Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin hails Max Gawn, says Demons have their identity back after win over Richmond

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin hailed skipper Max Gawn as an “extraordinary leader” after a stunning Anzac Day eve display in which the “identity” synonymous with his team’s 2021 premiership was on display. Weeks after the coach went in to bat for his superstar captain after a down day against North Melbourne, Gawn, the seven-time All-Australian, was best on ground in the 20-point win over Richmond at the MCG. After towelling up Fremantle’s Sean Darcy last week, Gawn produced racked up 25 disposals (13 contested), nine marks (five), 34 hitouts and six clearances opposed to one of the league’s best ruckman Toby Nankervis. When asked how much longer the 33-year-old could keep performing at such a high level, Goodwin joked: “Another four or five years would be handy.” The Melbourne coach was in awe of Gawn’s performance. “He’s just an extraordinary leader and I think we’ve seen (that in) the last two weeks,” Goodwin said. “Once again he’s been able to drive the right things and lead the footy club incredibly well, but, geez, we do hope he keeps playing to this standard. It would be nice.” And with so many rival ruckmen elevating their games in recent years, such as Tom De Koning (Carlton), Darcy Cameron (Collingwood), Tristan Xerri (North Melbourne) and Lloyd Meek (Hawthorn), Goodwin suggested Gawn drew motivation from that competition for the mantle of the AFL’s top ruck. “He’s got enormous pride in his game and you’re seeing one of the best ever in the game go about his craft,” Goodwin said. “And by what we’ve seen in the last few weeks, he’s just reminding everyone that there’s just that little bit more left in him.” After starting the year in horrific fashion with five straight losses, Melbourne have managed to stop the bleeding in the past two rounds with consecutive wins for the first time in nine months against Fremantle and Richmond. Goodwin was hopeful that a turning point has been sparked in the Demons’ spluttering campaign. “When you start to value the right things in the game, that’s the biggest thing - that shift in the energy,” Goodwin said. “We were focusing on some things in the game and we getting very disappointed when they weren’t happening and now we’ve recentred our focus about what’s important in the game, and you can see our ability just to keep playing. “We play with an energy, we play with a determination and a grit and a resilience that people that have watched Melbourne over the last seven or eight years have come to know.” Most importantly, Goodwin believes the synergy between the team’s big midfield guns Max Gawn, Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Jack Viney is starting to strengthen too. “I think they’re building belief in each other,” Goodwin said. “They haven’t spent a lot of time together in the last 12 months in terms of playing footy together and they’ve been working on that cohesion. “You can see they’re starting to work their way back into their best form as a group and they’re doing it together and, bit by bit, each individual is starting to grow their game. “They’re not going to be at their absolute dominant best every quarter of every game ... but you could see once they get together they’re a very powerful group when they’re up and running.”