By Jake Niall
While all AFL senior coaches suffer the slings and arrows of feral fans and cop greater scrutiny than cabinet ministers, at least four or five enter 2025 in somewhat parlous positions.
Simon Goodwin shapes as the most intriguing of the quartet who begin this AFL season needing to show upward progress to be assured of remaining at the helm in 2026.
Under pressure: Demons coach Simon Goodwin.Credit: AFL Photos
Adelaide’s Matthew Nicks has the most challenging position off the tee – he really begins in the rough – having been unable to play finals in five years with a playing list that was about to flatline when he arrived.
No AFL coach has survived six years without a finals appearance and Adelaide’s list reconstruction is incomplete.
Luke Beveridge is beginning his 11th season, having roused the dormant Dogs from round eight last year, but without a contract for 2026.
Beveridge seems relaxed about his lot, however, having emerged from an external review (in 2023) by Peter Jackson with more internal cohesion and clout. If Beveridge was to exit, I suspect it would be a genuinely agreed – and agreeable – parting of club and coach.
The Dogs will not have Jamarra Ugle-Hagan for the early rounds, as he deals with personal issues, nor will they have Adam Treloar and Liam Jones for several games. Beveridge will need another super season from his skipper Marcus Bontempelli and for Rory Lobb to continue his second act as successful key defender.
Justin Longmuir’s position at Fremantle is appreciably stronger than Nicks, by dint of the talent the Dockers have steadily acquired, but he would want to make finals this year. Fremantle, who lost key players and blew it in the final rounds of 2024, have gained the mercurial talents of Shai Bolton.
Ken Hinkley’s handover arrangement with Josh Carr has removed one senior coach from incessant speculation. We will be watching and assessing the team dynamic under Hinkley and his Dauphin. At least everyone has certainty now, Hinkley having lived season to season for years.
Michael Voss survived the inquisition of 2023, when the Blues vaulted from bottom four at round 13 to a preliminary final. Last year, injuries unravelled a year of potential contention. Voss is contracted for 2026 and, as the sober new president Rob Priestley preaches “unity and stability”, Voss is unlikely to have his feet held to the fire.
Blues coach Michael Voss will be hoping for a healthier list in 2025.Credit: Getty Images
That said, Carlton are capable of winning the premiership over the next few years, sand is trickling through the Patrick Cripps’ hourglass (he’s 30 next month) and Voss should be assessed accordingly.
Goodwin’s position is fascinating because Melbourne have a strong playing list without the foundations or resilience of a strong club.
Their president and chief executive have departed, Christian Petracca had been unhappy – the King’s Birthday collision fractured more than his ribs – and Clayton Oliver’s travails made him a pale facsimile of himself. Petracca is talking positively, though, Oliver has had a full pre-season and if Steven May and Jake Lever regain their defensive footing and some younger Dees push through, they can rebound.
Goodwin has been subjected to extraordinary scrutiny and opprobrium for a premiership coach, in part due to the combination of board ructions and player problems (not least the drug suspension of Joel Smith). In 2024, the Demons were dented – by Oliver, Petracca’s sore points and injury. President-designate Steven Smith will be as crucial as anyone on the field, considering the distractions that Goodwin encountered.
Goodwin has to find a path forward, in every sense. His team defends well via May and Lever and the centre square can be formidable again if Oliver rediscovers touch. Scoring from entries has long been problematic. Kysaiah Pickett and Bayley Fritsch need a key position pillar to support them. Is Jacob van Rooyen ready? Maybe.
It is conceivable that this year, John Longmire will be cast as a veritable stalking horse for teetering coaches.
Goodwin’s position as an AFL coach is strengthened by the realpolitik of his former club, the Crows. If Adelaide fall well short of (or even just miss) the top eight, he would be a popular choice for the masses – and a few ex-teammates – to take Nicks’ position.
Should the Crows struggle in the first third of the season, the Adelaide media and faithful will turn on Nicks and turn a lonely eye to Goodwin, as prospective prodigal son. To survive, Nicks will be counting on a rise from Jake Soligo in the midfield, Riley Thilthorpe in attack and for the becalming sage influence of Neil Balme on the club board.
The trouble for Adelaide (15th last year), as for Melbourne (14th with 11 wins), is the sheer volume of teams – Collingwood, Fremantle, St Kilda, Essendon and at least one from the top eight – they need to overtake to make finals.
If Goodwin is burdened with more expectation, he also has more guns in his holster.
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