Melbourne head of leadership Jim Plunkett becomes latest off-field departure with reviews ongoing
One of Simon Goodwin’s closest allies at Melbourne has left the club after almost a decade in the latest off-field shake-up to hit the Demons.
The off-field changes have continued at Melbourne with the club’s head of leadership, Jim Plunkett, stepping away to run his own business.
The highly-popular leadership and learning boss has parted ways with the club after 10 years with the Demons helping run the club’s team-building and connection program.
Plunkett, 46, has been a pillar of support for Melbourne players throughout turbulent periods and was particularly close with coach Simon Goodwin.
However, as the club weighs up whether to part ways with star on-baller Clayton Oliver, Plunkett has joined forwards coach Greg Stafford in moving on from the club.
Plunkett was caught up in tension at the club in the wake of a disappointing 2020 season when former president Kate Roffey sent text messages to then president Glen Bartlett, saying the players were too “reliant” on Plunkett.
“They are so reliant on him for some reason. Boot him off,” Roffey said.
Roffey apologised to Plunkett after the Herald Sun exposed the board fight between Bartlett and the club which has since been taken to court.
Plunkett, who was people and culture manager at the time, will commit full-time to his own business Telos Performance Partners.
Plunkett has joined forces with Stafford and high performance wizard Darren Burgess at Telos.
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