Bernie Vince has defended Simon Goodwin on the Rush Hour with Bernie Blewey and Jars, hitting out at off-field rumours that have recently swirled about the Melbourne coach.
“It’s disappointing,” Bernie said of the rumours about Goodwin, who he played with at Adelaide and was coached by at Melbourne.
“Obviously I’m pretty close with Goody as well, and you can hear in his voice, he’s nearly at breaking point at the moment… his marriage has split up.
“There’s a lot of pressure on coaches… doesn’t matter how well you coach, they come for you eventually.”
“[It’s] disappointing, as a past player of the Melbourne footy club.”
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Bernie said he hadn’t heard anything remotely like the rumours that were floating.
“Nothing that would even resemble some of the stuff that’s being asked about Goody,” Bernie said when asked if he’d heard any of the same commentary about the Dees coach.
“It was publicised, him down at the Sorrento Hotel, on a weekend, which was in the off-season or a break, and he was having a few beers with his players.
“And I like that… yes they were watching the races, but do we watch the races when we’re at the pub?
“Just because he’s a coach, can he not be there?
“I don’t know the answer to that… I love that he’s with the captain and a couple of other players.
“Whether that’s a good look or a bad look, that’s everyone else’s interpretation.”
Bernie spoke of former what he alleged is former Melbourne president Glen Bartlett’s role in the chaos surrounding the Demons.
“This all stems from, by the way, former president Glen Bartlett, who’s feeding the media with stuff he needs them to hear,” Bernie alleged.
“He didn’t want Goody at the club leading into the 2021 season, which ended up being a premiership season for Melbourne and Simon Goodwin obviously… basically he was trying to set up a situation that would see Simon Goodwin finish up at the club.”
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Melbourne have been facing questions about their culture off the back of two consecutive straight sets finals exits and player behavioural issues including a drunken fight at a Melbourne restaurant last year, Joel Smith testing positive for cocaine this year, and Clayton Oliver’s personal issues.
CEO Gary Pert and Goodwin himself spoke at length about the club’s culture and future on SEN radio on Tuesday, with Goodwin directly addressing the illicit drug rumours.
“Never (have I used illicit drugs), and I’ve said this over a three-year period now, and it’s pretty ordinary that I’m sitting in this position having to justify that situation,” he said.
“It’s been widely accused that I’ve got a behavioural (problem) and lifestyle that’s not acceptable. Do I enjoy having a beer and a punt? And a glass of wine with mates?
“Yeah, of course I do, I’m a pretty straightforward type of guy.
“It’s got way out of control from a boardroom battle into court documents, into public rehashing, rehashing of a story over and over again to the extent that it’s become a fact.”
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