Latest news with #JakeMelksham
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Demons respond after Christian Petracca cops criticism over on-field act
The Melbourne Demons have moved shut down speculation their is frustration at the club after speculation mounts following Christian Petracca and Jake Melksham's reaction to their loss to the Western Bulldogs. Melbourne have gone through a turbulent few weeks after coach Simon Goodwin was sacked with three games left in the season. In their first game under interim coach Troy Chaplin, the Demons went down in a close six-point loss to the Bulldogs. And AFL great Luke Hodge took exception to a couple of moments from Melksham and Petracca for their outbursts towards youngster Harvey Langford his decision making during the game. Petracca became frustrated when he didn't receive a pass from Langford and then didn't react when his long option led to a goal. Hodge pinpointed Petracca's body language and claimed he needed to fix it moving forward. 'This next one is damning ... You've got Christian Petracca here letting him (Langford) know ... he's put the arms up, he hasn't followed in. But the worst part is what comes after,' Hodge said on Channel 7's The Agenda Setters. 'That results in a goal. Yes, he is bypassed, lets him know, lets everyone know. But where's the reaction? Do you go to the young kid and say, 'hey, good kick to the top of the goal square?' 'Do you go down to Kozzy Pickett, pat him on the back? Or do you walk around? And he's not going to anyone. He hasn't clapped, hasn't looked across at Langford, who didn't pass it to him, didn't say anything. (He just) turned around. 'That's a person who's worried about his own stats. So if you're looking as a coach coming into this Melbourne football club, the first thing I'll be doing is getting to the leaders and say play like leaders, react like leaders, and support your younger teammates.' However, Demons vice-captain Jack Viney has moved to shut down suggestions the players are at odds. Viney said the team are passionate about winning and some emotions are bound to get out of control on the field. "Obviously, got some pretty competitive and passionate individuals that at times, can blow over," Viney said. "But we've addressed it internally, and something that we've spoken about throughout the season, because we believe it impacts the next play. It kind of, for that split second, takes us away from playing the game. So it's something that we've addressed, but just being passionate and competitive humans at times, it's gonna flare up again." Jack Viney defends Melbourne teammates Viney did admit he doesn't want to see the frustration become a common occurrence on the field, which can impact their form. "It's kind of a natural reaction in times of frustration, but it's something that we don't want to see too much," Viney said. "We do think that we can move on from mistakes. And football is by no means a perfect sport, so there's going to be plenty of mistakes out on the footy field. The quicker we can move on and stay involved in the play, the better, more consistent we'll be as a team. So it's something we've addressed, but ... we know it's going to flare up from time to time." Former Collingwood boss Nathan Buckley has been linked to the new coaching role at Melbourne for 2026, but Viney wouldn't weigh into the speculation. The Demons close their season against Hawthorn and Collingwood.
ABC News
4 days ago
- Sport
- ABC News
Jack Viney reveals Melbourne meeting about Christian Petracca and Jake Melksham's 'flare-up' at youngster
Melbourne has internally addressed the frustrated body language from senior players Christian Petracca and Jake Melksham in their loss to the Western Bulldogs. While the two veterans' conduct attracted criticism, Demons vice-captain Jack Viney believes the occasional flare-up is a natural part of having "competitive and passionate" players. In their first game under interim coach Troy Chaplin following Simon Goodwin's sacking last week, Melbourne suffered a nailbiting six-point loss to the finals-chasing Bulldogs. Hawthorn champion Luke Hodge notably criticised Melksham and Petracca for their body language and outbursts towards youngster Harvey Langford for some of his kicking and decision-making during the game. Hodge described Petracca on the Seven Network as "a person who's worried about his own stats" after he was frustrated with a kick that did not come to him inside 50, despite it ending up in a goal. Veteran forward Melksham also received some attention for spraying Langford for a missed kick. "Obviously, got some pretty competitive and passionate individuals that at times, can blow over," Viney said. "But we've addressed it internally, and something that we've spoken about throughout the season, because we believe it impacts the next play. "It kind of, for that split second, takes us away from playing the game. "So it's something that we've addressed, but just being passionate and competitive humans at times, it's going to flare up again." It is not the first time Petracca, who wears his heart on his sleeve, has been scrutinised for his body language. "It's kind of a natural reaction in times of frustration, but it's something that we don't want to see too much," Viney said. "We do think