[2] On 2 February, Don McLardy was elected the club's new president, replacing Jim Stynes who was continuing his fight against cancer.
The Demons would win only four games and finish the year in 16th place only above the two expansion teams, Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney, on the ladder.
Simon Black (Brisbane Lions)[4] Ladder Position: 14th Substitutes: Matthew Bate Sam Blease
Matt Priddis (West Coast)[5] Ladder Position: 16th Substitutes: Matthew Bate Jamie Bennell
Adam Cooney (Western Bulldogs)[7] Ladder Position: 16th Substitutes: Luke Tapscott Mitch Clark
Nick Dal Santo (St Kilda)[8] Ladder Position: 16th Substitutes: Colin Sylvia Lynden Dunn
Steve Johnson (Geelong)[9] Ladder Position: 17th Substitutes: Lynden Dunn Luke Tapscott
Brad Sewell (Hawthorn)[10] Ladder Position: 18th Substitutes: Matthew Bate Jack Fitzpatrick
Milestones: Jack Watts (50th AFL game), Tom McDonald (Rising Star round nominee) Brownlow Votes: 1.
Brown (Brisbane Lions)[17] Ladder Position: 16th Substitutes: Sam Blease Tom McDonald
Andrew Swallow (North Melbourne)[21] Ladder Position: 16th Substitutes: James Strauss Neville Jetta
Harley Bennell (Gold Coast)[22] Ladder Position: 16th Substitutes: James Magner Cale Morton
Milestone(s): Jack Grimes (50th AFL game), Sam Blease (Rising Star round nominee) Brownlow Votes: 1.
Beau Wilkes (St Kilda)[23] Ladder Position: 16th Substitutes: James Magner Brent Moloney
Toby Greene (Greater Western Sydney)[24] Ladder Position: 16th Substitutes: Jack Watts Tom Couch
Nathan Fyfe (Fremantle)[26] Final Ladder Position: 16th Substitutes: Josh Tynan Sam Blease
Overall, he received 8 nominations:[27] Round 4: In the first quarter against Western Bulldogs, Cale Morton would kick the ball outside of Melbourne's defensive 50 to a small pack with Justin Sherman a few metres in-front.
Round 4: Later in the game midway through the final quarter, Nathan Jones would kick the ball long towards Melbourne's attacking 50.
Round 6: Early in the second quarter against Geelong, James Sellar without any real option would bomb the ball from the centre square to inside Melbourne's attacking 50.
Jeremy Howe would run towards the open middle of the pack and leap in mid air with Harry Taylor close to his side.
Round 8: Midway through the third quarter against Sydney, James Frawley would rebound the ball out of Melbourne's defensive 50 towards the boundary line.
[28] Round 17: Late in the third quarter against Port Adelaide, Jeremy Howe would run in from behind into a one-on-one contest between Alipate Carlile and Stefan Martin inside Melbourne's forward 50.
With Troy Chaplin tagging him from behind, Jeremy Howe would leap onto of Carlile and Martin's shoulders to mark the ball.
Round 19: In the dying seconds of the game against Gold Coast, Brad Green would kick the ball long into Melbourne's forward 50.
Round 20: In the early stages of the second quarter, Jack Grimes would run around Jason Gram in the midfield, before kicking long towards a one-on-one contest between Brad Green and Tom Simpkin.
Round 21: Midway through the third quarter, Jordie McKenzie would kick the ball long to a pack from the center square into Melbourne's forward 50.
Throughout 2012, Melbourne was faced with a string of off-field disasters that begun in February and continued to commence throughout the rest of the year.
[30] 2 days later Melbourne cut a 2 million dollar sponsorship deal with Energywatch after CEO Ben Polis made a series of discriminatory remarks and posts against women, Aboriginals and Asians on Facebook, one of which featured an edited picture of Liam Jurrah holding a machete in his hand whilst playing on-field.