In Paul Roos' final season as senior coach before succession coach, Simon Goodwin took over, the club won ten matches out of twenty-two to finish eleventh on the ladder out of eighteen teams and finished on 97.6 percent.

[2] The leadership group included Colin Garland, Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Tom McDonald, Bernie Vince, and Jack Viney.

[4] Goodwin increased his responsibilities for the 2016 season,[5] including being the senior coach for the three matches against Port Adelaide, Western Bulldogs, and St Kilda during the 2016 NAB Challenge.

[9] Craig Jennings was recruited from the Western Bulldogs in September 2015 in a newly created position, the game analyst and education coordinator.

[14] Chief Executive Officer, Peter Jackson, continued with the club after signing a contract extension to the end of the 2017 season.

[48] The list headed into the main season with very little injuries[49] apart from young midfielder, Angus Brayshaw who suffered a knee injury five seconds into the first match of the NAB Challenge,[50] which forced him to miss the remainder of the pre-season and round one against Greater Western Sydney.

[70] The club headed to Alice Springs in round ten for their first sold home match of the year as part of a sponsorship with Tourism NT.

A disappointing match saw Melbourne lose to Port Adelaide by forty-five points[71] in conjunction with a one-match suspension to the in form, Jack Viney.

[73] The match was level at three-quarter time, however three final quarter goals to zero saw Hawthorn win by eighteen points.

[83] Three consecutive wins against Gold Coast, Hawthorn and Port Adelaide[84][85][86] meant Melbourne were back in the frame to potentially play finals.