Bayley Fritsch Biography

Bayley Fritsch signs a new contract to stay at Melbourne until the end of 2026.

"Pretty exciting times coming off a year where we broke a 57-year premiership drought. We've been building a connection for a number of years now and that's only going to get stronger," Fritsch said.

Bailey Fritsch kicks six goals to help steer the Demons to the 2021 AFL Premiership. Fritsch's bag of six was the most in a Grand Final since 1997, earning him the second-most amount of votes for the 2021 Norm Smith Medal.

Last year Bayley Fritsch would set his alarm for 5am each morning and trot off to his job as an apprentice electrician.

Now with a 7am wake-up, a well-rested Fritsch rocks into the club about 7.30am each morning with a clear mindset and a plan on how he is going to approach each day.

"I'm probably not taking things for granted and making sure that every day I come to the club I'm doing something to improve whether that be craft work, watching vision, or doing weights in the gym," Fritsch said.

Not even Melbourne could have projected just how well Fritsch would adapt to the full-time AFL environment, with the 21-year-old averaging 16.9 disposals and a goal a game from 15 matches in his first season.

"At the start of last year, all I wanted to do was play one VFL game and then to start of this year and play round one was really exciting," Fritsch said.

"It's been a whirlwind, but I'm loving my time here."

Bayley Fritsch extends his contract to remain at the Demons until the end of 2020.

"Bayley, as a mature-age recruit, has been able to come into our side and play a role immediately in the forward line and on the wing," Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said.

Bayley Fritsch makes his AFL debut for Melbourne at the MCG with 11 disposals (7 kicks and 4 handballs), 6 marks, 5 tackles and a goal in a 3-point loss to Geelong.

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin confirms that draftee Bayley Fritsch will make his debut in the club's 2018 season opener against Geelong.

"He brings an enormous amount of talent – he's good in the air and good on the ground," Goodwin said.

"He kicks a lot of goals and puts a lot of pressure on. We're really hopeful that he'll come out and really perform straight away for us."