‘We know it was tough’: Dees accept off-field failures as findings of key review released

Gary Pert has relinquished his role as Melbourne chief executive after a tumultuous year for the Dees as the club released the findings from their exteneral review.

A day after the club confirmed Pert’s departure, president Brad Green admitted off-field drama surrounding the club affected its performance and said the game style would be “refined” over the summer.

The review included 40 interviews with players, coaches, football department staff as well external industry experts. While the findings weren’t released in full, Green in a letter to members outlined the key learnings, with some of it to remain confidential “to maintain a competitive edge.”

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“The review emphasised the need to refine our method of play, focusing on all facets of the game— with the ball, without the ball and in the contest. During the pre-season, our coaches will work on evolving our game style to maximise the strengths of our playing group, aiming for a style that not only propels us back into the finals but withstands the pressures of finals football. As a competitive measure, specific details of our game style remain confidential,” said Green, who replaced Kate Roffey in September.

“While the review has highlighted areas for improvement, it also reaffirms that we are well-positioned to turn challenges into opportunities. With strong foundations in place and a clear path forward, we are committed to driving the Melbourne Football Club back to success in 2025.”

Among the findings were for the club to add a second midfield coach to harness such a strength area for Simon Goodwin’s side and “refresh energy and leadership” in the assistant coaching ranks. Former skipper Nathan Jones will return as one of two midfield coaches alongside Sam Radford, while Nathan Bassett will take over as backline coach.

There will be greater efforts to help Goodwin “lighten up” in his mood and dealings with players after the club’s tumultuous two years off the field including a legal stoush with former president Glenn Bartlett had put a heavy burden on the senior coach.

Melbourne has also hired a new leadership expert as part of a club-wide leadership program, though with specific goal of working with the team’s leaders.

“We know that 2024 was a tough year, both on and off the field. We faced some big challenges, and we recognise that certain off-field issues caused disruptions. We admit that some situations could have been managed better, and we’re committed to learning from these experiences to handle the inevitable challenges more effectively in the future,” Green said.

You can read the letter from Green to members in full here.

Nine’s Tom Morris reported earlier this week Pert is set to remain at Melbourne ‘for a few months’ to assist with a handover.

“The Dees will say Pert spoke about the timing for his exit with ex-chair Kate Roffey long before the review was commissioned,” Morris wrote on X on Thursday morning.

“But there is little doubt Petracca, Oliver and others wanted him to move on.”

Pert provided comment to the Herald Sun’s Mark Robinson after tendering his resignation, choosing to defend his comments from last year claiming the Demons had the best culture he had seen in 40 years in football.

“My point, that was taken out of context — I was saying we are dealing with player behaviour issues, and I don’t want the entire club being tarnished by that,” Pert told the Herald Sun on Thursday.

“When I made the comment, we had won more games of footy in the past three years than any other team and had recently won a premiership, and that we were doing a lot of great things.

“I was saying the player behaviour issues had to be dealt with in that regard and not discredit the Max Gawns, Jack Vineys and Kate Hores … I didn’t want the whole football club being tarnished by a couple of people.”

There has been widespread criticism of the way the club handled Christian Petracca’s injury situation as well as the treatment of star midfielder Clayton Oliver, who has had his share of off-field and on-field issues this season.

Foxfooty.com.au’s Will Faulkner reported in early October tensions between Pert and key club personnel had reached new heights, as the Demons vowed to leave “no stone unturned” amid ongoing reviews.

Pert had been Melbourne CEO since mid-2018 and was spearheading the review alongside new club president Brad Green and former All Blacks manager Darren Shand.

Pert is expected to continue to be involved with the club in a consultancy position as Melbourne looks to move to the Caulfield racecourse.