Melbourne’s Alex Neal-Bullen requests trade to South Australian club

The drums have started beating about troubles at Melbourne and one premiership winner has officially requested to leave.

Alex Neal-Bullen is on the move. Picture: Josh Chadwick/Getty Images

Melbourne premiership winner Alex Neal-Bullen has formally requested a trade back to his home state of South Australia for family reasons.

Neal-Bullen, who has played 174 games in 10 seasons at Melbourne, said he still “loved” the club but wanted to return home.

The announcement comes as Melbourne wrestles with player discontent among its stars, including Norm Smith medallist Christian Petracca.

Demons coach Simon Goodwin said there was enormous goodwill between Melbourne and Neal-Bullen and he would play in the Demons’ final two games against Gold Coast and Collingwood.

“Absolutely, (Neal-Bullen) will continue to play. He’s such an important person for us. He wants to enjoy the rest of his time at the Melbourne footy club, and we want him to be able to sing the song again,” Goodwin said.

“He’s a wonderful person, someone that we treasure. He said to me and he said to the playing group, if he could pick the Melbourne footy club up and place it in Adelaide, he’d be playing in the red and blue still.

“Footy has come a long way, there’s a maturity in football. This is part of our industry now, player movement is increasing all the time. People move for different reasons – sometimes there’s a want, and sometimes there’s an absolute need. In this situation, it’s a need for his family, and we respect that.”

Alex Neal-Bullen wants a trade from the Demons back to his home state of South Australia. Picture: Josh Chadwick / Getty Images

In a statement on Wednesday, the 28-year-old Neal-Bullen said his decision to leave for South Australia had been “an incredibly hard one”.

“It’s something that I thought long and hard about and had some really open and honest conversations with my wife, Georgie, about where our best future lies,” he said.

“The decision became clear that I need to put my family first and move our family back to South Australia.

“For the club to allow me to do the best thing for my family, I can’t thank them enough.

“They’ve embraced me as an individual, and they’ve allowed me to grow into the footballer but also the now father that I am.

“I’m forever grateful that I’ve been able to play for this great club and still have two more games that I want to pour everything into to make sure we finish the year off really strongly.”

Melbourne football boss Alan Richardson said the club understood Neal-Bullen’s decision.

Christian Petracca will remain in the red and blue until at least the end of his contract.

Letter from Gary Pert 📝 | https://t.co/U8hEI7mtCYpic.twitter.com/EKmenuHGDQ

— Melbourne Demons (@melbournefc) August 13, 2024

“Obviously, it will be incredibly disappointing for the club to farewell Alex. However, we understand how necessary this move is for him and his family,” Richardson said.

“Throughout our discussions with Alex, it’s been incredibly telling how much he loves our football club, but given the nature of the circumstances, this is a decision he has to make.

“When the time is right, we will work closely with the South Australian-based clubs to ensure the best possible outcome for the Melbourne Football Club in addition to Alex and his family.

“This is a sensitive situation for Alex, and we ask that his privacy is respected at this time.”

On Tuesday, Melbourne chief executive Gary Pert sent a letter to members refuting reports Petracca wanted out of his contract, which runs until the end of the 2029 season.

Originally published as Melbourne’s Alex Neal-Bullen requests trade to South Australian club