By Peter Ryan
Melbourne president Brad Green has told members the club will learn from the experiences of 2024 after they endorsed his plans by electing club-backed board candidates Stephen Smith, Sally Freeman, Angela Williams and Chris Barlow.
The result was an overwhelming show of support for Green’s plans for the club, with nearly 25 per cent of eligible members casting 8947 votes to elect the four directors.
Brad Green, now Demons president, after his last game for Melbourne in 2012.Credit: Joe Armao
Smith joins the board with plans to become president at the end of next year as the club revamps itself under Green, who took over from Kate Roffey in September.
Green said his approach to being president came from the heart and he was determined the club would be “honest, humble and authentic” as they strive to improve their connection with members and deliver on the objective of building a training and administration base at Caulfield under a new CEO, who will be appointed next year.
Green conceded 2024 was a tough year for Melbourne and said they had listened to members and other feedback as they worked towards becoming a club that made supporters feel proud to belong.
“Certain off-field issues could have [been] managed better and we are committed to learning from these experiences,” Green said.
Christian Petracca hits the training track at Gosch’s Paddock after a rocky end to 2024Credit: Joe Armao
During the season it became clear club champion Christian Petracca was dissatisfied after he suffered a season-ending injury against Collingwood in their King’s Birthday clash. Later in the year, four-time best-and-fairest winner Clayton Oliver met with Geelong after the club flirted with putting him up for trade.
Football manager Alan Richardson admitted the club had a conversation with Oliver ahead of the trade period about “what would be in the best interests of the club and Clayton”.
“It was a challenging period for Clayton. It was a challenging period at the club but we have had some great conversations off the back of that situation and I can say that he is in a really good spot,” Richardson said.
Both players eventually resolved their issues and will continue in 2025 and senior coach Simon Goodwin said he had been “blown away” by how both players had returned for pre-season. The team was focusing on establishing connections under the guidance of mindset coach Ben Crowe as soon as they returned and went on a camp in Bright.
Smith received 8363 votes in the election, Freeman 6833 votes, Williams 6276 votes, and Barlow 5934. Of those unelected, Peter Lawrence received 2178 votes, Tony Pagone 1953, Ron Gelberg 1181, Jo McCoy 1088 and Patrick Roseman 725 votes.
Freeman told the 200 members attending the AGM at the MCG that legal costs had a huge impact on the club’s financial result and said the board was focused on good governance to ensure such costs were not repeated. In November, the club eventually reached a confidential settlement with former president Glen Bartlett, ending a three-year dispute, and also fought a court battle over governance issues with supporter and board candidate Lawrence.
The club plans to invest $15 million into its Caulfield project and will also launch a fundraising program, which outgoing CEO Gary Pert said was aiming to raise $25 million to complement finance received from other potential funding sources. The club’s future fund will not be touched.
Pert’s decision to step down as CEO came at the same time the club completed a review into the football department and its board.
Richardson said the review identified the need to support the club’s next generation of leaders to produce more consistency on and off the field.
“We want to get back to loving the game and loving our footy club,” Richardson said.
The club has appointed Nathan Jones and Nathan Bassett as assistant coaches, added Max Viney as a combat coach and also appointed Crowe, who worked with tennis star Ash Barty and Richmond, to work with the players on their mindset.
Bombers members back Barham
Meanwhile, Essendon members also backed president David Barham in his bid for a new term, returning him to the board alongside premiership Bomber Dean Solomon, who received the most votes with 7459.
Barham has been on the board since 2015 and faced a challenge from dual premiership player Paul Weston but prevailed with 5560 votes compared to Weston’s 3829.
Melissa Verner Green (3016 votes) lost her position on the board after seven years of service. Luke Maxfield polled 771 votes.
The result was a show of support for Barham’s calls for members to be patient as the Bombers build the foundations for success after a barren period. Their most recent premiership was won in 2000 when Solomon was a player.
“This re-election is a clear sign from our members that they want the club to continue focusing on stability, unity, and alignment, as we strive to deliver on our plan to bring sustained on-field success back to Essendon,” Barham said.
A vote to amend the club’s constitution and include a resolution proposed by the No Pokies at Essendon (NoPE) group was not passed. Only 36.2 per cent of members voted in favour of the proposal. To be passed, a 75 per cent majority was required.
Barham will front the members at their club’s AGM on Wednesday night.
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