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PLAYERS / JACK STEELE
Updated 17 May 2026

Jack Steele

#25/138⚡ Cap option·Bye Rd 12
MID
Price $478kBE 70Owned —Bye Rd 12Avg 97.5
ROOKIEBIBLEVerdict
— HOLD

Steele posted 87 in Melbourne's comfortable 32-point home win over WCE — clearing his 73 BE but still 10 below his season average of 97. Two consecutive below-average scores (72, 87) after a long run of 100+ games is a flag worth watching, not panicking over. At $499.1k with cash gen essentially flat, the premium story is intact. Hold; captain only on the best matchups until he cracks 100 again.

Signals1/3 · Weak alignment
Form
Declining
Trajectory
-$2k/wk
Consistency
Consistent
Recent formSeason avg 98
94▼
87▼
72▼
Comparable PicksWhy this comparison · Same primary position (MID), ±$200k price band

Jack Steele

MID

Joshua Kelly

MID
—
—
Form
R5
100
R6
99
R7
103
R8
72
R9
87
R10
94
—
Pricing
Price$478k
Price$477k
Breakeven70
Breakeven70

Decision

Should I trade Jack Steele?

Form, breakeven, and a comparable replacement weighed up.

Intel feed

Recent intel

Community Intel· T3

Jack Steele continued his dominant midfield form in R6 vs Brisbane, carrying the turbo midfield. Community considers him the best off-season pickup of the year. He has not had a bad game this season.

u/-braquo- (score 15), u/OneRepresentative424 (score 2), r/melbournefc
Community Intel· T3

Strong community preference for Steele over Ashcroft — proven scorer, assured role as guaranteed #1 mid, averaging 15 points more than Ashcroft, and seen as good value at 540-550k.

u/Lost-Competition8482, u/codedbrown, u/Coops17 on r/AFLSupercoach
Injury Watch· T3

Noted concern that Steele has had recurring niggles the past couple of years that have either hampered his capacity or kept him out of games — flagged as an ongoing body durability risk.

u/runningvampire on r/AFLSupercoach
Community Intel· T3

Owner switched away from Jack Steel at last minute, would have scored well. Suggests Steel delivered a strong round score.

u/This_Ease_5678 on r/AFLSupercoach
Breakout Signal· T3

Jack Steele dominated the R4 win over Gold Coast, earning multiple BOG votes. Community consensus is he is the best free-agent pickup of the off-season, providing elite tackling, clearance work, and leadership that outperforms his Saints career output.

u/multiple commenters on r/melbournefc post-match thread (score 60-108)
Community Intel· T3

Jack Steele (MELB off-season signing) generating very strong community approval early in 2026 season. Described as key to midfield stability, a leading voice in the midfield huddle, and considered best offseason acquisition since Ben Brown.

u/aussierulesisgrouse (comment, score 9) on r/melbournefc
Community Questions

What people are asking about Jack Steele

Mentioned in
  • Who gets the 3-2-1 BOG votes from Melbourne's R6 win over Brisbane?
    UnknownTop: Chandler 3, Langford 2, Langdon/Kozzie 1 (42%)
    73