Melbourne captain Max Gawn has conceded there would be “fractures” in the Demons playing group after missing out on finals but hosed down renewed reports that superstar teammate Christian Petracca wanted out of the club.
Gawn, who has re-signed until the end of 2027, said he was in “open conversations” with Petracca and denied any suggestion the playing group was upset with him spending time in Noosa while he recovered from the car-crash-like injuries in June that forced him to spend two weeks in hospital.
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Melbourne will close out its 2024 campaign against Collingwood on Friday night after which Gawn said he would take the time to talk to all the important people at the club to work on “how we make this club better”.
But while he said everyone, including himself, was disappointed at how the season played out, mixed messages of player discontent “can circulate around” as they express their frustration.
“There’s always fractures in a team which has played finals for four years and now isn’t playing finals,” Gawn said on Monday.
“We’re pretty flat on that. At the halfway mark we were top four, that’s pretty flattening.
“My mum and dad, if they are talking to friends, would say ‘Max is pretty disappointed at the moment’ and I am. You can see how things can circulate around.”
Last week, both Melbourne chief executive Gary Pert and coach Simon Goodwin were adamant Petracca, who is contracted until the end of 2029, would see out the remaining years of his contract “and beyond” after it was reported he could seek a trade.
Despite those assertions, more reports over the weekend suggested Petracca “wants out” in part due to internal angst about him spending so much time away from the club while injured.
Gawn, however, moved to shut that down and said post-season conversations would all be geared around healing any rifts and putting the club back on course for 2025.
“Obviously, the Trac stuff, I’m in open dialogue with Trac, I don’t see the build-up that has happened,” he told Triple M.
“He went away for nine, 10 weeks, four of them to Noosa. He had to spend a few weeks at home after the surgery. I’m happy he did that. I’m happy he went away and any player that is struggling with anything that’s going on, it doesn’t have to be two weeks in the ICU that Trac had, it could be a rolled ankle.
“Anyone that is struggling, more than happy to grant leave. That will all play out, there will be conversations held over the next two weeks.
“I’m pretty focused on Collingwood to be honest.
“We play Friday, then Saturday and Sunday will be a write-off, then come Monday, Tuesday, I will start talking to the board, CEO, Goody, all the players about how we make this club better and I think that’s the way to do it.”
Source Agencies
