Max Gawn defends Melbourne Demons coach Simon Goodwin but says he would have liked him not share his personal details
Melbourne captain Max Gawn says he would have preferred Simon Goodwin to not have disclosed a personal matter but is adamant he has no issue with the Demons coach.
Goodwin revealed star ruck Gawn had been dealing with “stuff in life” after an uncharacteristic performance against North Melbourne.
The Demons suffered a 59-point thrashing by the Kangaroos on Sunday to continue their winless to start the AFL season.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“There’s footy and there’s some stuff in life,” Goodwin said in the post-match press conference.
“You’ve got to understand that people have backstories, and he’s someone that we love dearly, and he’ll certainly be a big part of our response.”
Gawn was adamant there was no rift between him and Goodwin, defending his coach for “trying to show me love”.
“I think if we all went back to the start of the press conference, we potentially just say, I just got smashed by (Tristan) Xerri,” Gawn told Triple M on Tuesday.
“But also, I don’t mind how it’s played out.
“We speak every single day and there’s no issue with me and Goody.
“I can clearly see what he was trying to do. He was trying to show me love, support and care, and I don’t mind.”
Gawn revealed he had been supporting a sick relative in the past two years.
“I am okay. There’s an illness in the family,” he said.
“It’s been for a while, about 20, 24 months, to be honest, and I’ve put myself in a really good spot throughout that whole 24 months.
“I’ve played some good footy, got some great people at the club, great people in my family and I’ve turned up every single day ready to be a captain.
“I spoke to that family member yesterday. They don’t mind.”
But Gawn insisted his lacklustre outing was not related to the personal matter.
“I love that my coach loves me, and it clearly shows that he cares,” Gawn said.
“He’s 100 per cent right - there are reasons behind performance issues for some players. That wasn’t me.
“On the weekend, I got myself to a really good point to be able to play. I just got beat.
“I won’t hide behind that, but I understand what my coach was doing. He is a father figure for me.”
Melbourne will look to bounce back when they host Gold Coast on Saturday as star midfield quartet Gawn, Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Jack Viney bid to rediscover their chemistry.
