Aaron Vandenberg Biography

Melbourne recruiting manager Jason Taylor shares his memory of his favourite AFL Draft selection, Aaron vandenBerg, whom he first spotted as a 14-year old.

"He certainly showed a bit, and we even sent a scout up to watch him in the local league up in Tathra where he might've kicked 10 or 11 goals from a wing," Taylor said.

"When he came down and started playing in the NEAFL, and we saw his numbers, the way he goes about his footy, his attack on the ball and he really started to change shape in his body. He's quite a bull and he became a pretty prolific midfielder.

"We did rate him but we knew we were a strong chance to get him in the rookie draft. I had a lot of good, long conversations with him and brought him into the club.

"I remember walking along the beach as I do most years with the earpiece in talking to him and making sure that he really wanted the opportunity and he assured me he was desperate for the opportunity. It's always a conversation you want to have."

Aaron vandenBerg is set to miss at least round one with a fresh foot injury sustained in Melbourne's win over Hawthorn during the Marsh Community Series.

The 28-year-old suffered a collision injury to the foot he's had long-term problems with in the first half of the pre-season clash in Launceston.

Aaron VandenBerg resists the lure of moving to Sydney and signs a new contract with Melbourne to remain at the club until the end of 2021.

"We are very happy that Aaron has decided to remain a Melbourne player and agreed to a new deal," Demons football manager Josh Mahoney said.

"The last two years have been very challenging personally and we understand that this was a tough decision for Aaron, given his family situation and the attraction of moving to Sydney."

Richie Vandenberg has been handed a key football department role at Hawthorn, moving into the chairman of the football subcommittee position.

"Richie is a very astute follower of the game and has been well trained in the challenges facing the whole football department," Hawks president Jeff Kennett wrote in a letter to members.

"He has great personal values and is a very successful businessman. So, while chair of the football subcommittee he also brings other important skills to the table."

Aaron vandenBerg hopes to bounce back from injury and reclaim his spot after re-signing with the Demons for 2018.

The 24-year-old did not play in 2017 after suffering a hot spot in his heel that eventually required surgery in June when it did not respond to rest.

"I don't think you lose that hunger to want to play and play well," vandenBerg said.

"I'm really looking forward to getting back and hopefully forcing my way back into that 22 and playing some good footy."

Aaron vandenBerg's season is almost certainly over after surgery on a troublesome heel injury.

The tough onballer was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his heel in March, with the Demons taking the option of putting him in rehab and letting the injury heal at a natural pace.

However, the tough nut has been troubled by the injury in his attempts to increase his running load over the past few weeks and the Demons decided surgery was the best route.

"Aaron's actually in Sydney having an operation today so we'll see how that goes," Melbourne elite performance manager David Misson said.

"Unfortunately we don't expect him to get back this year, but we'll just see how the operation pans out."

Aaron vandenBerg suffers a setback in his recovery from a heel injury, and will miss at least another eight weeks.

"That heel just isn't settling the way we'd like, unfortunately for Aaron," Demons elite performance manager Dave Misson said.

"We're just going to get a couple more opinions and just make a decision on where we’ll go from there.

"It's an unusual injury and very difficult for him. It's another disrupted season, but we're hoping to get some good information in the next week or so and organise a plan of attack from there."

Aaron vandenBerg will miss the start of the home and away season after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his heel.

The powerful forward will be sidelined for up to six weeks with the injury after undergoing scans.

"Investigations have shown that he has the early stages of a stress fracture," Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said of vaandenBerg's injury.

"We're taking the opportunity to get on top of that as early as we can. He'll have a couple of weeks of 'de-loading' and we'll gradually build him up.

"At this stage we're looking at a timeline of four-to-six weeks until he's ready to return to play."

Aaron vandenBerg will be sidelined for at least a month following ongoing issues with an ankle injury.

VandenBerg first injured his left ankle in pre-season training, before aggravating it again in Melbourne's second NAB Challenge match against the Western Bulldogs at Craigieburn.

VandenBerg stood on teammate Dom Tyson's foot as he contested a boundary throw-in and missed last week's match against Collingwood due to soreness.

"We've taken the approach that we just need to offload him for a couple of weeks and then reload him and get him back to playing. He’s probably looking at a month at least," Demons high performance manager Dave Misson said.

"He's still not running at the moment and he'll start running next week. His ankle actually feels pretty good, so we don’t expect it to be too long, but we want to give him the chance to come back and have a good finish to the season."

Aaron vandenBerg likely to miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury.

The rookie revelation injured his ankle at training last Friday and was replaced by Matt Jones for Sunday's game against North Melbourne at the MCG.

The Demons expect him to be sidelined for up to three weeks, meaning he will be touch and go for the club's final game against Greater Western Sydney on September 6.

"He was just doing some one-on-one marking at training and it was a pretty innocuous landing incident with his ankle," elite performance manager Dave Misson told the club's website.

"The ankle's pretty sore and it's pretty swollen, so we'll just assess it as we go."

Melbourne has signed rookie success story Aaron vandenBerg for two years, tying him to the club until the end of 2017.

"It's not every day you get paid to do what you love to do," vandenBerg said.

"The group I am around is a really good group, and I'm pretty excited about where they're heading as well."

Aaron Vandenberg is expected to miss three to four weeks after straining his hamstring in Melbourne's Queen's Birthday clash against the Magpies.

Aaron Vandenberg has not missed a game so far in his debut season, with the midfielder becoming a permanent member of Melbourne's side in 2015.

"Every day I'm pinching myself," Vandenberg said.

"I'm really relishing the opportunity and making sure it happens for a long time."

Aaron Vandenberg makes his AFL debut for Melbourne at the MCG with 17 disposals (11 kicks and 6 handballs), 4 marks, a tackle and a goal in a 26-point win over Gold Coast.