Former captain and club great Todd Viney could not be happier that son Jack will follow in his footsteps at Melbourne.

But as little as two years ago, maybe not so much.

Back then the Demons faced an uncertain AFL future, as the club struggled without a genuine home base and with a debt exceeding $5 million.

The recent turnaround under the likes of president Jim Stynes and football operations manager Chris Connolly - both former team-mates of Todd Viney - and CEO Cameron Schwab has been remarkable.

And that improvement has been reflected on the field, with the exciting young Demons climbing to 12th spot on the ladder this season after back-to-back wooden spoons in 2008-09.

Todd Viney - who was first recruited to Melbourne by Schwab way back in 1986 - has also recently returned as the Demons' general manager of player development after assistant coaching stints at Hawthorn and Adelaide.

And joining him there will be eldest son Jack, although the 16-year-old can't officially be drafted under the father-son rule for another two seasons.

"Jack made the decision that he really wanted to play at the Melbourne footy club and once he'd made that decision we had some meetings with the club to make sure from a parental point of view that they had everything in place," Todd Viney said at the announcement on Tuesday.

"Going back two years ago the club was in enormous difficulties before Jimmy came on board - they were $5 million in debt and without a base, compared to the fantastic facilities here now at AAMI Park.

"From a directional point of view the club was really struggling.

"Now since Jimmy has come on board and Cameron and Chris there is fantastic momentum at the club now.

"We've been lucky enough to pick up some fantastic recruits so it's a really exciting place - but two years ago it might have been a different story."

Jack Viney captained the South Australian under-16 side in 2010.

The midfielder plans to play school football for Carey Grammar and Under-18s for Oakleigh Chargers next year, before hopefully progressing to the Demons' VFL feeder side Casey Scorpions in 2012.

He will become Melbourne's fifth official father-son selection since the rule was instigated in the mid-1980s, and the first since Chris Johnson in 2003.

In addition to his distinguished 233-game career with Melbourne, father Todd Viney was also a talented tennis player who quit the AFL club temporarily in 1996 for what turned out to be a short stint as Mark Philippoussis' fitness coach.

Jay Viney - the brother of Todd and uncle of Jack - also played 23 games for the Demons.

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