Jack Viney joins AFL's 200 Club, eyes family milestone

Melbourne’s ultra-competitive midfield tough-nut Jack Viney already has another milestone in his sights as he prepares for his 200th AFL game in the round-three clash with Port Adelaide.

“He wants 234 to knock off his dad,” Demons coach Simon Goodwin said.

“That tells you a bit about how competitive he is as a person.”

Viney already has something over his father Todd, who played 233 games over 13 seasons with Melbourne last century without winning a premiership.

Jack Viney was a key player in Melbourne’s 2021 side that broke the club’s 57-year flag drought. (Richard Wainwright/AAP PHOTOS)

The younger Viney was an integral part of the Demons side that broke the club’s 57-year flag drought in 2021.

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing.

The 29-year-old was drafted by Melbourne under the father-son rule in 2012, when the Demons were in the doldrums.

They won only two games in his first season, four in the second and did not record a positive win-loss tally until 2017 – when Goodwin had taken the reins from Paul Roos.

Throughout that period, Viney was integral in Melbourne’s climb back to relevance and, eventually, into premiership contention.

“He’s everything that we want from a ‘Demons Spirit’ perspective,” Goodwin said.

“When Jack came to the club, we needed a group of players that were highly competitive, and he just led the charge on that.

“He’s probably the most competitive person I’ve met, he typifies everything we want, and he’s helped grow this club significantly in the last 10 years.”

Viney was Melbourne’s 2016 best-and-fairest winner and captain from 2017-19, but is “potentially in some areas” still under-rated outside the club.

“If you watch him closely and what he does for our team, the way that he plays, he’s an elite player of the competition,” Goodwin said.

“In terms of helping shape our culture and shape the way we’re seen as a footy club, he’s had as much impact as anyone.

“He’s driven standards to an incredibly high level with the way he trains and competes, and that’s what we want as a footy club.”