Mick Stinear - Head of AFLW Performance & Senior Coach

Stinear was appointed Melbourne’s women’s inaugural senior coach and a development coach for the AFL men’s team in September 2016. 

A small defender/midfielder in his playing days, he was regarded as a fine leader from a young age. 

In 2002, Stinear was vice-captain of the under-18 Vic Metro team, which featured the likes of Jobe Watson, Kade Simpson and Nick Malceski. He also won the 2002 best and fairest for Dandenong Stingrays, before he became a Carlton rookie list player in 2003. 

In 2004, he moved to Queensland, winning the 2004 Grogan Medal with Mt Gravatt – the Brownlow Medal equivalent in the AFLQ. He later played in a flag with the Vultures, along with former Melbourne player Rohan Bail. 

Stints with St Kilda City, De La Salle and Dalyston followed, before he spent 2011-16 as an administrator/coach with Oakleigh Chargers in the TAC Cup. 

He coached the Chargers to back-to-back flags in 2014-15 and guided the club to the preliminary final in 2016. 

He coached Melbourne’s AFLW team to a Premiership in season seven (2022). 

In 2024, Stinear signed a one-year contract, to extend his tenure with the Demons to a remarkable tenth season. This makes him one of the longest-serving coaches in the league.