Premiership window slammed shut for Goodwin after '21
But the foundations can quickly turn to sand.
Just ask Simon Goodwin's old club Adelaide, who are finally back in contention after paying a fearful price for 40 minutes of bad football in the 2017 grand final.
Likewise, four years ago Melbourne fans consoled themselves in the afterflow of their 57-year premiership drought ending, but in bittersweet circumstances.
Sure, it wasn't ideal the grand final was played on the other side of the country because of COVID-19 restrictions.
But with a list boasting Gawn, Petracca, Oliver, Viney, Lever, May, Jackson, Brayshaw and Pickett, it was surely only a matter of time before they'd be running a lap of their spiritual MCG home with the premiership cup.
Instead, the MCG was Tuesday's venue for the press conference where the diabolical Demons explained the decision to sack Goodwin as coach.
What looked like the next premiership dynasty started unravelling spectacularly on February 8, 2022.
That was when leaked documents were first published, outlining concerns over off-field issues at Melbourne before their triumphant 2021 season.
Goodwin featured prominently in the reporting and then-president Kate Roffey was strident in her defence of him. Goodwin would also strongly deny rumours about illicit drugs.
But it also quickly emerged that Roffey's predecessor Glen Bartlett, who left the club suddenly in April, 2021, was not going quietly.
He would eventually sue club board members, alleging defamation, with the matter finally settled out of court in November last year.
When that settlement was announced, the club again strongly refuted "serious allegations" about Goodwin and social drug use that had been investigated while Bartlett was president.
On the field, Melbourne started their premiership defence well with a 10-game winning streak to open the 2022 season.
But soon after that streak ended, it emerged teammates Steven May and Jake Melksham had a fight outside a Melbourne restaurant.
Melbourne finished the regular season in second spot, but bowed out of the finals in straight sets. They would do the same in 2023 and have not looked like top-eight contenders since.
At the end of the '22 season, grand-final hero Luke Jackson was traded to Fremantle and Brodie Grundy took his place as the back-up ruckman to captain Max Gawn.
After just one season, Grundy went to Sydney.
The '23 qualifying-final loss to Collingwood was the last game for Angus Brayshaw, one of the Demons' most important players, who ultimately had to retire because of concussion issues.
Also in '23, star onballer Clayton Oliver was out for an extended period because of injury. As that season ended, it emerged Oliver had significant off-field issues - at one stage he was rushed to hospital because of a medical episode - and Melbourne considered trading him.
Geelong courted Oliver again in the '24 off-season, but he stayed at Melbourne.
Shortly after the '23 season ended, defender Joel Smith was banned after testing positive to cocaine. He was later accused of trafficking the drug.
As rumours swirled in October '23, Melbourne chief executive Gary Pert gave a radio interview where he declared their club culture was the best he'd seen in 40 years of football.
The next big hit came in March last year, when federal MP Andrew Wilkie used parliamentary privilege to allege Melbourne had tested players "off the books" to avoid the league's anti-illicit drugs regime.
On the field, as Melbourne's season spluttered, star onballer Christian Petracca suffered serious injuries in a collision during the blockbuster King's Birthday clash with Collingwood.
The injuries were life-threatening and, as Petracca recovered, there was rampant speculation he could leave Melbourne. He stayed, but club president Kate Roffey went days after a train-wreck radio interview in September where she was asked about Petracca's future.
Shortly after her departure, Pert also left. For much of this year, the Demons have had an interim president and CEO.
At Tuesday's media conference, Goodwin referenced the need for stability. He also made mention the Demons still don't have one club headquarters - and that he will not miss the long drive to their training base at outer-suburban Casey.
