Demons announce key review findings, but questions remain

Melbourne’s much-anticipated football department review has accepted the club’s off-field drama had hurt the team on the field and has called for the game style to be fine-tuned over summer.

Key findings from the football review, released the day after club chief executive Gary Pert announced he would resign from that role by the end of the year, recommended the Demons add a second midfield coach to harness the clear strength in their playing list.

Former Demons president Kate Roffey, and outgoing club chief executive Gary Pert.Credit: AFL Photos

It also highlighted the player leadership group needed to play a greater role in “shaping and sustaining our high-performance environment, setting clear expectations and driving performance outcomes.”

The football review included 40 interviews with players, coaches, football department staff, and external industry experts.

The interviews were conducted by former All Blacks manager Darren Shand, then-CEO Gary Pert, and president Brad Green.

The two reviews were not released in full, instead Green outlined their key findings in a letter to members.

“The review emphasised the need to refine our method of play, focusing on all facets of the game – with the ball, without the ball and in the contest. During the pre-season, our coaches will work on evolving our game style to maximise the strengths of our playing group, aiming for a style that not only propels us back into the finals but withstands the pressures of finals football. As a competitive measure, specific details of our game style remain confidential,” Green said in his letter to members.

“While the review has highlighted areas for improvement, it also reaffirms that we are well-positioned to turn challenges into opportunities. With strong foundations in place and a clear path forward, we are committed to driving the Melbourne Football Club back to success in 2025.”

An external expert has been hired for a club-wide program but with a specific goal of working with the team’s leaders.

“We know that 2024 was a tough year, both on and off the field. We faced some big challenges, and we recognise that certain off-field issues caused disruptions. We admit that some situations could have been managed better, and we’re committed to learning from these experiences to handle the inevitable challenges more effectively in the future,” Green said.

Green said much of the detail of the review remained confidential “to maintain a competitive edge” but he said the club “felt it was important to share the high-level findings and priorities with our members”.

It also identified the need to “refresh energy and leadership within the Assistant Coaching group supporting Senior Coach Simon Goodwin”.

The Melbourne review report also stated:

• The club can play finals next season
• The development of young players must be fast-tracked
• A high-performance committee and a member engagement committee will be established
• A governance working group would be established

As this masthead revealed this week former captain Nathan Jones will return as one of the two midfield coaches along with Sam Radford while Simon Goodwin’s former teammate Nathan Bassett comes in as backline coach.

The Age also reported on Thursday the review recognised the toll the stress of the last two years had taken on coach Simon Goodwin with legal action between the club and the former president.

The review recommended all efforts be made to help Goodwin “lighten up” in his mood and dealings with players and ease the burden on him.

The release of the report comes after three years of turbulence on and off the field, and found the events of the past 12 months had forced coach Simon Goodwin to shoulder a heavy burden for the club.

In a year of rancour, Kate Roffey stepped down as president, replaced in September by former Demons skipper Brad Green.

Pert will be retained as a consultant on the development of a training and administrative base at Caulfield Racecourse.

The separate review of Melbourne’s board made recommendations for changes “that would support our objectives”, but they were not outlined to members.

The board review, conducted by governance and culture expert Megan Dwyer recommended the formation of new board committees, a governance working group and fine-tuning the skills matrix for the board.

Steven Smith and Chris Barlow have nominated to join the board with the intention that Smith, a former champion player and MCC president, takes over from Green as president in 12 months time.

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