Melbourne president Kate Roffey says she expects coach Simon Goodwin to be at the club for years to come, in the wake of explosive allegations about his behaviour.
News Corp has reported that concerns over alleged behavioural issues resulted in the club’s board considering standing Goodwin down at the start of the 2021 season.
The report included claims that alleged bullying by Goodwin resulted in the club being hit with an unlawful dismissal claim in 2020.
Goodwin went on to lead the Demons to the drought-breaking 2021 premiership, the club’s first since 1964.
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In a statement acknowledging the report, Roffey said the issues were dealt with by a review at the end of the 2020 season, headed up by chief executive Gary Pert.
“As expected from any review, the final recommendations outlined areas for improvement for several key staff within the football program, that feedback was given and welcomed by Simon and others as a way of improving our young leaders who are driving the cultural change,” the statement said.
“Simon, like many others within the department, was given this feedback and embraced the opportunity it provided to evolve and improve as a coach.
“During these feedback discussions, Simon totally rejected any accusations of bullying behaviour and as the club president, I totally support Simon rejecting those accusations.
“Simon is an inclusive leader who is loved by the players, coaches and staff and goes out of his way to build genuine relationships throughout the football department and broader club.”
Roffey said the “thorough” review made it clear Goodwin was the man to take the club into the future.
“On behalf of the current board, I would like to make it incredibly clear that Simon Goodwin, as the current reigning premiership coach and AFL coach of the year, is an exceptional leader of our football club,” she said.
“Simon along with other club leaders Gary Pert and Alan Richardson have driven a high-performance culture that has led to a premiership and made my board and all Melbourne supporters proud of this club.
“I want to make this very clear, I look forward to Simon continuing to evolve as a coach and leader at the Melbourne Football Club for many more years to come.”
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