MELBOURNE’S Matt Jefferson is a fly-under-the-radar type of Demon.  

A quiet character around the club, he’s someone who puts in the hard work without much fuss.  

Since arriving at the Dees in 2022, he’s been slowly building year on year, with his reserved but determined routine now key to his development. 

“I’ve learned a lot, now I know what I need to do to be able to get the best out of myself, I feel like the first couple of years I struggled a bit with that,” Jefferson said.  
 
“Every day I come in and know the level of training, gym, vision, recovery I need.  
 
“With this type of routine and focus, I know that if I don’t get selected [for AFL] that I’m prepared to play that standard no matter what, because of the work I’ve put in during the week.” 

Jefferson played back-to-back seasons in the VFL after first arriving at the club, kicking a total of 51 goals across 37 games.  
 
He was named Best VFL Player in 2024 and earned himself an AFL debut in Round 1 of 2025. 
 
“It was pretty cool to have my debut in Round 1 and get that AFL experience,” Jefferson said.  
 
“I felt like I was ready for the step up, ready for that challenge having played some good VFL footy in 2024.   

“I think overall, it was a good year because I learned a lot.    

I have more of an understanding of the level of fitness you need and how quick you need to be, not just your physical speed, but also the speed at which you make decisions because everything is so much faster.”

After debuting in Round 1, he was omitted on three separate occasions throughout the year, playing the majority of his footy in the VFL.   
 
This week-to-week pressure was something Jefferson was forced to get comfortable with in the last 12 months. 
 
“It can be challenging when you’re in and out of the team, because you feel like you’re playing really good VFL footy but then you get to AFL and you’re not playing as well as you’d hoped,” Jefferson said.  
 
“But I think knowing that I’ve put in the work during the week, that really helped me last year when I went back to the VFL.  
 
“I didn’t drop my head, I tried to see each VFL game I played as an opportunity to not only get back into the team but improve my game.” 

From week-to-week pressure to in-game pressure, forwards are met with plenty of match moments that call upon their ability to stay focused.  
 
Jefferson admitted that this type of focus during games was another challenge that he faced.  

“When I first got here, that’s something that I really struggled with, being able to stay focused in games,” Jefferson said.  

“As a forward, you do have games where the ball just doesn't go near you. 

It's about dealing with that and being able to stay focused, even if you don’t touch the ball in the first quarter, you need to stay in the game.

 “I have become a lot better at that. In my first or second year, if I was playing and I hadn’t had a good first half, my second half would be just as bad.  
 
“Now I feel like I can pull myself out of that mindset.” 

As a Melbourne forward, Jefferson is part of a reasonably young playing group that is hoping to impress in 2026 under a fresh coaching mix.  

In addition to the appointment of new senior coach Steven King, the Dees also added Matthew Scarlett, AFL great and 284-gamer for Geelong, to the coaching cohort.  
 
Scarlett joined the Dees as a development coach specialising in talls, which has meant working closely with Jefferson this pre-season.  
 
“He has a bit of an aura about him, he’s an AFL great,” Jefferson said.  

He's been really good for us, he really knows what he's talking about and adding the perspective of the key defenders… it helps us as forwards to know what makes defenders uncomfortable.

“[Brody Mihocek] coming in has also been really good for us young forwards, I think he’s similar to me in that he’s not necessarily the biggest key forward but he’s just really smart so he’s been able to help me and the other forwards make sure we play to our strengths. 
 
“[Jacob van Rooyen] has also been really helpful, I know he’s a similar age to me but he’s built up his leadership over the last few years and has been really good at helping me bring my focus back in games.” 

 Jefferson finished 2025 with seven senior games under his belt and if this pre-season is any preview of 2026, he’s looking to come back with a bang this season.  
 
“In my off-season, I really wanted to focus on my quality of training,” Jefferson said.  
 
“I got injured at the end of the season which meant I didn’t really stop training [because of rehab], so my mindset changed.  

“I looked at the off-season as an opportunity to build my fitness. I wanted to come back for pre-season and be fit that day, I didn’t want to chase that fitness.  

This type of mentality was easy for me when we had a good group of boys coming in during the off-season and we were all training at the same level.

“When you've got a good group of young players, you’re all learning together, you’re all on a similar path, building to where you need to be and we’re all building towards the same goal.” 

Melbourne will begin its build towards Round 1 this Friday in its first hit-out against opposition at Casey Fields. Details for the match simulation can be found here.