The grand predictions of a dynasty after their breakthrough premiership triumph never eventuated.
They suffered consecutive straight-sets finals exits the next two seasons, then fell apart last year amid a series of off-field problems, including Oliver and Petracca’s personal issues and thwarted trade attempts, Joel Smith’s drug ban, and even their ex-president Glen Bartlett’s legal action.
Christian Petracca of the Demons is tackled by Rhyan Mansell of the Tigers.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
There was a mystery about where the Demons sat entering the 2025 season, but still lingering respect based on the top-liners on their list, only for five straight defeats to begin the year to bring back the doom and gloom.
A fortnight later, Melbourne are celebrating back-to-back victories over Fremantle and the Tigers, but the rest of the league is still none-the-wiser about where they are at. Winless West Coast await in Perth next week, which presents a gilt-edged opportunity to continue their momentum.
Oliver, a four-time club champion and consensus top-five player in the AFL at his peak, encapsulates much of the wild journey the Demons have gone on since that glorious September night in 2021.
He had an underwhelming season last year, then met with Geelong in the off-season – but Melbourne refused to trade him. Oliver’s numbers look OK this year, but he is yet to prove he can be the same player he once was.
Clayton Oliver of the Demons kicks whilst being tackled by Seth Campbell of the Tigers.Credit: Getty Images
The star Demon trudged into the MCG rooms at half-time against Richmond with only five disposals (most of them rushed) and zero clearances, after Goodwin started him on the bench.
Oliver’s response was to amass 13 disposals and five clearances in the third quarter alone. He began that term in the guts, alongside Gawn, Petracca and Viney.
“‘Clarry’ [Oliver] is getting tested in all different roles this year, and he’s doing a wonderful job for us, but he had an opportunity to get back to some of his best in the third quarter,” Gawn said.
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“[Jacob] Hopper was probably working him over in the first half [but he turned that around]. Don’t ever doubt Clayton. I’ve doubted him a couple of times, and he comes out and does something like that – 13 touches, five clearances in a quarter.”
Goodwin, like Gawn, is adamant this is a new beginning for Melbourne, even if it is hard for others to think that way while their veteran stars remain such pivotal parts of the present.
“For the last three years, we’ve been going in the draft and bringing in new players, and our recruiters have done a wonderful job at doing that. Sometimes they take some time to grow and develop,” Goodwin said.
“It’s about getting excited about the young players we’ve got at our footy club, [and] understanding we’ve got some enormous, older top-end talent, and bringing them together to be a cohesive, new team that takes our club forward again.
“We’re really excited about bringing those two together as one. I think in the last few weeks we’re starting to see that cohesion start to build.”
The likes of Geelong and Sydney have successful defied AFL gravity and rebuilt on the run to mostly remain at the pointy end of the ladder.
Melbourne tumbled all the way to 14th last year, and remain in the bottom four after the Tigers victory, so this is different to the Cats and Swans, particularly once Gawn starts talking about their objectives.
“It is hard to know where we are at, from an external point of view. We dug ourselves a hole. We were zero and five,” Gawn said.
“So right now, unfortunately, all I can give you is the cliche: we literally are one week at a time, and although it would be great to win, it’s not about collecting wins to play finals. It’s making sure we’re proud of what we put out.
“Already, I can tell this group is f—ing annoyed about the last five minutes [when Richmond kicked four goals]. So, that’s a good group, and that’s something that I want to be a part of. Yeah, we’re disappointed about zero and five, but what’s our opportunity going forward?”
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