Melbourne veteran Alex Neal-Bullen confirms AFL trade request home to South Australia

Melbourne have confirmed veteran utility Alex Neal-Bullen has requested a trade home to South Australia for “sensitive” family reasons.

The 28-year-old has played AFL 161 games for the Dees, including their 2021 premiership, since being drafted with pick No.40 in the 2014 draft — the same year Christian Petracca was taken with pick No.2.

Neal-Bullen released a statement via the club’s website on Wednesday morning.

“Since day one, I’ve felt the love from the footy club, so to make the decision to head home is an incredibly hard one,” he said.

“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.

“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 footy boss Alan Richardson said the club is understanding of the situation and happy to facilitate the move.

“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.”

It comes just a day after the Dees were forced to pour cold water over suggestions Petracca was looking for a new home as well.

Melbourne on Tuesday declated he “will remain in the red and blue” until the end of his contract “and hopefully beyond”, claiming he is already involved in conversations about next season.

The premiership midfielder, sidelined since June following a ruptured spleen, was the subject of reports on Monday that he is disillusioned with the club and could consider requesting a trade.

Petracca himself has not yet spoken out but Demons chief executive Gary Pert attempted to diffuse the situation with a letter to members on Tuesday effectively confirming they would not trade their Norm Smith medallist if he wanted out.

“Christian is an integral and much-loved member of the Melbourne Football Club. He is a key pillar of our club’s future, and we value him immensely, not only as a player, but as a person and a leader,” Pert wrote.

“He has been an important member of our football program since he walked through the doors in 2014 and is contracted until the end of the 2029 season.

“He will remain in the red and blue until at least the end of his contract and hopefully beyond.”

Pert did not deny Petracca’s apparent frustrations.

The 28-year-old is not said to have problems with senior coach Simon Goodwin despite being unhappy with watching the Dees fall out of finals contention.

Responding to the claims that the 28-year-old and some of his teammates are offside with the club, Pert said discussions are already underway among players, coaches and staff — Petracca included.

“The 2024 season has been disappointing for us all and we must quickly turn our attention to what is required moving forward, both on and off the field, to ensure we climb back up the ladder,” the CEO wrote.

“A key part of this process is openly discussing any opportunities we identify where we can seek to improve. Over recent weeks there have been conversations with many of our leaders, Christian included, about our opportunities for growth.

“These conversations have been open and constructive, with the purpose of ensuring that together we achieve the success we know our AFL program is capable of.

“Conversations like these are a regular part of footy and will continue over the next few weeks, as we map out a clear path towards ensuring our AFL program is back in finals contention in 2025.

“Importantly, this process starts now, and Goody, Max (Gawn) and the entire football program look forward to finishing the season strongly and playing a brand of footy that makes you, our members, proud over the coming two weeks.”

- With Glenn Valencich