On the back of Melbourne’s season-concluding loss to Collingwood on Friday night, calls for an injured superstar to “save their football club” have surfaced, with the 2021 premiers now at risk of falling out of the flag window indefinitely.
Amid lightning strikes and heavy rain, the Demons fell 46 points short of an admirable Magpies outfit on the MCG in what was, unfortunately, a fitting end to a season gone begging in the eyes of many.
Simon Goodwin’s side went into their final game of the year without the injured Clayton Oliver, Steven May, Jake Lever, Caleb Windsor and Tommy Sparrow in their starting 22 – as well as Christian Petracca for the second half of their campaign.
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But as has been well documented, intrigue surrounding reports on Petracca’s “disillusion” at Melbourne since his horrific spleen and ribs injuries have caused a media superstorm on the future of both him and his teammates at the club.
Speaking post-game on Fox Footy Live, Herald Sun journalist Jon Ralph was strong in his message for the superstar after what has been heavily discussed in the public domain these last couple of weeks.
“Trac, it’s time to save your football club,” Ralph said.
“He wants Melbourne to improve next year, (but) he’s almost blowing up the club — whether it’s high-maintenance or whether they’re legitimate concerns, right now, he’s making it very hard for players to come to his football club.
“He needs to get out there and do the opposite of what he’s doing right now, and bring the club together — because if you’re Dan Houston, you’re saying ‘I’m not coming to Melbourne’.
“That is because of Christian’s creation. That is because of the turmoil he is creating.”
“They might all be valid concerns, but it’s time, now, for him to come out and say ‘I will stay at this football club’, and all the issues he has … you deal with them behind the scenes with all the people that you need to.
“You can’t get experienced players in the door if they think it’s a basket-case.”
Asked on Petracca’s future at the club during his Friday night post-match press conference, Goodwin was adamant the four-time All-Australian will be staying put under his reign.
“Yeah I am, absolutely (confident he’ll stay). Christian will be a part of this footy club for the next five years; he’s had a really challenging time – we all know that – he’s having to go through a lot of emotions, a lot of trauma, but we’ll be there to support him,” the premiership coach explained.
“He’ll be in the red and blue for the next five years. Christian’s got a contract, and he’s going to be there for five years, so that’s the space that we’ll live in.”
Goodwin was then further questioned on the nature of communication around Petracca’s personal situation, and was rightly keen in wanting to set the record straight.
“I want to put that one to bed a little bit – (our) communication has been really strong around Christian. It’s been expressed to the players and the staff what Christian was going through, and his need to get away from the club on numerous occasions,” Goodwin continued.
“Ultimately, until you hear it from Christian – and that’s been the difference – everyone gets a deeper level of understanding.
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Historically Petracca’s partner in crime, Clayton Oliver has also missed the back end of the 2024 season, after being ruled out with a mixture of knee, rib and hand injuries to finish a year that has been one to forget for the 27-year-old.
Goodwin was unwavering post-match in his belief that Oliver is already on track to help send his Demons back into finals contention come 2025, having seemingly come a long way from the lows of this year’s pre-season campaign.
“I’ve never seen a more determined person than Clarry right now; he’s keen on getting his off-season absolutely spot on (and coming) back ready to go, fit healthy,” revealed Goodwin.
“He’s in a great space with his life – and we’re really proud of that – but now it’s about becoming a really great footballer again, and he’s as determined as ever.”
Beyond their off-field controversies, Hawthorn icon Dermott Brereton lamented Melbourne’s current situation on Fox Footy Live, saying: “I don’t think they’re in a very good position to move forward at all.”
“Your window lasts six years; you get three to four years being a preliminary final, going into a grand final … they’ve had their six.”
Former Hawks sharpshooter Ben Dixon added: “They’ve missed their window, let’s be honest.”
Ralph, however, wasn’t quite ready to put a line through these Demons, listing the bevy of talent still at their disposal.
“It’s still a pretty good list,” he told Fox Footy. “(Max) Gawn, (Jake) Lever, (Steven) May, Petracca, Oliver.
“Look at the under-25s: (Caleb) Windsor, (Judd) McVee, (Kysaiah) Pickett, (Trent) Rivers, (Jake) Bowey, (Koltyn) Tholstrup, (Jacob) van Rooyen, (and Daniel) Turner, with Pick 7 to come!”
Noting the upside in his list heading into next year, Goodwin holds the desired level of optimism for a coach that unexpectedly missed out on playing finals this season.
“For all the challenges that we’ve had throughout this season, we’ve still unearthed a lot of young players that we think will take us forwards as a footy club – and that’s only going to hold us in great stead once we get our senior players back up really healthy, really fit and really connected,” he said.
“After some long years, we get a chance to take a really good break and reset our club and our team.
“I don’t want to live in the past, I want to live in the opportunity and the optimism going forward.”
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