Goodwin says Demons will build on adversity of straight-set exits

Simon Goodwin sees plenty of positives in a season that ended poorly

A dejected Max Gawn after the first semi final between Melbourne and Carlton at the MCG, September 15, 2023. Picture: AFL Photos

MELBOURNE coach Simon Goodwin says the Demons will use the “adversity” of back-to-back semi-final exits to build again in 2024 after the club’s heart-breaking loss to Carlton on Friday night.

The Demons lost a thriller to the Blues in the MCG epic, with Blake Acres’ goal putting Carlton one point ahead in the final minute. They got one more behind in the final seconds to claim a two-point win and progress to a preliminary final berth against Brisbane next week at the Gabba. 

It saw Melbourne bow out of the finals with successive defeats for the second straight year, despite top-four finishes both seasons.

DEMONS v BLUES Full match coverage and stats

A “pretty shattered” Goodwin post-game rued the Demons’ missed opportunities across both the clash with Carlton and last week’s qualifying final loss to Collingwood, but his side would lean on the agony of defeat. 

“We speak about winning more moments as a club and in both these finals we’ve won enough moments, but we haven’t won the most important one and that’s on the scoreboard. We need to execute that better,” he said. 

“When we sit down and review the year and we say, ‘How did we go?’ we’ve ended up giving ourselves a double chance in the top four and we’ve lost two finals by less than a kick.

“I think we’ve moved forward as a footy club [this year]. We’ve transitioned a bit of our list throughout the last 12 months and we’ve seen some young guys get a lot of exposure throughout our team and we’ll continue to build. 

“We think we’re in good shape to continue to build, but we’ve got to sometimes go through these little challenges, this adversity, to really build the resilience and greatness that’s required to win big games. 

“Carlton took their opportunities and full credit to them. They’ve really worked on that this year and you can see the adversity they’ve gone through to get into the position they’re in. This is just for us another step in our way that we want to get back to where we want to be.”

The Demons have now lost four straight finals at the MCG since their drought-breaking 2021 premiership win in Perth. Goodwin said it would sit with the players over the pre-season.

“When you’ve had two years where you set yourself up to perform strongly in finals and you lose twice in straight sets, there’s going to be criticism out there. But as a footy club we know we’ve got a list that’s building and we’re still going to continue to add to that,” he said. 

“And we also know we’re going to put ourselves in a position where we can have success that we want to have. But it doesn’t just happen, it’s hard to do and a lot has to go right so we’ll keep training hard, working hard, reviewing and finding ways to get better and come out the other side.”

Goodwin confirmed post-game that captain Max Gawn had carried a broken big toe into the game.

He also said he would sit with ruckman Brodie Grundy, who was overlooked for finals selection, in coming days with the former Magpie expected to request a trade to Sydney.