MELBOURNE coach Mark Neeld says reports that midfielder Aaron Davey wants to leave the club are misplaced.

It was reported over the weekend that Davey wants to leave the Demons after a season in which he played only eight games, the last one being against Greater Western Sydney in round 13.

Neeld said Davey had been brought back too early after his pre-season had been hampered by a knee injury.

"In hindsight, we probably brought Aaron back a bit early," Neeld told SEN.

"We were really keen to get him in the side but when we did we thought, 'Hang on, he's a bit underdone here'.

"Then his foot fell apart. He got a stress fracture - so he got put to bed."

Neeld said Davey had taken his annual leave over the course of the end of the season, so he was back doing cycling work and he would be ready to join in pre-season training at the end of October.

"Our relationship is really strong," Neeld said. "I'm not quite sure where [the rumours] came from."

In a far-reaching interview on SEN's Morning Glory program, Neeld said he continues to back the Demons' decision before the season to split the captaincy between Jack Grimes and Jack Trengove, who were 22 and 20 respectively, even if Trengove struggled early in the season.

"His offensive impact on the game wasn't as much as we thought it could be, early," Neeld said of Trengove.

"But he led all our defensive things - there's no doubt he took on a lot of responsibility in terms of that."

Neeld backed Liam Jurrah's decision to leave Melbourne to deal with the fallout from a family dispute and his impending court case over a violent incident in Alice Springs.

"Maybe the things he shared with us were just tip of the iceberg, but some of the things he shared were just horrific.

"Whether it was happening to himself or family member or close friends … people being driven out of their homes … it's like civil war."

Neeld said he was unsure whether Jurrah would play in the AFL again.

On free agency, Neeld said he fully understands the decision of Brent Moloney (restricted) and Jared Rivers (unrestricted) to test the waters as free agents.

"The rules state that all these free agents - there's about 80 - are free to speak to others clubs."

"Jared would be weighing up how many years he's got left in the game and whether we’re likely to play in finals."

"We can match any offer that Brent receives. It was just mutually decided that what Brent wants to achieve is going to happen outside our footy club.

"Everyone's becoming a lot more mature. The cloak and daggers stuff is being removed.

"We can have these conversations."

Neeld, who was an assistant coach at Collingwood during John McCarthy's four years as a player at the club, said his abiding memory of McCarthy was his smile.

"I saw some footage of him (on Monday). Every single thing on the field and off the field had him smiling.

"That's certainly how I'll remember him."