Paul Roos slams Melbourne after their 92-point loss to Fremantle in round 12
Ex-Melbourne coach Paul Roos says the current players aren’t listening to coach Simon Goodwin and are just relying on their individual talent to win games.
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Former Melbourne coach Paul Roos says the Demons rely too much on individual talent and aren’t listening to their coach Simon Goodwin.
Roos labelled the loss to Fremantle on Sunday “horrific” and said there was a communication breakdown between the coaching staff and players around the game plan.
“They are just relying on their talent,” Roos said on the ABC.
“They really are a talent-based team at the moment. That is the biggest thing that would be concerning Simon that whatever he is telling them to do they are not listening.
“They are relying on their talent and they have got enough talent to win games as we saw. Max Gawn destroyed St Kilda the week before.
“Jake Lever has been amazing as an intercept marker, but when you take that out, there is not a lot of substance and structure around what they are doing at the moment.”
Roos, who led Sydney Swans to a premiership in 2005, was headhunted by the club in 2013 to help lift the Demons out of their darkest chapter after a two-win season.
Goodwin worked under Roos as an assistant before taking over from Roos as part of a succession plan ahead of the 2017 season.
Goodwin led the Demons to the 2021 premiership in his fifth year in charge.
But Roos said the club’s plan was “falling apart” ahead of the King’s Birthday blockbuster against Collingwood on Monday.
Melbourne is in 10th spot on the ladder with seven wins from 12 games including losses to Fremantle and West Coast over the past three matches.
“At the moment they are so reliant on their best players playing well because the system that Simon is trying to teach them is falling apart,” Roos said.
“That was a really poor performance. Every now and then that happens. It happens to the best teams every now and then.
“What Simon is saying is (that) the trend at the Melbourne Football Club is alarming, and that is what the coach is saying to the public and believe me that is what the coach would be saying to his players.”
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