Is the sky falling at the Demons?
Melbourne CEO Gary Pert just last October denied the club had a culture problem amid a tumultuous off-season, describing the environment as the best he’s seen during his 40 years in football.
But reports of Christian Petracca’s unhappiness with the direction of Melbourne continues a line of stormy off-field events from the 13th-placed fallen contender.
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Melbourne hasn’t won a final since that glorious day for the club on the last Saturday in September in Perth in 2021, when it was at the top of the mountain.
While the Dees finished top four in each of the last two seasons since, the club was bundled out of both finals series in straight sets and now find themselves outside the finals race altogether for the first time since 2020.
So is there any link between that plunge and other drama? Or is this just a case of a team that climbed the mountain and is now inevitably coming out the other side?
Demons adamant Petracca is staying put | 00:41
UNDER THE PUMP EARLY
Melbourne of course went into the 2024 season as the club arguably under more pressure than any.
As mentioned, it was coming off consecutive straight sets finals exits including a botched move for Brodie Grundy in an important year while it was firmly in the flag hunt.
And the controversies had piled up to the point that the key narrative surrounding the Demons was their culture.
Joel Smith had been provisionally suspended after returning a positive cocaine test on game day late last season and accused of trafficking the drug.
That really shined a light on the club for all the wrong reasons.
Arguably their best player, Clayton Oliver, was put on the trade table as part of a tumultuous few months including being admitted to hospital and spending extended time away from the club.
There were questions if Oliver would ever play again at that point.
And just a few weeks before the season, beloved Demon Angus Brayshaw announced his retirement at age 28 on medical grounds due to ongoing concussion issues.
That’s some sort of hectic 12-month period for Melbourne, where it’s been one thing after the other — some its own doing, others not.
Amongst it all has been an ongoing stoush with former club president Glenn Bartlett pushing a defamation case against the Dees key leaders in court, which is yet to reach its conclusion.
What impact that’s had on the hierarchy, if any, is unknown.
Even more recently, there’s been some indication Melbourne will again explore the trade market for Oliver, who’s struggled in 2024 after a heavily disrupted pre-season and hand injury.
Oliver, who just hasn’t looked the same player this year, is in the first year of a lucrative $7 million contract signed when the midfielder was at the peak of his powers in 2022.
It’s wild to consider there’s a level of uncertainty around Petracca and Oliver, recently considered the best duo in the game and arguably the two most important figures in the club’s 2021 premiership win and resurgence in general under Goodwin.
Rounding out that once invincible midfield is heart and soul Demon Jack Viney, who’s reportedly targeted by North Melbourne – where his father, Todd, is the footy boss.
While there’s no indication Viney is open to a move, could the Kangaroos make him an offer he can’t refuse?
In the wake of the report that Petracca was disillusioned with Melbourne’s direction, the club moved to ensure to fans in a statement the superstar wouldn’t be traded, though it didn’t address those claims of his unhappiness.
It also didn’t address suggestions that other Demons players share the same view as Petracca.
Melbourne chief Gary Pert also confirmed the club would undertake a review of its football program in hopes of improvement in 2025 after a “disappointing” season.
Goodwin lamenting too many close loses | 07:30
WHERE TO NOW?
While there’s no suggestion that heads will roll or that there will be any massive changes with regards to personnel, it certainly shapes as an important off-season for the club.
An off-season where it’ll hope to wipe the slate clean and enter next season with a new outlook.
That could involve Goodwin adapting and evolving his game plan, like the club originally planned to this year, to a more attacking brand instead of some of the same old dour style its produced.
The Demons’ brand has been predicated around contest and being defensive focused, but it’s a style that’s become outdated compared to the top, more attacking sides like Sydney, Brisbane and GWS.
In fairness, Melbourne tried to play with more flair to start the season, but eventually went back to its norm.
“They’ve got an issue with their profile they’re going to have to address,” Demons legend Garry Lyon said on Fox Footy’s On the Couch.
“There were times over the summer months they said they were going to try and be more aggressive and score more. In the end, they revert back to kind.
“So what a summer coming up. (Their current style) hasn’t worked.
“They are fundamentally not a great ball use team. If you want to play a certain way, be more expansive and take greater risks through the middle of the ground, you’ve got to be able to use the ball.”
Triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown added: “They can’t score, it’s the same problem.
“The hardest part of their game to get going is offence. Whether it’s offensive ball movement, the execution inside 50 and the personnel ahead of the ball,.
“They’ve had all the defensive stuff down pat for several years.”
But even the defensive stuff hasn’t been great in 2024. Heading into Round 22 they rank seventh for points against – just three points ahead of Hawthorn, who’ve invested much less in their key defensive stocks – after finishing top two in that stat in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
So even the one thing Melbourne could rely on isn’t that trustworthy now. And it points to a broader decline.
Should things remain as is and the club again struggles in 2025, you sense Goodwin, who’s contracted until 2026, will be under serious pressure – much like Luke Beveridge, despite a drought-breaking flag at the Bulldogs, has been under the pump at times.
After all, if frustrations reach a boiling point, it’s much easier to part ways with the coach than with the superstar players.
The trend right now would suggest the club will continue to move in the wrong direction if they don’t change in some shape or form… and bring fans through the gates again.
So while Melbourne has endured a brutal 12 months, the next 12 months shape as even more defining.
Source Agencies
