Latest news with #SimonGoodwin
The Advertiser
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Dees aim to turn tables on North in Goodwin's milestone
Simon Goodwin scaled dizzying heights when he guided Melbourne from the base of the AFL mountain to the summit. Now the Demons' premiership-winning mentor is out to do it all over again. "This is the time in your transition and part of your process that you love the most," Goodwin said ahead of his 200th game as coach, against North Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday. "(It's) when you're trying to build something unique and something special. "That's what I love about coaching - the challenge of building something pretty special." Goodwin, who coached Essendon for one game in 2013, led Melbourne to their drought-breaking 2021 flag and boasts a 54.8 per cent winning record. But the Demons will miss finals for a second straight season this year and are on a five-match losing streak ahead of the North Melbourne encounter. They would slip into the bottom four with another loss to the Kangaroos, who embarrassed them in a 59-point hiding in round two. "Clearly they're a much-improved team over the whole season," Goodwin said. "They're putting themselves in winning positions and they've got a lot of depth and talent. "We're under no illusions about the type of team we're coming up against. "They played outstanding footy against us earlier in the season and we learnt a lot." Goodwin dismissed fitness concerns over sore stars Max Gawn and Jake Lever, while Caleb Windsor replaces Harry Sharp (omitted). North have lost spearhead Nick Larkey and Luke Davies-Uniacke to injuries and Zane Duursma has been dropped. But coach Alastair Clarkson will welcome back Luke Parker, Jack Darling and Charlie Comben. Goodwin's milestone game comes as Melbourne mourn the loss of club great Brian Dixon, a five-time premiership player and former Victorian politician, who died aged 89 on Wednesday. "It's a very sad time and our condolences go out to the Dixon family," Goodwin said. "He's such an enormous figure at the Melbourne footy club ... there's no doubt as a playing group we'll certainly honour the Dixon family as best we can on the weekend." Simon Goodwin scaled dizzying heights when he guided Melbourne from the base of the AFL mountain to the summit. Now the Demons' premiership-winning mentor is out to do it all over again. "This is the time in your transition and part of your process that you love the most," Goodwin said ahead of his 200th game as coach, against North Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday. "(It's) when you're trying to build something unique and something special. "That's what I love about coaching - the challenge of building something pretty special." Goodwin, who coached Essendon for one game in 2013, led Melbourne to their drought-breaking 2021 flag and boasts a 54.8 per cent winning record. But the Demons will miss finals for a second straight season this year and are on a five-match losing streak ahead of the North Melbourne encounter. They would slip into the bottom four with another loss to the Kangaroos, who embarrassed them in a 59-point hiding in round two. "Clearly they're a much-improved team over the whole season," Goodwin said. "They're putting themselves in winning positions and they've got a lot of depth and talent. "We're under no illusions about the type of team we're coming up against. "They played outstanding footy against us earlier in the season and we learnt a lot." Goodwin dismissed fitness concerns over sore stars Max Gawn and Jake Lever, while Caleb Windsor replaces Harry Sharp (omitted). North have lost spearhead Nick Larkey and Luke Davies-Uniacke to injuries and Zane Duursma has been dropped. But coach Alastair Clarkson will welcome back Luke Parker, Jack Darling and Charlie Comben. Goodwin's milestone game comes as Melbourne mourn the loss of club great Brian Dixon, a five-time premiership player and former Victorian politician, who died aged 89 on Wednesday. "It's a very sad time and our condolences go out to the Dixon family," Goodwin said. "He's such an enormous figure at the Melbourne footy club ... there's no doubt as a playing group we'll certainly honour the Dixon family as best we can on the weekend." Simon Goodwin scaled dizzying heights when he guided Melbourne from the base of