that we can move on from mistakes. And football is by no means a perfect sport, so there's going to be plenty of mistakes out on the footy field. "The quicker we can move on and stay involved in the play, the better, more consistent we'll be as a team. "So it's something we've addressed, but … we know it's going to flare up from time to time." After sacking Goodwin last week, Melbourne has assembled their selection panel for its next senior coach. "All the players are rapt to see that progression and hopefully have one sooner rather than later," Viney said. Former Collingwood boss Nathan Buckley appears the clear frontrunner, but Viney would not buy into any speculation. The Demons close their season against Hawthorn and Collingwood. Viney pointed to Collingwood, who Melbourne faced in the final game of 2024, turning a strong back end of that season into a big 2025. "I take a lot of lessons out of that and I think we could be in a pretty similar boat. We stay united," he said. "Obviously, there's exciting opportunity to play some young guys, get some experience into them, and really just keep forging ahead." Key defender Steven May will return against the Hawks at the MCG on Saturday for his 250th game. AAP
News.com.au
08-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
AFL 2025: Melbourne forward Jake Melksham on his out-of-contract status
In-form Melbourne forward Jake Melksham is in 'no rush' to sign on for another season. Melksham is poised to challenge his career-best goal tally of 32 in 2018, having kicked 20 in 12 games in the final year of his contract this season. Melbourne is yet to hold any serious conversations with Melksham about his future and he is unsure if he would even accept the offer of an extension. 'I haven't made that decision up in my mind. Once we talk about it, sit down, we'll start to discuss the nuances of it all,' Melksham, in his 16th AFL season, said. 'I'll have a chat with my family as well. I've got young kids that play sport on weekends – I think my son has played 10 games and I've been to two of them. 'He would probably like me at a few more of his games, but in saying that he does like coming to watch his dad at the 'G as well. 'They're all just little things we've got to talk about. As I said, I haven't thought about much of it all to date. 'We've got eight weeks, no rush, I'm not going anywhere – I'll either be at Melbourne or I won't.' Melksham has grown in a leadership capacity in recent seasons, developing into an on-field coach of sorts. But when the curtain does fall on his playing career, Melksham says he is more looking to chase lost time away from footy than a seat in the coaches' box. 'At certain stages when I had my knee and I was putting time into that each week with the group, I enjoyed (coaching),' he said. 'I have a few other off-field interests I like as well that I am doing in parallel with my career at the moment. 'I think when the time comes, when I do finish up, I will stick to those. 'When you finish footy you want to get some of your life back; coaching is probably double the hours we do as players, we have it pretty good.'
News.com.au
22-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
AFL 2025: Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell wants his side to ‘throw our own punches'
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell says his side must throw its own punches to counter the star-studded Brisbane Lions on Saturday. The fourth-placed Hawks – coming off a loss to Gold Coast in Darwin – face their biggest challenge of the season with the reigning premier at the MCG. The Lions, also coming off a loss, have built their strong start to the season through an extensive stock of stars. Mitchell is wary of the Lions' depth but says his side must 'create some problems for them' going the other way. 'Getting the ball into your front half against a side like Brisbane is vital, we know we need to work on the exact strategy and structure we have,' he said. 'They've got so many talented players, whether we go after one or two of them individually or whether we look at a collective system to try and create some clearance dominance. 'The challenge of the Brisbane midfield is not too dissimilar to that of the Gold Coast midfield, I think when you look at these teams at the top of the ladder, they've got stars on every line. 'We can't afford to over resource the midfield too much because it comes at the expense of something else. 'What we need to do is throw our own punches and make sure we're playing in an assertive and offensive way to create some problems for them.' The job Melbourne forward Jake Melksham did on Brisbane co-captain Harris Andrews played a strong hand in the Demons' upset win last week. But Mitchell gave little away as to whether he will pose a similar task to veteran goalkicker Jack Gunston. 'I don't look at that too much specifically, I leave that with the line coaches to figure out exactly who and how to play (Andrews),' he said. 'Brisbane are clearly a potent side with a lot of dangerous players, if we focus too much on that we will go away from our own game, I don't think that helps us either. 'There's a little bit of meet fire with fire and there's a little bit of making sure we can put out a couple of things for them.'
