Moloney, who is a free agent at the end of the season, said he wants to remain with Melbourne - the team he supported as a kid.
“Free agency is here and it’s the first year of it, so I’m not really too aware of what’s going to happen, but I want to stay at the footy club,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“I want to finish my career here, and that’s all I’m focusing on.”
Moloney spoke passionately about his affection for the red and blue when reflecting on what the club means to him.
“I love the place. It was always a dream to run out on the MCG in the red and blue, and I get to do that every second week,” he said.
“It’s a great honour to pull on that jumper and I just hope the other players realise how much history [the club has] and what it means to run out on the MCG, because it means a lot to me.”
Moloney said 2012 had been a testing year for all concerned at Melbourne, given its 1-9 start, but he was optimistic about the team’s long term fortunes.
“It’s not ideal the way we started, but we can’t change the past and all we can do is look to the future,” he said.
“It’s been tough, but we’re all learning. We’re trying to build a culture around this footy club - a strong culture - and I think we’re heading in that direction.”
Personally, Moloney conceded 2012 had been a difficult season, after producing his best AFL season in 2011.
The 28-year-old, who also polled 19 Brownlow Medal votes last year, spoke openly about losing the vice-captaincy and being relinquished of his leadership duties.
“It was frustrating, and I was disappointed at the time to not be in the leadership group,” he said.
“I’m a very proud person and I barracked for Melbourne my whole life and it’s a great feeling to be vice-captain of the footy club. But they decided to go down a different path and I moved on pretty quickly.
“I made sure I came to training the next day with the same leadership qualities and I moved on pretty quickly.
“My own form hasn’t been great, but I can’t change that now - all I can do is look forward to Monday’s game and play like I did on Saturday night.”
Moloney said he was annoyed with scuttlebutt surrounding him and other senior Demons that they were not happy playing under the new coaching regime.
“I don’t really read or watch any of those footy shows, so it doesn’t really affect me,” he said.
“But you hear about it and it’s a little bit frustrating, because the people who are saying it aren’t actually inside the footy club and they don’t know what happens behind these walls.
“I’ve got a great relationship with Mark [Neeld] and I’m building that relationship each week and having meetings with him. So I think things are going well from my perspective.”
Reflecting on Melbourne’s first win of the season last round, Moloney said it was a moment to cherish after a tough season to date.
“It was just great to get a win - it was a bit of a relief to get out there on Saturday night and win an arm wrestle and get four points,” he said.
“We can’t get too carried away with just one win, and now we focus on Collingwood.”
He said the dying stages of the game against Essendon were full of intensity.
“The runner came out, when we had those three or four forward 50 stoppages, and he was saying ‘30 seconds to go, 20 seconds to go’ - we just had to hold it in, and the guys did that,” he said.
“So they showed great resilience and it was fantastic to get a win for James Magner and Mitch Clark and Neeldy, for their first win.”
Moloney, who shone with 23 disposals and 10 inside 50s against the Bombers, enjoyed playing up forward for a change.
“It got me off the hook a little bit - I’ve been in the midfield and been a bit stagnant in the first half of the season,” he said.
“I played a different role for the team and I really enjoyed it.”
Looking ahead to Monday’s Queen’s Birthday clash, Moloney said he was itching to back up in Melbourne’s “biggest game of the year”.
“When you get that chance to play, you want to make the most of it,” he said.
“Our training in the last month has been superb, and it’s really put us in good stead for the weekend’s game.
“The spirit around the place has been fantastic, and hopefully we can take that into the game.”
With Melbourne defeating Collingwood in this year’s NAB Cup, Moloney said the team would draw plenty from that contest.
“I think we match up OK on them,” he said.
“They’ve been a top four team in the last three or four years and we’ve matched them at different times, and we did beat them in the pre-season, but that is the pre-season.
“This is the home and away [season] and this is a little bit different, but we can take confidence out of that pre-season [match].”
Moloney said the win had given the players “a lot of confidence”.
“We played three good quarters against Carlton [in round nine] and we just needed to finish off that four quarter effort on the weekend - and we did that,” he said.
“We can build on that, but we can’t get too carried away, because it is one win and we’ve just got to get back on the job.”