the AFL mountain to the summit. Now the Demons' premiership-winning mentor is out to do it all over again. "This is the time in your transition and part of your process that you love the most," Goodwin said ahead of his 200th game as coach, against North Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday. "(It's) when you're trying to build something unique and something special. "That's what I love about coaching - the challenge of building something pretty special." Goodwin, who coached Essendon for one game in 2013, led Melbourne to their drought-breaking 2021 flag and boasts a 54.8 per cent winning record. But the Demons will miss finals for a second straight season this year and are on a five-match losing streak ahead of the North Melbourne encounter. They would slip into the bottom four with another loss to the Kangaroos, who embarrassed them in a 59-point hiding in round two. "Clearly they're a much-improved team over the whole season," Goodwin said. "They're putting themselves in winning positions and they've got a lot of depth and talent. "We're under no illusions about the type of team we're coming up against. "They played outstanding footy against us earlier in the season and we learnt a lot." Goodwin dismissed fitness concerns over sore stars Max Gawn and Jake Lever, while Caleb Windsor replaces Harry Sharp (omitted). North have lost spearhead Nick Larkey and Luke Davies-Uniacke to injuries and Zane Duursma has been dropped. But coach Alastair Clarkson will welcome back Luke Parker, Jack Darling and Charlie Comben. Goodwin's milestone game comes as Melbourne mourn the loss of club great Brian Dixon, a five-time premiership player and former Victorian politician, who died aged 89 on Wednesday. "It's a very sad time and our condolences go out to the Dixon family," Goodwin said. "He's such an enormous figure at the Melbourne footy club ... there's no doubt as a playing group we'll certainly honour the Dixon family as best we can on the weekend."
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dees aim to turn tables on North in Goodwin's milestone
Simon Goodwin scaled dizzying heights when he guided Melbourne from the base of the AFL mountain to the summit. Now the Demons' premiership-winning mentor is out to do it all over again. "This is the time in your transition and part of your process that you love the most," Goodwin said ahead of his 200th game as coach, against North Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday. "(It's) when you're trying to build something unique and something special. "That's what I love about coaching - the challenge of building something pretty special." Goodwin, who coached Essendon for one game in 2013, led Melbourne to their drought-breaking 2021 flag and boasts a 54.8 per cent winning record. But the Demons will miss finals for a second straight season this year and are on a five-match losing streak ahead of the North Melbourne encounter. They would slip into the bottom four with another loss to the Kangaroos, who embarrassed them in a 59-point hiding in round two. "Clearly they're a much-improved team over the whole season," Goodwin said. "They're putting themselves in winning positions and they've got a lot of depth and talent. "We're under no illusions about the type of team we're coming up against. "They played outstanding footy against us earlier in the season and we learnt a lot." Goodwin dismissed fitness concerns over sore stars Max Gawn and Jake Lever, while Caleb Windsor replaces Harry Sharp (omitted). North have lost spearhead Nick Larkey and Luke Davies-Uniacke to injuries and Zane Duursma has been dropped. But coach Alastair Clarkson will welcome back Luke Parker, Jack Darling and Charlie Comben. Goodwin's milestone game comes as Melbourne mourn the loss of club great Brian Dixon, a five-time premiership player and former Victorian politician, who died aged 89 on Wednesday. Vale Brian Dixon 🕊️🏆 5 x Premiership Player🇦🇺 1961 All Australian😈 Demon Life Member📆 Demons Team of the Century 🎖️ MFC + Australian Football Hall of Fame📝 | — Melbourne Demons (@melbournefc) July 10, 2025 "It's a very sad time and our condolences go out to the Dixon family," Goodwin said. "He's such an enormous figure at the Melbourne footy club ... there's no doubt as a playing group we'll certainly honour the Dixon family as best we can on the weekend."
