Melbourne’s winless start to a season they hoped would deliver redemption is laid bare in the Demons’ first-to-last nosedive in a key midfield metric.
Simon Goodwin’s team recorded the second-best contested possession differential ever in 2018 before pacing the AFL in that statistic during their stampede to a drought-busting premiership three years later.
Melbourne stars Max Gawn (right) and Christian Petracca (left) have not been able to lift their club to a win in 2025.Credit: Getty Images
However, it is a wildly different story through the opening three rounds of 2025 as Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca and Jack Viney struggle to recapture their record-breaking feats.
Melbourne rank 13th in contested possession differential this year, but even worse is their collapse from conceding a league-best 27 points per game from clearances last season to a competition-worst 47.3 points in this year’s losses to GWS, North Melbourne and Gold Coast.
Only wooden-spooners Richmond have performed worse than the Dees since round 19 last year, where their record stands at 1-7.
Their slide is more concerning because they traded their first-round pick this year to Essendon.
Goodwin rated second-gamer Harvey Langford as his side’s best midfielder in the 58-point loss to the Suns, and said fixing their leaky on-ball brigade was his top priority.
“Our issue was around the ball – our ability to win the ball, and our ability to defend around the ball,” Goodwin said. “It’s been one of our greatest strengths [in the past], and now we need to get back to work and fix it.”
That followed the coach saying the previous week that he had “enormous trust” that Gawn, Oliver, Petracca and Viney would return to their best.
The Demons planned for Trent Rivers to perform an inside midfield role against Gold Coast until first-round draftee Xavier Lindsay went down with a knee injury early, which led to Rivers playing down back, particularly given Judd McVee and Caleb Windsor were out.
Harvey Langford (left) and Xavier Lindsay are the future of Melbourne’s midfield.Credit: Getty Images
Goodwin has also nominated Tom Sparrow as someone who could receive more on-ball opportunities.
Langford – who attended one more centre bounce than Petracca in the Suns loss – and Lindsay were Melbourne’s top two draft selections last year and are the future of the club’s midfield, which SEN expert David King believes needs to be fast-tracked.
“It’s time to turn the page,” King said. “It’s an old model; it’s time to remodel and refurbish. Well done for winning a premiership, well done for the era that was, but it’s time to give the kids a chance.”
King’s colleague, Kane Cornes, criticised Oliver and Petracca’s running ability, argued that Gawn’s lack of support in the ruck had worn him down, and said Viney’s extension last year until the end of 2028 was one he “probably didn’t warrant”.
“Petracca can’t run. He’s amazing in the phone box, in the contest, Nat Fyfe-style. Around the ball, [he is] unbeatable,” Cornes said.
“Oliver cannot run [either]. To see him exposed as he has been the first few weeks of the season [is eye-opening]. If you can’t run, you can’t play.”
Being thrashed at stoppages has made life tougher for the Demons’ defenders, who conceded fewer than eight marks inside 50 per game during their premiership season.
With Jake Lever (ankle) out, Melbourne’s Steven May and Harry Petty-led backline gave up an alarming 17 marks in Gold Coast’s attacking arc. North secured 12 marks in that part of the ground at the Demons’ expense the previous week, when they unleashed a six-goal blitz in 11 minutes to put their rivals to the sword.
Petty is back in defence this season after Goodwin used him as a stop-gap option in attack to buy more development time for key forwards Jacob van Rooyen, Matt Jefferson and Daniel Turner.
He had 12 intercept possessions in round one against the Giants, then largely dulled Coleman Medal leader Nick Larkey’s influence until the big Kangaroo broke loose for two late goals in North Melbourne’s strong finish.
Petty found the going tougher against the Suns, after which Cornes labelled Melbourne’s unwillingness to trade the South Australian to Adelaide in the 2023 off-season as “the biggest miss of any club ever” because of the haul they could have scored.
The outspoken ex-Port Adelaide great also believes the Demons will regret not offloading Oliver’s long-term contract – worth north of $1 million annually for five more seasons after this one – to Geelong last year.
Clayton Oliver and his Demons teammates did a lot of chasing on Saturday.Credit: Getty Images
Melbourne face the unenviable task of trying to win their first game of the season against the Cats at GMHBA Stadium on Friday night.
“I was adamant they should have traded Oliver,” Cornes said on SEN.
“If you can get off that contract, then get off it … give a pick with it. Take that contract, and that problem that is Clayton Oliver off my hands.”
Demons list boss Tim Lamb was adamant in last year’s trade period that they did not consider moving Oliver.
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