For all the glory of 2021, the aftermath at the Demons has been hell.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
For too many victims of family violence, police harm more than help, new research finds
When we think of family violence almost instinctively we think of police: they are the gatekeepers to the criminal justice system and have become key first responders in Victoria — and around Australia — to the extent that Victoria Police last year responded to 104,786 family incidents, the highest number on record. But rather than helping victims, new research has found that in too many cases police responses to family violence are harming them, replicating the power and control dynamics that underpin abuse and increasing risk, trauma and feelings of powerlessness. If you need help immediately call emergency services on triple-0 The report, Harm in the Name of Safety: Victorian Family Violence Workers' Experiences of Family Violence Policing, is brimming with disturbing accounts from the frontline: of police misjudging victims as perpetrators, downplaying and dismissing violence, deliberately targeting Aboriginal women and other minority groups (queer people, disabled people, sex workers), colluding with abusers, and even using family violence themselves. The report's authors say the evidence they've gathered is so damning — and the harm to victims so serious and widespread — that the problems cannot be fixed with more police training and education. Instead, they argue, community-based responses to family violence that don't involve police at all must urgently be expanded, including violence prevention and crisis response programs, early intervention and behaviour change programs, and accountability and restorative justice schemes. "This evidence … makes it very clear that we need to take urgent action to constrain police harms and to build and strengthen alternative survivor-led and community-based family violence responses," said report co-author Lauren Caulfield, coordinator of the Beyond Survival Project, which supports victims who have been harmed by police responses to family violence. "It's evidence that demands a fundamental rethink of the way police are positioned as a solution to family violence when for so many people, police responses actually increase risk and harm." The report's recommendations are likely to reignite debate about abolition feminism, whose proponents argue that criminal legal or "carceral" responses to domestic violence — including policing, prosecution and imprisonment — ultimately exacerbate violence and further oppress marginalised victim-survivors, especially First Nations women. In Australia, those conversations have largely been led by Aboriginal scholars and advocates and are firmly at odds with calls in the mainstream to strengthen criminal legal responses to gender-based violence. But while many baulk at the idea of abolishing police and even the laws they're supposed to enforce, academics, frontline workers and survivors are increasingly willing to consider alternative visions of justice as more of them are exposed to the flaws and dangers of the current system. For Tania Farha, chief executive of Safe and Equal, the peak body for specialist family violence services in Victoria, the report is an opportunity to do both: to improve the way police are responding to family violence and to build and strengthen alternative supports for victim-survivors who don't want to engage with police. "What it really highlights is that police and justice system responses to family violence are not for everybody, nor have they ever been," Ms Farha said. "But police are an important component of the system, particularly for those who want to engage with the justice system, and sometimes they're the only appropriate response in high-risk situations." As part of their research the Beyond Survival Project and RMIT university surveyed 225 family violence workers in Victoria about their observations and concerns about how police were responding to family violence. The workers' answers, collected in 2020 and 2021, revealed that "harmful" police responses were "routinely occurring" in interactions between officers and victims. The most common issue to emerge was victim misidentification, where police incorrectly name a victim of family violence as a perpetrator on an intervention order or charge them with criminal offences. When asked directly, 83 per cent of survey participants said they had encountered misidentification, with two-thirds (64 per cent) saying they had seen it happen five or more times over the last five years. Experts have long been reporting that female victims — First Nations and migrant women in particular — are misidentified often because they have fought back or tried to defend themself against their partner's violence, or because they've presented as angry, "hysterical" or drunk when police arrive, challenging officers' assumptions about how victims behave. Police may also fail to identify patterns of coercive control in the relationship or a perpetrator's calculated attempts to weaponise legal systems, perhaps because they have not taken statements from both parties or called in an interpreter to translate. Crucially, it can have life-altering consequences, as