Swamped by chaos, the Demons can no longer bury their heads in the sand, writes Mark Robinson

No more denials. No more killing the messenger. No more shutting up shop and hoping it will go away. The Demons need to urgently self-assess, writes Mark Robinson.

While Joel Smith’s career remains clouded, darker clouds hover above the Melbourne Football Club.

Perhaps now, after the continuous trashing of former president Glen Bartlett’s belief there were behavioural issues at the club dating back to 2021, people in charge there might actually admit there is a problem.

No more denials. No more killing the messenger. No more shutting up shop and hoping it – and Bartlett – will go away.

The Demons need to urgently self-assess.

The perception is the club is on fire, that it is besieged by cultural and behavioural issues. They will probably deny there’s a crisis, but no one will believe them.

And they couldn’t believe it themselves, surely?

The AFL also needs to intervene.

The league has been aware of the concerns aired by Bartlett and while it has distanced itself from the former president, those concerns are now slapping the league in the face.

New chief executive Andrew Dillon and head of integrity Stephen Meade have their first crisis. Their first call surely was to Demons chief executive Gary Pert. Their second call to president Kate Roffey.

Joel Smith failed a drug test at the end of the home and away season. Picture: Michael Klein

Just two questions: What the hell is going on at your football club? And what are you doing about it?

The board has already asked questions of the football program after successive finals losses, and now has deeper, cultural questions to be answered.

The team lacks discipline. Not from all players, but some.

Rumours are rife about some players’ behaviour. Too much drinking. Too much other stuff. Poor decisions.

Players are disrespecting the brand, their teammates and the good people at the club.

You can only imagine how gutted the likes of Max Gawn, Christian Petracca, Jack Viney, Angus Brayshaw and Jake Lever were when the Smith news broke.

A couple of days before a game, mate? Two weeks before the finals, mate?

That’s not a mate.

That’s a betrayal.

Those leaders also need to self-assess. Are they not strong enough on some of their teammates?

Also, has the coach Simon Goodwin, the assistant coaches and head of football Alan Richardson allowed hubris to strangle the culture because a premiership was won?

A potential era of greatness is quickly spiralling into the abyss.

Roffey and Pert need answers and they need to show leadership.

And they might need to make decisions about who leads this football team.

Smith‘s foolish decision to take cocaine ahead of round 23 is the latest controversy and intrigue to engulf the footy club.

Most recently, Smith’s teammate Clayton Oliver, who is dealing with mental health issues, last week was rushed to hospital after what Demons officials described as a seizure.

Clayton Oliver was rushed to hospital last week. Picture: Getty Images

One East Melbourne resident recently revealed that Oliver, after a light training session at Yarra Park in the summer of 2022, bent a bunch of windscreen wipers on cars in a side street.

The resident confronted him, the player ignored him, and an embarrassed teammate was left to apologise.

And there was the punch-on because one player derided another for not being a premiership player.

Just silly, childish behaviour.

Significantly more alarming, was when, in late 2020, a player approached a board member with concerns about some of his teammate’s off-field behaviour.

It was about this time, Bartlett, as president, explored the possibility of introducing hair testing for senior office holders at the club, including for the coaches.

Pert initially agreed. In an email to Bartlett and fellow board member Mohan Jesudason on March 11, 2021, Pert replied he “totally” agreed “that the board and CEO should be open to random drug testing, including hair testing”.

“I think the executive, head coach and assistant coaches should be able to be target-tested if there is a specific concern by the board or CEO that their behaviour at work is in any way being affected by illicit drugs, including alcohol,” he added.

But Pert also argued: “I don’t think we should have a specific policy around managers and staff, that relates to private time outside of work commitments.

“The reason for this, broad community statistics indicate that if you have a young workforce like us, if you were (to) hair test them, 50 per cent or more would test positive and if this is the case, what will we do regarding penalties and terminations?”

Glen Bartlett and Simon Goodwin embrace after a Melbourne win in 2018. Picture: Getty Images

The alleged behaviour of Goodwin was also discussed around that time. At one point, there was consideration at board level of stepping him down.

Goodwin has continuously denied he has behavioural issues.

Bartlett and Jesudason also had a meeting with Gill McLachlan and Richard Goyder, where they tabled his concerns. But the concerns were flushed away when Bartlett, he claims, was railroaded out of the presidency.

Bartlett is suing four Melbourne board members, including Roffey, in the Federal Court for misleading and deceptive conduct and defamation.

Goodwin has also lawyered up, engaging top Sydney defamation litigator Rebekah Giles.

For a while now, the Demons have been creating their own brand-bashing headlines.

What happens to Smith will be processed by the player, the AFL and Sports Integrity Australia.

Depending on the circumstances, he could be suspended for four years or for a month.

The ensuing question for him is why did he take cocaine just days before a match, knowing that if he was to be tested, it could still be in his system?

He’s either spun the roulette wheel and ran the risk or there’s sizeable mental health issues and the gear was a coping mechanism.

It’s easy to claim the latter, but it’s much easier if it’s the truth.

He is said to be devastated.

He will probably tell his story at some stage but he’s not talking now. And neither is the club.

For a 27-year-old professional who is thoroughly educated about the pitfalls of drug taking, it was an incredibly bad decision.

As a consequence, his career is in jeopardy and his football club is swamped by chaos.

Originally published as Swamped by chaos, the Demons can no longer bury their heads in the sand, writes Mark Robinson