Simon Goodwin failed to act when Melbourne’s forward line fell apart

Simon Goodwin has been put on the heat seat for failing to act as his team was sent packing from the finals in devastating fashion.

Goody didn’t make a move until too late. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has been dragged over the coals following a disappointing end to the reigning premiers campaign.

After finishing second on the ladder, the Demons were sent packing from the finals in straight sets after going down to the Brisbane Lions.

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The defeats at the hands of Brisbane and Sydney exposed the glaring flaw in Melbourne’s game with many turning the spotlight on Goodwin for his failure to adapt.

Offensively in both games Melbourne just failed to fire as their countless trips inside their forward half were too easily defended by their opponents.

In the final quarter against Brisbane, Goodwin rolled the dice and sent defender Harrison Petty forward who gave them a serious spark. But it was too little too late.

Mark Robinson said the coach failed to accept his teams downfall was on the offensive end and instead pointed the finger at the teams ball movement.

“Goody wouldn’t accept the forwards were struggling,” Robinson said on AFL 360.

“The amount of times Ben Brown and Luke Jackson dropped the mark, had jack s**t to do with ball movement. They are there to take marks and win games of football and they didn’t.

“Right at the end, Goody said ‘we’ve got to move Petty forward’. They are in control at half time, they are not moving anything (player-wise). It’s that halfway through the third quarter when the game starts to shift – ‘we can’t take a mark, we can’t kick a goal’, does he then pull the trigger then and say ‘Petty move forward’ and not at the 20-min mark of the last quarter?

“These are these moments – does Goody think back or the coaching staff, and think: ‘We could have done something then?’

“Petty wasn’t doing much in defence at that stage because they kicked six goals against them in that third quarter.”

Goodwin wasn’t having it. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

AFL 360 co-host Gerard Whately said the team had become predictable as the season dragged on.

“In the back portion of the season, I feel like I called the same game over and over with Melbourne,” he said.

“They would start like a German band, miss the chances so they weren’t as far ahead as they should have been, then the opposition would figure out how to stop kicking to their intercept defenders, ratchet up the pressure and that’s it. Rinse and repeat.”

Robinson rubbished the suggestion it was fine for Melbourne to be sent packing after they broke their premiership drought.

“(They say) ‘It’s OK, we won last year’ – no! It’s not good enough! They’re going to have a pretty big review – Alan Richardson, Simon Goodwin down there and say what went wrong?” Robinson urged.

“They were besieged by bad luck. Tom McDonald gets an injury and he’s out for the year and people go, ‘Gee we really miss Tom McDonald’. Ben Brown fell in a hole. Weideman didn’t stand up when he got an opportunity so he’s out.

“Everyone knew how they were going to play.

“Other teams have made changes to their list – look at Geelong, all the transformation in personnel and position. It didn’t seem like that with Melbourne (in 2022).”

Lets throw some magnets. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Former Melbourne great Garry Lyon was quick to turn the blowtorch onto the underperforming forward line.

“This has been a malaise for them throughout the course of the year,” Garry Lyon said On The Couch.

“They haven’t been able to address it where they’ve been bundled out.

“Simon Goodwin said your vulnerabilities are exposed under the heat of finals footy and it came to the fore the last couple of weeks.”

Nick Riewoldt agreed with Lyon’s take and said it was because of their refusal to change up the forward line that got them eliminated.

“This was the part really that cost them their season,” he said.

“They’ve got to fix their issues in front of the ball.

“They threw Petty forward and he looked good! He looked like a forward!”

“He looked like their best key forward since David Neitz!” Lyon added.