one survey respondent explained: "Misidentification [has] led to women losing their children, their jobs, property and assets, affected their mental health, lead to suicidal thoughts and attempts, drugs and alcohol use … and losing all their legal rights, friend and families and community." But misidentification tends to be characterised by police as a mistake — something that occurs because family violence is complex, said report co-author Peta Malins, senior lecturer in criminology and justice studies at RMIT. What the frontline workers' accounts show, she said, is that it's a product of police cultural and institutional bias. "Misidentification is not a mistake," Dr Malins said. "It's actually a targeted practice" that has serious repercussions for First Nations and migrant communities, queer and disabled people and women generally. Associate Professor Bridget Harris, director of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre, said family violence workers who have had negative experiences with police may have been more likely to respond to the survey, potentially shaping the results. But the report is full of valuable insights from people we don't often hear from, she said: "I think we're behind in terms of Australian research on this topic … it's an issue that needs more attention and what I would hope is that police take this as an opportunity to address things." Progress has also been made since the survey was taken in 2021, Dr Harris said — for instance, more police attention to and training on the issue of victim misidentification in Victoria, several domestic violence inquiries and, through her own team's work with the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department, a new training and education package for police around the country. But frontline services are still waiting for change. Djirra, which supports Aboriginal women experiencing family violence, recently assisted five women who they say were "racially targeted and misidentified" by police to have intervention order applications struck out in court. "We have not seen any reduction in misidentification," said Djirra chief executive Antoinette Braybrook. "Rather, we have seen an increase." Another significant issue to emerge in the survey was perpetrators of family violence in police ranks. More than half the frontline workers (51 per cent) said they had encountered cases of family violence involving a serving police officer, with many describing the violence as more coercive and more covert because of the officer's authority, training and access to weapons and systems. Many workers also raised concerns that the lack of independent oversight of police complaints in Victoria was deterring victims from reporting violence and abuse. "I have represented several women whose partners have been police officers and all have threatened their partner with their status as a police officer to gaslight … and convince them that no one would believe [them] and if she did report it, he would ensure the police would retaliate against her," one survey respondent said. "One client had her house raided with six police officers, all friends of her partner." Victoria Police in 2021 set up a dedicated unit to investigate such complaints, but an ABC News investigation recently revealed women have continued to face insensitive treatment, stressful delays and even criminal charges themselves after reporting family violence allegations against police, some of whom still seem to be evading accountability. In response, experts and advocates have been calling on the government to overhaul police oversight by ensuring all complaints about police are investigated by a properly resourced independent body. The new report makes a similar recommendation, finding that the extent and impact of the police-perpetrated family violence described by workers "directly challenges the notion of police representing safety" and "demands an urgent reconsideration of the powers, resources and social license" police are afforded as first responders. It also makes several other recommendations for expanding community-based family violence programs that do not rely on police or the criminal legal system, as well as investing in affordable housing and strengthening prevention and accountability initiatives. Notably, more than half of the frontline workers surveyed (54 per cent) made specific suggestions to improve police responses to family violence, including improving police feedback and complaint processes (21 per cent), enhanced training (16 per cent) and finding ways to ensure officers collaborate better with family violence workers (12 per cent). Ultimately, though, the research team warned against further investing in police. Often when policing harms are exposed there are calls for more training for officers, Ms Caulfield said, and more resources for police forces generally. "But these reforms inevitably function to entrench … the role of police in family violence responses rather than actually addressing or constraining the harm." The report flags that there are already several programs in Australia and overseas that aim to help victims without relying on police that could be embraced in Victoria. For example, Aboriginal-led healing centres such as Waminda on