Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin won’t be moved from new game style despite five straight losses
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin won’t be making drastic playing changes despite a winless start to the season and other coaches being linked to his job.
AFL
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Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin concedes the winless Demons have been “far too easy to play against” this season but remains committed to their newfound game style declaring “change is hard”.
Pressure is mounting on Goodwin with the Demons 0-5 to start the season and speculation he could struggle to keep his job should the losses continue to mount.
Western Bulldogs premiership coach Luke Beveridge, who is out of contract at the end of this season and made his playing debut at Melbourne in 1989, has been mentioned as a possible coaching target.
With the spotlight on them ahead of Saturday’s MCG clash with Fremantle, Goodwin is demanding a lift from his players defensively but is adamant the “better way” in which they’re trying to play will provoke greater scoring.
“We’ll certainly stick with how we’re trying to operate in terms of our ball movement,” Goodwin said.
“But we need to change how we defend, we’re far too easy to play against.
“When people look at us and the lack of pressure and the stuff we’re doing without the ball, that’s what concerns people and it concerns me as a coach.
“For a long time as a club we’ve valued it to a high level and when we get it back, and we’ll see it pretty quickly, everyone will see it, we’re going to train it, you’ll see this fight, this resilience and you’ll see a team that’s hard to play against again.”
The Demons kicked five of their eight goals against Essendon in a positive third quarter on Saturday night.
Goodwin believes the 15 minutes of free-flowing footy Melbourne delivered in that term is proof its new method stacks up.
“The reality is we’re trying to change in a few areas about how we play and that can be difficult and change is hard,” he said.
“Sometimes you’ll fail doing it but we’re committed to it, we’re committed to going down this path of trying to play a different way, a new way, a better way.
“With that will come a little bit more scoring, right now we’re getting our opportunities but not quite taking them, which is a positive.
“But what we’re doing without the ball isn’t anywhere near the level it needs to be and I think we saw for 15 minutes, that intensity, that fight, that resilience without the ball was there and we were able to score.”
Goodwin says the whole club — including himself — needs to adjust to Melbourne’s new style and is backing the tighter-than-ever playing group to quickly click into gear.
“The leaders are pretty clear about what they’re going to drive and they’re going to go after it,” he said.
“Change can be difficult and they’re trying to lead this change, this new way of going about things, they’re committed to it and they’re as united as I have seen them.
“They’re connected off field better they’ve ever been and we’ve got to take that connection on field and start showing with our method, our intent, with some of the things we’ve been working on that there is a lot of fight in this footy club.”
Melbourne has Richmond and West Coast in the fortnight following Fremantle.
Originally published as Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin won’t be moved from new game style despite five straight losses
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