Demons coach Simon Goodwin praises side's 'unity' in big win over Suns after challenging week in the spotlight
Melbourne Demons coach Simon Goodwin has credited his side's 54-point win over the Gold Coast Suns to the camaraderie at the club.
The Demons headed north for their round 23 clash after a tumultuous week in the spotlight.
On Wednesday, Goodwin shut down suggestions that stars Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca would be playing elsewhere in 2025.
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Simon Goodwin addressing media post-match. Melbourne Demons
This came on top of forward Alex Neal-Bullen's announcement he would seek a trade back to South Australia at the season's end and rivals voicing their interest in luring veteran Jack Viney.
But come Saturday, the Demons buried all that, recording an 18.9 (117) to 9.9 (63) win at Carrara Stadium.
The victory broke a four-game losing streak for the Dees and, with one round remaining in the regular season, heralded Melbourne as the first interstate club to beat Gold Coast at home this year.
Speaking post-match, Goodwin lauded the team's to throw their arms around one another.
"[The win] tells us a lot about the unity and the connection that is pretty strong within our footy club," he told media.
"It is a big win — 27 degrees, no interstate [team has] come up here and won.
Jack Viney celebrates with teammates after kicking a goal during the round 23 AFL match between the Gold Coast Suns and the Melbourne Demons. Albert Perez/AFL Photos via Getty Images
"It shows a bit about our footy club. There has been a lot spoken about [the club] this week for all the reasons we have expressed throughout the week.
"Internally there is a real belief with the group we have got, we keep progressing forward, we keep trying to get better and we will find a way forward.
"We are not playing finals and that's pretty clear, but we feel we have a group that can go forward pretty quickly."
The club's 11-11 record means it's still a mathematical chance to make the eight, but Goodman was confident the team would be back in the winner's circle in 2025.
"The competition is tight and you have to get a lot right in your game both from a method perspective but also personnel to be really successful," he said.
"We have learnt that we need to get a lot right. Not only with our team, our personnel [and] our method that we still have work to do on, but everything that drives performance.
Melbourne's Kysaiah Pickett and Simon Goodwin celebrate victory over Gold Coast. Albert Perez/AFL Photos via Getty Images
"That is what we want to be, a high-performance footy club that continually drives success, and winning is something we want to make sure is paramount at our footy club."
Only a goal separated the two teams at half time before the Demons turned up the heat in the second half — holding held the Suns to just two goals while adding ten of their own.
Suns coach Damien Hardwick labelled the loss his side's worst performance this season.
"Disappointed is probably too nice a word to be perfectly honest," he said post-match.
"We set ourselves to come here and play our last game in front of family, friends and fans, and we walk away incredibly disappointed. That was a really poor performance."