the NSW south coast. Or the White Bird Clinic's CAHOOTS program in Oregon in the United States, where teams of medics and mental health specialists respond to 911 calls about mental health crises to achieve non-violent resolutions — and especially to avoid the fatalities which have occurred as a result of police involvement. In Victoria, Djirra has long advocated against investing in policing as a solution to family violence. "Our advocacy comes from many years of witnessing the poor, unsafe and often non-existent responses from police for Aboriginal women's and children's safety," Ms Braybrook said. "Women are not believed, they are punished, criminalised and incarcerated." The answer, she added, is to invest in specialist organisations like Djirra, which runs early intervention and prevention programs that ensure women understand their rights and can navigate systems that are often "racist and violent". Safe and Equal has also developed a resource to help family violence practitioners support victims who don't want to engage with police and who may become isolated from services as a result. "I think it's really important that alternative options are [available]," Ms Farha said. "This is the very reason why we need a properly and sustainably funded specialist family violence sector, because … they are the emergency response for survivors who don't want to call the police." Dr Harris agrees. Some people want assistance from police and the criminal justice process they initiate, she said; others want support only from community based services; while others want something in between — for example, police who work closely with social workers or specialist domestic violence workers in a so-called "co-responder" model. "For some people, the justice system protects and empowers them — they see it positively," Dr Harris said. "For others, it replicates the violence they've experienced — it replicates trauma — and it is not a positive experience. So we need to be really conscious of that when we're looking at different ways forward." In a statement, a Victoria Police spokesperson said the force works closely with family violence professionals and support groups to "hear their insights and strengthen our response". "The safety of victims is at the forefront of everything we do," the spokesperson said. "All police receive extensive family violence training which includes how to accurately identify predominant aggressors", while "more than 90 per cent of police have undergone Aboriginal cultural awareness training". They added: "We know it's especially difficult for victim-survivors to come forward when their perpetrator is a police officer. That's why we created a team specifically tasked with tackling this issue, skilled in supporting victims and understanding the tactics police perpetrators use."
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Pezet eyes week-to-week NRL in Storm spine squeeze
Jonah Pezet says he wants to chase the opportunity to play in the NRL every week, but insists a loan deal away from Melbourne is not yet at the front of his mind. Melbourne's half-in-waiting for several years, Pezet has been named to come off the bench against Brisbane on Thursday night with Jahrome Hughes injured. Pezet is signed with the Storm until the end of 2029, but is believed to have a clause in his contract that allowed him to speak to rivals if Hughes re-signed. Hughes did so last week, extending his time in purple until 2030. The other factor is the future of Cameron Munster, who is contracted until the end of 2027 but been linked to potential Perth interest. Both Pezet and Munster share a manager in Braith Anasta, while a loan deal could potentially buy time for Munster to decide his future beyond his current deal. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to play NRL every week," Pezet said. "As a kid you grow up and that's what you want to do. So of course I want to chase those opportunities. "But I'm just focused on putting my best foot forward every week, so that's when Belza (coach Craig Bellamy) picks me in the team." Melbourne hooker Harry Grant this week backed the idea of loans, speaking of the good it did him at Wests Tigers while stuck behind Cameron Smith in 2020. Asked whether a loan deal could be an option for him, Pezet said it was not something he wanted to be considering. "I think I'll leave that up to Braith and everyone at the club ... they'll sort it all out," Pezet said. "With Hughesy going down there's an opportunity there, and I'll keep putting my best foot forward so that when the time comes I'm ready for that wherever it might be. "Obviously the best footy I play, the more NRL I'm going to get, so that's what I'm focused on." The Storm have stuck with Tyran Wishart as Hughes' replacement at No.7, after the reigning Dally M Medallist dislocated his shoulder last month. Bellamy on Wednesday left the door open for Hughes to return before finals, with the 22-year-old avoiding surgery and back training away from the main squad. Melbourne have not got a specific plan for Pezet off the bench, who has had limited football in the past 16 months with an ACL rupture and subsequent setback. Pezet was brought on at halfback late in last week's win over Parramatta, with Wishart shifting