Mick Malthouse says Kate Roffey, Gary Pert must do more to support Max Gawn and Simon Goodwin
Coaching legend Mick Malthouse has turned the blowtorch on Melbourne president Kate Roffey and CEO Gary Pert, saying it’s “about time they stood up” and took heat off Simon Goodwin and Max Gawn.
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Three-time AFL premiership coach Mick Malthouse has slammed the off-field leadership of the Melbourne Football Club, saying too much of the public defence of the club had been left to coach Simon Goodwin and captain Max Gawn this year.
Speaking on ABC radio, Malthouse said Demons president Kate Roffey and chief executive Gary Pert should have been more vocal in their support of Goodwin and the playing group.
“Melbourne has been under the pump for basically the whole year … with (Christian) Petracca coming out and displaying in many respects an uncertainty about his role at Melbourne,” Malthouse said on ABC.
“Max Gawn has been magnificent. We hear from him and we hear from a couple of others, but we have not heard from the president and we have not heard from the CEO.
“It is about time they stood up and showed some leadership, not just for the football followers, but for the Melbourne supporters, and most importantly, the playing group.
“You have to stand up.”
Malthouse said Pert’s pre-season comments about Melbourne having the best culture he had seen in football, during an tumultuous off-season, had been a mistake.
“Clearly, that was a shuffle against what everyone suspected and knew,” he said.
“The players are the first to feel it (outside pressures). They didn’t need that distraction, they (the players) didn’t need to defend the coaches.
“Some players internalise (the pressure), other players display it, but whatever way it goes, it affects their form.
“There is no question Melbourne has been affected by what took place in the pre-season.”
The Demons missed the finals for the first time since 2020, with a host of challenges inside the club, including Petracca’s frustration with the direction of the club.
GAWN DECLARES DEES ERA NOT OVER YET
Courageous Melbourne ruckman Max Gawn is “bullish” about his team’s ability to bounce back next season, saying he is confident a postseason reset and the regeneration of youth can propel the Demons back up the ladder again in 2025.
As he sat in the rooms with a well-deserved beer in his hands, and with his wife Jess by his side, Gawn conceded this had been one of the more challenging seasons of his five years at the helm as captain.
But the 32-year-old insisted he can’t wait to get back running in a fortnight after a quick let-down and is enthusiastic about what next year might bring for the club after they bowed out of 2024 with a disappointing 46-point loss to Collingwood.
“We are not done yet; there is more for us to achieve,” Gawn told the Sunday Herald Sun.
“I am pretty bullish about the group we have. We have been around the top for a long time and we will leave no stone unturned to get back there again.”
This will be the first time Melbourne has missed the finals since 2020, the year before Gawn led the Demons to a drought-breaking premiership.
But the six-time All-Australian – who is likely to make it to the team of the year for a seventh time when the 2024 side is announced – believes a break from September could strangely enough assist the team in chasing more success.
“If you look at Collingwood in 2021, they finished 17th, then had a big break and a big pre-season and fought back,” he said.
“Geelong missed the finals last year and they look like they are refreshed. Sydney missed in 2020 and have come back looking refreshed.
“This sounds like a shocking statement, because we all want to play finals, but there are some positives to being in a position where you can freshen up (as a group).
“We’ve had a good campaign (since 2021) and it has been fun. Now we can have a break then get back to work.”
Gawn says Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca will not only be playing with the Demons next year, but will be back playing huge roles in launching the team up the ladder.
But he is just as enthusiastic about the younger core of players who have had to shine in the absence of so many experienced stars this year, particularly at the back end of the season.
“You certainly didn’t think we would start a game this year without (Steven) May, (Jake) Lever, (Christian) Petracca, (Angus) Brayshaw and (Clayton) Oliver,” he said.
“I looked left (at a centre bounce on Friday night) and saw Marty Hore, ‘Tommo’ (Adam Tomlinson) and Tom McDonald, and then I looked in the middle and saw Ed Langdon, Judd McVee and Trent Rivers.
“It’s like a new chapter for us, we have been sort of rebuilding on the run at stages of this season, but we have still got a really good core of leaders amongst the group.”
He said one of the most pleasing aspects of the season has been the manner in which the younger members have stamped their impact.
“‘Riv’ (Trent Rivers), Judd (McVee), Koltyn (Tholstrup), Caleb (Windsor) … it’s exciting to see the development of some of those guys,” Gawn said.
“Jacob van Rooyen is probably a role 30-year-olds normally play.
“Daniel Turner, we’ve found one there. Kade Chandler played 23 games this year.
“There are some really promising signs there and we’ve still got a couple of players around my age, which is handy. ‘Melky’ (Jake Melksham) is my age and so is Steven May.”
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