News.com.au
04-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
AFL 2025: Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has turned to a rejuvenated Jake Lever for Adelaide this Sunday
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin says he sees 'a real energy' about returning defender Jake Lever after boldly dropping the All Australian last week. The Demons, who were defeated by Gold Coast last weekend, take on the improved Adelaide on the road on Sunday. Crows Riley Thilthorpe (33 goals), Darcy Fogarty (29), Ben Keays (25), Josh Rachele (25) and Taylor Walker (22) have caused headaches for opposition coaches this year. Goodwin says dropping Lever has allowed the defender to regain confidence and form ahead of an important test this week. 'It's a challenge for any senior player when you're not playing the form you want to be in,' he said. 'To go back and perform really strongly, you can just see him around the club this week, there's a real energy about him, you can see him confident about his footy. 'We're looking for him to bring it out this weekend, he's someone we value highly and we need him playing his best footy. 'It's the chance to get him back into the team, he's a leader and someone we're going to need a big game from this weekend.' Goodwin has bolstered his back six but wants to see the Demons midfielders have first say in stopping Adelaide's fierce forward line. 'There's no doubt the midfield is going to play a big part, how we limit supply is going to be really important,' he said. 'Obviously they're very potent ahead of the ball they've got a lot of talent, we feel our backs are something we've been working on as to how we defend the ground that little bit better. 'It's something that's been inconsistent in our game of recent times in terms of our team defence, we want to defend to a higher level to restrict the supply but also have a greater impact when the ball goes in our D50. 'Those things we've been working on clearly it's going to be a challenge this week against a high quality forward line.' Melbourne's chances at finals football look all but lost with eight rounds left in the season. But Goodwin says every act is working towards the Demons' next premiership push and wants to see his players grit their teeth on the run home. 'Teams are built on a lot of grit and resilience, there will be times in games, seasons when you're challenged and right now in terms of results we're getting challenged,' he said. 'We need to show that resilient, grit, spirit and fight for our footy team and that's what we're about this week.'
News.com.au
28-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘That's a week': AFL umpire strikes young Demon in Suns beat down
Melbourne has been left bloodied and battered during its 19-point loss to the Gold Coast on Saturday afternoon. The Demons kicked five goals in the final quarter to put some gloss on the scoreboard, but they trailed 5.7 to one point at quarter-time en route to a 15.14 (104) to 12.13 (85) defeat that turns the heat up on coach Simon Goodwin. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Their disappointing afternoon might have been personified by an incident between young midfielder Harvey Langford and umpire Martin Rodger late in that awful opening term. Rodger bounced the ball after the Suns' fourth unanswered goal and then backed away from the centre circle with his arms raised, inadvertently clipping Langford on his path backwards. Watch the umpire clip in the video player above The 19-year-old was briefly rocked before opting to continue playing, heading back into defence and trying to get involved in the play before he was spotted by the umpire and sent off with the blood rule. The moment with Langford was initially missed by the commentators before he was seen on the bench receiving treatment and a replay was then shown. 'Umpire elbow, Langford,' Jonathan Brown said when he saw the replay. Ben Dixon added: 'Yeah umpire elbow boys.' Alastair Lynch then joked: 'That's a week!' Dixon replied: 'Yeah that's a week to the ump.' Dwayne Russell then added some insult to the injury by wondering if Langford might cop a fine. 'Would he get fined for umpire contact?' he asked. 'Because he was behind the umpire and they've been paying free kicks and fining players for it, so he might get stitches and a fine.' There was more trouble to come for the Demons, and not just on the scoreboard, when Clayton Oliver attempted to dive on a loose footy and clashed heads with Suns star Touk Miller. The three-time All Australian came off second best, with blood pouring from a wound on his head as he came from the ground. That sparked a bloodied rest of the game for Oliver, with the team's medical staff trying valiantly but mostly unsuccessfully to patch him up. 'Have a look at Clayton Oliver,' Dixon said late in the game as blood poured down his heavily bandaged face. 'They're trying to get him off. He looks like Hannibal Lecter, fair dinkum. 