[9] He received state-honours in the 2010 under-16 championships by representing South Australia and captained the side to the winning title, he was also named the state's most valuable player.

Returning to the city of Melbourne in 2011, Viney attended Carey Baptist Grammar School and played for the Oakleigh Chargers in the TAC Cup as a bottom-aged player.

[17] Viney received permission to play in the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 2012 for Melbourne's affiliate team, the Casey Scorpions;[13] he suffered a broken jaw in two places during his debut match after a high-bump from then-Geelong player, David Wojcinski; in a separate incident, Wojcinski was charged with striking Viney, which resulted in an overall four-match suspension.

[34] His season was rewarded with the Harold Ball Memorial Trophy as Melbourne's best young player and he finished fourteenth overall in the best and fairest count.

[39] He was initially suspended for two-weeks with the rationale given by AFL legal counsel, Jeff Gleeson, that he could have "spun out" of the impending collision, rather than brace for contact.

[42] The AFL chief executive officer at the time, Andrew Demetriou, weighed into the debate by stating Viney was very unlucky to be suspended.

[43] The AFL released a statement two-weeks after the appeal stating the reason behind the overturned suspension was "because he didn’t bump Adelaide’s Tom Lynch but instead braced for contact.

[53] His season was rewarded with a second-place finish in the Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal, finishing one vote behind the winner, Bernie Vince, despite playing six less matches,[54] he also received the Norm Smith Memorial Trophy (coaches award) and James McDonald Trophy (heart and spirit award)[55] and it was labelled as his breakout season by Fox Sports Australia journalist, Adam Baldwin.

[77] After missing just the one week, he returned to the team in the forty-six point win against Collingwood in the annual Queen's Birthday clash in round twelve,[78] in which he recorded thirty disposals, six marks, four tackles and a goal.

[89] On the eve of the JLT Community Series, he was announced as the co-captain of Melbourne alongside Nathan Jones with senior coach, Simon Goodwin, noting he is "a very talented player who role models exactly the core values we want in our playing group.

[96][97][98] He was praised in particular for his match against Collingwood in the Queen's Birthday clash, in which he recorded twenty disposals, ten contested possessions, three clearances and seven tackles to be named one of Melbourne's best players by Anna Harrington.

[101] Despite injuring his shoulder in the third term and missing most of the quarter, he finished the match with thirty-eight disposals, twenty six contested possessions, nine clearances and a goal.

[88] He received the maximum three Brownlow Medal votes in the match, meaning he was adjudged the best player on the ground by the field umpires[106] and was named in AFL Media's team of the week.

[108] Viney missed just two matches and returned in the twenty-three point win against Port Adelaide at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round eighteen, recording a game-high ten clearances, in addition to twenty-five disposals, seven tackles and six inside 50s which led to teammate, Dom Tyson, saying "he's just so important, he's our captain and you just walk that little bit taller when he's on the field with you"[109] and he was named in AFL Media's team of the week for the fifth time in the season.

[110] He played the next three matches before pulling up sore in his foot during the twenty-four point win against St Kilda at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round twenty-one.

[112][113] Playing eighteen matches for the season, he finished second in the club best and fairest[114] and received the Ron Barassi Jnr Trophy (leadership award) for the second consecutive year.