AFL finals: Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin adamant his players won’t fall to the pressure of expectation

After 57 years in the premiership wilderness Melbourne is odds-on to advance to the AFL grand final, and the weight of expectation will come to a head on Friday night.

Demons head coach Simon Goodwin and captain Max Gawn are plotting Geelon’ downfall. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

The weight of expectation on Melbourne has been cast aside by an unshakeable belief among the Demons playing group that has already sent an early warning message to Geelong.

That’s the message from Demons coach Simon Goodwin who, with a grand final spot up for grabs against the Cats on Friday night, said “everyone is under pressure” as his team looks to end a 57-year premiership drought.

Melbourne is odds-on to topple the Cats in Perth, and Goodwin said they proved their ability to “win from any position” with a miracle round 23 win over Geelong that provided him tools for their preliminary final stoush.

But while every game plan can unravel when the whips start cracking and the cost of losing becomes too much, Goodwin said that wouldn’t happen to his players because they wanted to “go after” the opportunity in front of them.

“There’s pressure on everyone,” Goodwin said.

“If you look at history and circumstances of all teams still in the running, there is pressure on every side for a variety of reasons.

“Our pressure comes because we haven’t won it for such a long period of time. We think we have worked to create an opportunity to put our best on show, that’s the way we are looking at it.

“We want to make sure we respect the opportunity in front of us and go after it.

“That’s what the players have been brilliant at all year. They have been able to reset themselves and been able to understand the importance of staying in the moment and it’s no different now.

“Just because it’s closer, that doesn’t change our thought process.”

We're coming.

It's time to #GiveEmHell ✊

📝: https://t.co/ZzUV5o3bnFpic.twitter.com/hMppuDwj4L

— Melbourne Demons (@melbournefc) August 22, 2021

Goodwin also said the Demons didn’t carry the “scars” of previous missed opportunities, like the Cats, who lost last year’s grand final to Richmond.

Cooped up in a quarantine facility in Perth, Goodwin has been pacing around the carpark as his “escape” from football, living every day surrounded by his players.

A full-on session of match simulation last weekend, which required some “excited” players to be pulled back a little bit, also helped prime his men to face Geelong.

“A little bit of flesh on flesh is really important this time of year for the competitive juices and we want to make sure that’s a hallmark of how we play,” Goodwin said.

“We need to train it, it’s really important for our mindset.”

The Demons celebrate after their last-gasp win over Geelong. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

That mindset is one of belief they can beat the Cats too, given recent experiences.

Goodwin said correcting “three minutes” of poor effort from the Demons was one key takeout from that remarkable encounter in round 23.

Melbourne came from as much as 44 points down during the match and from 32 points down at three-quarter time to win with an after-the-siren goal from captain Max Gawn.

It sealed the minor premiership and pushed the Demons into a qualifying final against Brisbane, which Goodwin’s team won convincingly, further reminding his team how good their best football is.

“You can draw a lot of belief in terms of how you play and that the game is never over,” Goodwin said.

“We have come from behind a number of times this year in really important games for us. And obviously against the opposition we are playing against, it was only four weeks ago.

“It’s a new challenge, a new game and a new opportunity. We believe in the way we play, we think we are pretty sound in the foundations we have but we need to execute.

“The challenge for any team is to be at their best at the right time and that’s our aim.”