Max Gawn will give evidence in counterfeit case against former AFL players agent Ricky Nixon

Demons skipper Max Gawn will go from star player to star witness in a counterfeit case against former AFL agent Ricky Nixon.

Melbourne skipper Max Gawn has been named in the prosecution witness list in a counterfeit memorabilia case being brought against former AFL players agent Ricky Nixon.

Mr Nixon, 62, fronted the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, accused of knowingly selling 11 footballs with forged signatures to diehard Demons fans, following the club’s historic grand final win in 2021.

On Tuesday, police made their witness list public, naming Gawn alongside six civilian witnesses and a police informant.

According to his barrister Adam Chernok, Nixon wanted to avoid players appearing “at all costs”.

“He doesn’t want to put these players through the hassle of coming to court,” Mr Chernok said.

Nixon sold the allegedly counterfeit-signed footies on Facebook. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

The court heard Nixon allegedly advertised the signed footballs for sale on Facebook, before arranging the transaction and dispatch of the balls to unsuspecting customers.

Each football was sent with a certificate of authentication.

Police say Nixon knew the signatures and authentication certificates were fake at the time of dispatch.

The court heard Gawn had made two statements to police, identifying his own purported signature as fake, stating “it was not my signature – it is longer than mine and the letter A is different”.

The court heard all Melbourne players who had signed various balls following the grand final win had been shown the signed footballs in question and made similar statements, denying their authenticity.

The case has had a number of adjournments due to “issues with disclosure”, with Mr Chernok characterising the police case as “incoherent”.

Melbourne skipper Max Gawn is set to give evidence in Nixon’s case.

“We’ve made numerous requests for disclosure over time and they’ve not been met — particularly in the form of notes (from the informant) in the absence of a statement,” Mr Chernok said.

“Charges have been laid willy-nilly … it’s an incoherent mess.”

Nixon was charged in November 2023 with 10 counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception and later with nine counts of make or use false documents related to the alleged fraud.

He has previously claimed he bought the footballs from a person who told him they worked for an AFL licensee.

“To my surprise and total shock three of the balls were fake,” Nixon told Sam Newman’s podcast, You Cannot Be Serious, in November 2021.

“I am the one who’s been stooged – not the other way around.”

The matter was adjourned for a two-day hearing to begin on August 25.

The former agent was also arrested in April over allegedly threatening to harm a Victoria Police officer online.