to lock. "I'm definitely confident in my own ability to go out there and play 80 minutes of footy in the halfback position," Pezet said. "But that's not what's best for the team at the moment." Jonah Pezet says he wants to chase the opportunity to play in the NRL every week, but insists a loan deal away from Melbourne is not yet at the front of his mind. Melbourne's half-in-waiting for several years, Pezet has been named to come off the bench against Brisbane on Thursday night with Jahrome Hughes injured. Pezet is signed with the Storm until the end of 2029, but is believed to have a clause in his contract that allowed him to speak to rivals if Hughes re-signed. Hughes did so last week, extending his time in purple until 2030. The other factor is the future of Cameron Munster, who is contracted until the end of 2027 but been linked to potential Perth interest. Both Pezet and Munster share a manager in Braith Anasta, while a loan deal could potentially buy time for Munster to decide his future beyond his current deal. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to play NRL every week," Pezet said. "As a kid you grow up and that's what you want to do. So of course I want to chase those opportunities. "But I'm just focused on putting my best foot forward every week, so that's when Belza (coach Craig Bellamy) picks me in the team." Melbourne hooker Harry Grant this week backed the idea of loans, speaking of the good it did him at Wests Tigers while stuck behind Cameron Smith in 2020. Asked whether a loan deal could be an option for him, Pezet said it was not something he wanted to be considering. "I think I'll leave that up to Braith and everyone at the club ... they'll sort it all out," Pezet said. "With Hughesy going down there's an opportunity there, and I'll keep putting my best foot forward so that when the time comes I'm ready for that wherever it might be. "Obviously the best footy I play, the more NRL I'm going to get, so that's what I'm focused on." The Storm have stuck with Tyran Wishart as Hughes' replacement at No.7, after the reigning Dally M Medallist dislocated his shoulder last month. Bellamy on Wednesday left the door open for Hughes to return before finals, with the 22-year-old avoiding surgery and back training away from the main squad. Melbourne have not got a specific plan for Pezet off the bench, who has had limited football in the past 16 months with an ACL rupture and subsequent setback. Pezet was brought on at halfback late in last week's win over Parramatta, with Wishart shifting to lock. "I'm definitely confident in my own ability to go out there and play 80 minutes of footy in the halfback position," Pezet said. "But that's not what's best for the team at the moment." Jonah Pezet says he wants to chase the opportunity to play in the NRL every week, but insists a loan deal away from Melbourne is not yet at the front of his mind. Melbourne's half-in-waiting for several years, Pezet has been named to come off the bench against Brisbane on Thursday night with Jahrome Hughes injured. Pezet is signed with the Storm until the end of 2029, but is believed to have a clause in his contract that allowed him to speak to rivals if Hughes re-signed. Hughes did so last week, extending his time in purple until 2030. The other factor is the future of Cameron Munster, who is contracted until the end of 2027 but been linked to potential Perth interest. Both Pezet and Munster share a manager in Braith Anasta, while a loan deal could potentially buy time for Munster to decide his future beyond his current deal. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to play NRL every week," Pezet said. "As a kid you grow up and that's what you want to do. So of course I want to chase those opportunities. "But I'm just focused on putting my best foot forward every week, so that's when Belza (coach Craig Bellamy) picks me in the team." Melbourne hooker Harry Grant this week backed the idea of loans, speaking of the good it did him at Wests Tigers while stuck behind Cameron Smith in 2020. Asked whether a loan deal could be an option for him, Pezet said it was not something he wanted to be considering. "I think I'll leave that up to Braith and everyone at the club ... they'll sort it all out," Pezet said. "With Hughesy going down there's an opportunity there, and I'll keep putting my best foot forward so that when the time comes I'm ready for that wherever it might be. "Obviously the best footy I play, the more NRL I'm going to get, so that's what I'm focused on." The Storm have stuck with Tyran Wishart as Hughes' replacement at No.7, after the reigning Dally M Medallist dislocated his shoulder last month. Bellamy on Wednesday left the door open for Hughes to return before finals, with the 22-year-old avoiding surgery and back training away from the main squad. Melbourne have not got a specific plan for Pezet off the bench, who has had limited football in the past 16 months with an ACL rupture and subsequent setback. Pezet was brought on at halfback late in last week's win over Parramatta, with Wishart shifting to lock. "I'm definitely confident in my own ability to go out there and play 80 minutes of footy in the halfback position," Pezet said. "But that's not what's best for the team at the moment."
