WA star Heath Mellody’s rise, dad Martin Mellody influence, WAFL stats, Larke Medal, latest news

Before Heath Mellody became a top-five draft prospect, he was a youngster tagging along to the gym with his dad and pretending to complete AFL draft combine tests.

His father, Martin Mellody – a state-league star of the 1990s – has been one of his biggest influences ever since.

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Martin won three consecutive club champion awards for East Fremantle in the late 1990s – including during the Sharks’ 1998 WAFL premiership year – while he also recorded back-to-back top-five finishes in the Sandover Medal. He added another best-and-fairest award in 2000 during his three-year stint with Glenelg in the SANFL.

Prior to that, Martin also won the 1995 Norm Goss Medal when his Springvale side defeated Sandringham in the VFA grand final.

So when 18-year-old Heath got the call-up to play for Claremont’s WAFL league side this year, he had no shortage of advice.

“He’s always been big on my footy and helped me out, especially from a young age,” Mellody told foxfooty.com.au of his dad.

“He played a bit of WAFL footy as well, so he was able to help me navigate that, which has been good.

“He was a good state-league player … He is pretty humble, but he does bring it up just to humble us sometimes, which is funny.”

Mellody averaged 19.7 disposals across six WAFL games with the Tigers, culminating in a grand final appearance against Peel Thunder at Optus Stadium.

He said “everything clicked” in his second match, when he collected 34 disposals and laid 10 tackles in a win over West Coast’s reserves.

“I loved it (the WAFL experience),” Mellody said.

“It was so much fun playing with them. But it was definitely a step up; bigger bodies and a faster game. It took a little bit of time to adjust.

“My first game was pretty average, I reckon, but from there I feel like I adjusted to how the game is played, and that resulted in me playing better, I think.

“To go deep into the finals and play in a grand final with the football club was so good. It’s something I’ll remember forever.”

Mellody’s performances at the national championships further strengthened his draft credentials, with a positional shift helping unlock his potential as a midfielder.

Previously deployed mostly at half-back, the damaging ball-user was thrust into the midfield after half-time against Vic Country in WA’s third game of the carnival. He helped inspire an epic comeback victory at Marvel Stadium before starring in a losing cause against the Allies five days later, impressing with his attack on the ball and ability to get from contest to contest.

“Once I got my opportunity (in the midfield), I didn’t want to waste it,” he said.

Mellody finished as the carnival’s No.1 ball-winner, averaging 28.2 disposals, 6.2 score involvements and 5.0 marks. He claimed the Larke Medal as the carnival’s best player, won WA’s MVP award and was named All-Australian captain.

The midfield move was a return to familiar territory for Mellody, who had played there throughout much of his junior career.

“I’ve played midfield pretty much my whole life, and it was good to go in there,” he said.

“I’m probably a little more comfortable playing an inside midfield role. I got a bit of experience playing inside in trial games and that kind of thing. I was originally going to play a little bit there in the first two champs games, but it didn’t eventuate in the end.

“It was good to get that opportunity in the Vic Country game and play well there.”

Mellody admitted playing as a defender had sometimes felt unnatural, but said the experience had helped make him a more well-rounded player.

“Over the last few years, I’ve probably played more half-back and wing than inside, but I’ve always felt a lot more natural going inside and playing there,” he said.

“I feel like that showed throughout the champs and post-champs, when I got an opportunity in the midfield and ended up playing relatively well. (As a midfielder) I was getting forward, getting back and impacting in both areas. Playing half-back, I was probably a little tentative to push forward, I guess.

“I felt a lot more free playing a midfield role; I felt like I knew what I was doing a lot of the time, whereas at half-back there was some uncertainty. Still, I’ve gained a good understanding and am able to play there (in defence) as well.”

It has been a remarkable year for the versatile Mellody, who can impact as an inside-outside midfielder as well as a rebounding half-back or winger.

He became WA’s first Larke Medallist since 2019, joining an esteemed group of winners that includes Will Ashcroft, Sam Walsh and Christian Petracca.

“It’s super special. All those players are superstars in the game now, and watching them is really cool,” he said.

“To be part of that group who have won, I’m just so grateful for it. It doesn’t feel real, to be honest, and it still hasn’t really set in.

“Those names are special and give me so much confidence to hopefully get onto an AFL list and play well there.”

Mellody has idolised and studied Brownlow medallists Nat Fyfe and Nick Daicos, but some of his most enduring lessons have come from closer to home.

Martin remains committed to his fitness, regularly hitting the gym, running and riding his bike.

“He’s in really good nick for a 57-year-old,” Mellody said.

“He’s always at the gym. He actually had a hip resurfacing over Christmas, so he was out for maybe six months, but he was able to maintain a good physique through that.

“He’s set a good example for us to maintain ourselves when we get older.”

Mellody describes himself as a “running, outside player” and knows there is still work to do to prepare for the rigours of AFL football.

He said he was “a bit of a later developer”, but had added around 10kg over the past year. While mentally ready for the step up, he acknowledged he would need more time to build his body.

“I’d definitely need a pre-season to put on a bit of size and muscle,” he said.

Mellody has also been working to improve the contested side of his game, particularly his ability to compete against bigger-bodied opponents.

“I’ve tried to increase my (impact in) the contested area, but I’m a bit more of an outside runner who uses his skills well, which is what I pride myself on,” he said.

“In pre-season, I got to the midfield coaches and worked on bodywork and things around that. I’m not the biggest bloke out there – I don’t want to engage in too much of a wrestle – so I’ve been working on how to work my way around that, and the coaches give me pointers on what to do.

“That really helped, and getting experience in there was also really good.”

Despite trying to avoid this year’s draft speculation, Mellody is expected to hear his name called early on November 19, with multiple sources telling foxfooty.com.au they expect him to be selected by West Coast at Pick 3 or earlier.

His character, self-belief, football ability and athletic traits have also put him in contention for Essendon’s Pick 1 and Richmond’s Pick 2.

For a player who once followed the journeys of future AFL stars from afar, the prospect of joining them is beginning to feel real.

“The draft’s always been a thing that’s (felt like) a while away, or probably not in the picture for a little bit. But it’s kind of kicking in now,” he said.

“I’m super excited. It does come with a bit of nerves and uncertainty, but I’m super keen and hopefully I can just get picked up.”

As a youngster, Mellody vividly remembers watching YouTube videos documenting the journeys of Sam Walsh, the King brothers and Jack Bytel as they pursued their AFL dreams.

Inspired by those stories, he would tag along when his dad went to the gym, “just running up and back”.

“It’s pretty funny — I used to practice for Combines, even though I wasn’t doing anything. He’d go to the gym and I’d (be) pretending to do a yo-yo test or something,” Mellody said.

“I was always trying to work alongside him, and we’d always go for kicks and that sort of thing.

“He’s someone I’ve really learnt a lot from and has been really good for my footy.”