Santos

Attacking Midfielder (L) - Melbourne Victory
18 Jan 2027
Monday
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Marked for Santos

17 Edition

The Melbourne Victory Post

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad23 Nov 2026

8 saves: Jack Duncan was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Player ratings23 Nov 2026

Adam Taggart, 33, rolls back the years — 7.97

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.97 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.

Player ratings23 Nov 2026

Nobody could get near Nishan Velupillay

Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad23 Nov 2026

Tempers go at Melbourne Victory

Ethan Bristow was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

The terraces23 Nov 2026

One of their own: Joshua Rawlins

He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Match21 Nov 2026

Melbourne Victory find a way past Auckland FC

Auckland FC made Melbourne Victory work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings23 Nov 2026

One of those days for Joshua Rawlins

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.03, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

The dugout23 Nov 2026

The view from the dugout

“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Bradley Campbell, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.

The dugout23 Nov 2026

The manager makes an example of Santos

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

Back issues
10 Edition

The Melbourne Victory Post

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad5 Oct 2026

Liam Ward breaks a bone — 20 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 20 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad5 Oct 2026

Real improvement from Alby Kelly-Heald at Melbourne Victory

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Alby Kelly-Heald is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad5 Oct 2026

Adam Taggart has improved at 33, which nobody expected

Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.

Squad5 Oct 2026

A row about effort at Melbourne Victory

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan Mata was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout5 Oct 2026

Louis D'Arrigo knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Melbourne Victory, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market5 Oct 2026

Talks stall between Melbourne Victory and Joe Wallis

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

In brief

6 Edition

The Melbourne Victory Post

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Boardroom7 Sep 2026

Melbourne Victory close the window on a squad of their own making

21 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.

Squad7 Sep 2026

The step up is real for Joshua Inserra

At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.

Squad7 Sep 2026

Joe Wallis arrives at the club he grew up with

Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Joe Wallis has, at Melbourne Victory, and the first month will show what that does to a man.

Transfer targets7 Sep 2026

Melbourne Victory baulk at the price for Bailey O'Neil

Adelaide United wanted more than $22.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

Squad7 Sep 2026

Words at Melbourne Victory training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan Mata is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad7 Sep 2026

Melbourne Victory count the cost of losing Franco Lino

32 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

In brief

4 Edition

The Melbourne Victory Post

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market24 Aug 2026

Jordi Valadon asks to leave Melbourne Victory

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market24 Aug 2026

Melbourne Victory say no — this time

The offer from Auckland FC for Santos was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Squad24 Aug 2026

Jason Davidson out for 40 days

The medical room confirms 40 days on the sidelines for Jason Davidson, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Boardroom24 Aug 2026

Melbourne Victory go back to the board over Diesel Herrington

The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $34.1K — a club that wants Diesel Herrington enough to be asked twice.

Transfer targets24 Aug 2026

Melbourne Victory bid $77.0K for Beckham Baker

The offer went to Melbourne City this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

Transfer targets24 Aug 2026

No deal for Diesel Herrington at that price

Melbourne Victory offered $32.0K; Central Coast Mariners said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.

In brief