the 60th anniversary of their success.
Anderson, who made his debut in 1963, played 14 games in his first season as a half-back flanker; a position he continued in the premiership year. Injury restricted the latter stages of his career, retiring three games into the 1969 season with 75 games to his name.
Having made his debut in Round 8 of the 1964 season, McLean, a reserve in the grand final that year, tallied 28 games and two goals in the red and blue. He departed at the end of 1965, reuniting with the great Ron Barassi at Carlton.
Two-time premiership player in Truscott, who was commonly known as ‘Bluey’, made his senior debut in 1937 and went on to feature in Melbourne’s 1939 and 1940 success, before serving in the Air Force.
Playing a total of 50 games and kicking 31 goals across a five-year career, Truscott was killed in a plane crash during a training exercise in March of 1943, and was later acknowledged by having the club’s best and fairest award named in his honour.
A teammate of Truscott’s, S.Anderson played in a premiership in each of his three years at Melbourne. A pacy six-footer, Anderson made his debut in Round 7, 1939, and was named ‘Most Improved’ in 1940 and ‘Most Consistent’ in 1941.
His career was cut short by World War II when he was lost during combat in Weak, New Guinea. Second place in the club’s best and fairest was named as a tribute.
Barassi Snr, who played his first game in red and blue during the 1936 season, was part of the 1940 premiership side, taking the field early in the first quarter.
Having enlisted in the army earlier that year, Barassi Snr, stationed at Puckapunyal, had to travel to Melbourne three times a week for the rest of the season to train and play. He left for duty shortly after the 1940 grand final and was killed in action at Tobruk in July, 1941.
The third-place trophy at Melbourne’s best and fairest is now awarded in Barassi Snr’s memory.
Ball, playing in Round 1 of 1939, rounded out his first year with 20 games and premiership success. He was deemed the club’s Best First Year Player, an award since named in his honour.
Ball went on to tally 33 games and 33 goals, with the 1940 grand final being his last – he left for active duty with the Australian Army Medical Corps in 1941 and was captured by Japanese forces and killed the following year.
The latest recipients join Melbourne’s esteemed list of players, directors, staff and volunteers, who have all had significant impact on the club and its history.
Melbourne Football Club Life Membership – 2024 recipients
Ron Barassi Snr., No. 31
1936 – 1940 | 58 games, 84 goals
Premiership – 1940
Keith Truscott, No. 5 (1937-1940), No. 1 (1942)
1937 – 1942 | 50 games, 31 goals
Premierships – 1939, 1940
Harold Ball, No. 11
1939 – 1940 | 33 games, 33 goals
Premierships – 1939, 1940
Sid Anderson, No. 36
1939 – 1941 | 52 games, 12 goals
Premierships – 1939, 1940, 1941
Tony Anderson, No. 11
1963 – 1969 | 75 games, 2 goals
Premiership – 1964
Peter McLean, No. 50
1964 – 1965 (Melbourne) | 28 games, 2 goals (Melbourne)
Premiership – 1964
Jack Viney, No. 7
2013 – present | 219 games, 66 goals
Premiership – 2021 | Years of service – 10 (held since 2022)
Christian Salem, No. 3
2014 – present | 176 games, 26 goals
Premiership – 2021| Years of service – 10 (held since 2023)
Alex Neal-Bullen, No. 30
2015 – present | 176 games, 116 goals
Premiership – 2021 | Years of service – 10
Angus Brayshaw, No. 10
2015 – 2023 | 167 games, 49 goals
Premiership – 2021 | Years of service – 10
Ben Brown, No. 50
2021 – 2024 (Melbourne) | 45 games, 73 goals (Melbourne)
Premiership – 2021