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Inspiring acts why WAFL matters more than ever
Yes the AFL is the big show. The big game in town. It's polished and professional. But sometimes, the game we love can be a little bit out of reach — and that's where the WAFL comes in. There's a beautiful simplicity about the local league and it can remind you why you fell in love with footy in the first place. It's because you can bring the kids, spread out a rug, kick a footy at half-time, and let the afternoon roll by like 'the old days'. You can rock in right before bouncedown … no queues here and it costs only $20 or less (it's free at Good Grocer Park in East Fremantle). And guess what, if you get down near the fence you can actually hear the crunch of the tackles if that's what really gets your blood pumping. And during the breaks, you can see the veins in the coach's neck bulge as he's giving the forwards a spray. The best part? You can wander out on to the ground and have a kick with your kids. This isn't second-rate footy. It's football in its purest form. And the WAFL is played just how the founding fathers had dreamt it would be. Peel Thunder's Liam Reidy and Claremont's Oliver Eastland. Credit: Jackson Flindell / The West Australian There's no flooding. Less structure, with more one-on-one contests. Players going head-to-head all day long. It's a complete mano-a-mano contest. No ganging up on your opposition … it's like Jakovich v Carey, or Glass v Pavlich. The players are just like you and me, to some degree. They have real jobs — day jobs — or they're chasing a dream, many just playing for the love the game and a bit of extra coin. You can even chat to them in the club bar or in the carpark afterwards. And this isn't just about some Barra nostalgia trip. The standard of WAFL footy is bloody good and it's real and raw. AFL is the big time, and we love it. But WAFL, that's the heart and soul. So this weekend, grab a scarf, bring the kids. Eat a pie, have a beer and cheer on the Tigers, the Lions or my Demons from the fence. And remember what footy used to feel like … and what it can still be. It's about community — and nowhere was that clearer than on the weekend at Revo Fitness Stadium. On what was arguably the coldest and wettest day of the footy season, Claremont drew a crowd — not just to see dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe make his WAFL return but for a Big Freeze fundraiser for Fight MND, held in honour of local dad Jordan Early. Nat Fyfe playing for Peel Thunder. Credit: Jackson Flindell / The West Australian And the celebrity sliders went all-in. West Coast AFLW coach Daisy Pearce — a seasoned slider — joined Eagles legend John Worsfold. Woosha dressed as tennis star Alicia Molik and Molik kitted out as Eagles wonderkid Harley Reid — complete with mouthguard and headband. And three of the western suburbs' most prominent headmasters also braved the icy waters. Alec O'Connell (Scotch College), who took the plunge and challenged others to match his commitment. Dean Dell'Oro (Hale School), who was backing Hale Old Boy Jordan 100 per cent, and Alan Jones (Christ Church Grammar) who made sure the old school rivalries carried on in icy style, promising a plunge that would go down in schoolboy folklore. It was fun, it was powerful and it sure made a splash. Jordan Early and Jo Moullin. Credit: Ross Swanborough / The West Australian Jordan Early, just 42, was diagnosed with MND earlier this year. A father of three, his world changed overnight, but so did his community — rallying around him, proving that even on the coldest day, a bit of warmth and hope goes a long way. His partner Jo Moullin summed it up: 'Hope is so important, and it shouldn't be taken away so abruptly.' She's right you know, this is a beast of a disease, and with MND you don't have the luxury of time. Channel 7 had special coverage of the event and many a tear was shed amongst the crew who worked on this Big Freeze. The theme was to rally together and stand beside those battling the Beast. But Saturday wasn't just about fundraising. It was about reminding a family — and all of us really — that footy is more than wins and losses. It's about people showing up for each other. That's WAFL. And that's why WAFL matters. Claremont, right here in the western suburbs, are chasing another flag on the field. But off the field, they've already won the most important game of all — the one that brings people together. So, this weekend, do yourself a favour. Pop down to the local oval. Bring a scarf. Bring your voice. And bring your love of the game. Because WAFL still matters. And in many ways, it matters more than ever.