'It's just leaking from everywhere, they're just trying to get him off to get some more tape on it.' Fans on X were also noticing the carnage. Lucy Cuzzupe tweeted: 'How is it concussion's a thing in football today but Oliver can run on the ground with all that bandage covering his face and head? Such a bad look. If he's that bad sub him off.' @GreyCommentator said: 'Someone get the record books out. What's the record for the most number of concussions/blood rules for one team in a match? 'Melbourne so far 2 concussions, Oliver with blood streaming, Langford with blood after an umpire elbowed him.' It all summed up a pretty miserable day for the Dees, who will likely be spared more intense scrutiny after kicking 12 goals to the Gold Coast's 10 after quarter-time. While Michael Voss is copping the most heat over the performances of his Carlton side, Melbourne fans were voicing their concerns about 2021 flag winner Goodwin. 'We need to have a talk about Simon Goodwin being coach at the end of the season. This is just bad,' one fan wrote on X. 'Goodwin will always have the flag and I don't have any animosity for him, but the list deserves a different look at the caper, so Simon should read the tea leaves and step aside,' wrote another. 'Simon Goodwin is a kindergarten level football coach. Bloke has been fidgeting for 4 years. Biggest waste of a post premiership era of all time. My nan could have won 2 premierships with that list,' said a third. The Demons, who are sitting 14th with five wins for the season, head to Adelaide next up to take on the high-flying Crows.
Daily Telegraph
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Telegraph
AFL 2025: Melbourne stars Max Gawn, Steven May, earn talking to after clash
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin sat down with captain Max Gawn and defender Steven May this week, conceding their on-field stoush at the MCG last Monday was 'not the look we want'. But he was quick to clarify the two senior stars were '100 per cent' back on the same page at a club so aligned on its future direction the positive vibe was key to keeping superstar Kozzie Pickett, who this week signed a new nine-year-deal at Melbourne. Gawn conceded his reaction to some post-siren words from May, which included pushing his teammate away after the one-point loss to Collingwood, was 'poor'. On Friday, Goodwin revealed he sat both players down, conceding they 'got it wrong' and also addressed it with the playing group to ensure there would be no repeat. 'They had a chat themselves, but I've also sat them down and I've also addressed it with the group,' the premiership coach said. 'Clearly, we don't want that look on field, but we also understand we play an emotional game and we have two passionate guys who love winning and love their footy club. Steven May and Max Gawn face off after the final siren. 'But we also understand that's not the look we wanted on field, so we addressed it and keep moving forward. We don't make a huge issue of it.' Goodwin confirmed there were no lingering issues between the two veterans who were 'incredibly close'. 'They get on incredibly well … they understand and have enormous respect for each other, as we do for them,' he said. 'They do an enormous amount for our footy club, they love our footy club, they know they didn't get it quite right on the day but they are incredibly close.' The narrow loss to the Magpies left the Demons in 13th place on the ladder, with just five wins for the season, ahead of a crucial clash with Port Adelaide. Victory is a must to keep even slim chances of playing finals alive. Melbourne also missed the finals in 2024, finishing 14th, which led to a tumultuous off-season during which contracted stars Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca expressed a desire to leave. Kysaiah Pickett has signed with Melbourne until 2034. Picture: James Wiltshire/AFL Photos via Getty Images So too did Pickett, who was heavily linked to a move to Fremantle, noise that continued until he inked his massive deal, worth up to $12.5m. Despite the early tumult, Goodwin said Pickett's decision was a positive reflection on the work being done to return Melbourne to the finals and would also enable some 'strong decisions' about the playing list going forward. 'It says a lot about our footy club, where we are at and where we are going. For Kozzie to sit there and say 'this is the club I want to be at', it's fantastic,' Goodwin said. '(His future) has been a talking point for a number of years now. We've worked incredibly hard with Kozzie to make this the place he wants to be and see there's a real future here. 'Signing a deal indicates that's the commitment and love he has for the club. 'We think he can be something incredibly special. It provides enormous stability for our list moving forward and we can make some strong decisions around that.' Originally published as Max Gawn and Steven May earn talking to from Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin after MCG stoush
