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Sport Nation
Whateley: Goodwin sacking the reckoning of Melbourne's self-sabotage
Gerard Whateley • August 5th, 2025 12:21 pm
The coach who broke the 57-year premiership drought at Melbourne has been sacked.
Simon Goodwin’s ninth season at the helm of the Demons proved to be his last.
The Grand Final win of 2021 was followed by two top-four finishes but straight-set exits.
The flaw in Melbourne’s game repetitive and fatal.
And then came the drop – 11 wins last year… 7 wins this year.
Goodwin has been under fierce pressure since the 0-5 start to the season.
Things look stale at Melbourne.
Change is necessary.
The question whether that would include the coach has now been answered.
But Goodwin’s position isn’t to be examined in isolation.
The progressive decline of Melbourne is owned at every level of the club.
When the President and Chief Executive departed by the end of last year, we noted when a club gets to this point the four pillars of the football club all fall.
President. CEO. Football Manager. Coach.
It’s a question of whether it takes six months, 12 months or a couple of years.
Melbourne are on course to do it on the 12-month time frame.
But look at this season. Goodwin has coached without the next President and without the appointed Chief Executive in place.
Melbourne wanted change, but have lived in a void, unable to fill the necessary seats.
It’s not a scenario conducive to success.
Add to that the football department review that was completed last year resulted in no material change. That change is coming now.
Melbourne sabotaged itself after the 2021 flag on so many levels.
In fighting, living a delusion and not fixing the glaring flaw in their game.
The board owns it, the executive owns it, the players own it, and the coach owns it.
And now is the reckoning.
Come 2026, everything will have changed.
Who will guide that change? That’s the open question, and why things move in the first week of August.
Many will feel this is justified.
The sameness, the creeping despondency.
It’s owned by more than the coach, but the coach always pays.
But take a moment. As Goodwin leaves, he should be celebrated.
That premiership was magnificent and lasting.
Hopefully that’s reflected in the thanks that’s offered and the dignity offered.
