Max Gawn comes clean after Demons accused of 'dumb' mistake labelled 'worst in AFL history'

Melbourne Demons captain Max Gawn has revealed it was his decision to order Jack Viney to the wing during a staggering tactical mistake on the final play of the game against St Kilda. The Dees coughed up the biggest three-quarter-time lead in VFL/AFL history on Sunday, with Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera the hero as St Kilda erased a 46-point deficit for a 15.6 (96) to 13.12 (90) victory at Marvel Stadium.

The aftermath has been swift and severe for the Demons, with serious questions being asked of their leaders. With the score level at 90-all with eight seconds remaining, Melbourne conceded a 6-6-6 infringement from the restart.

What ensued was absolutely diabolical for Simon Goodwin's side, with Wanganeen-Milera given an unchecked run into the 50m circle to take an easy mark to slot the winning goal. The Demons didn't appear to know the rules around the 6-6-6 restart, and a number of players lost their heads on the final passage of play.

Viney was standing on the wing marking no-one, when he should have been back behind the ball. Skipper Gawn sprinted back without checking any of the St Kilda players, while the Demons' coaching staff didn't appear to be communicating well either.

The Melbourne Demons players lost their heads in the final passage of play against St Kilda. Image: Channel 7

Dissecting the final passage of play for AFL.com on Sunday night, Kane Cornes said it was the "worst 69 seconds in the game's history". Cornes pointed out the Demons were given a whole minute to get their defensive structure in place after the umpire called the 6-6-6 infringement, but still got it horribly wrong.

"Look at Jack Viney there, look at Kozzie Pickett (marking nobody)," Cornes said. "They let Wanganeen-Milera mark the ball inside the forward 50 with no-one on him. It's the worst 69 seconds I've ever seen.

"You just wonder about Simon Goodwin and what that means for the challenges that he's had with his coaching, and whether they're sitting back wondering 'gee is he the right man?'. Not only after this year but the mistakes that were made in this last quarter.

"I saw Simon Goodwin on the interchange bench and he was just standing there. There was no instruction, there was no direction. To me it appeared as though Melbourne were so defeated once they realised they couldn't win that game of footy."

Speaking on Triple M’s Mick in the Morning on Monday, Gawn admitted he got things wrong at the death. “I’m probably the only one on the field who knows that we got a warning in the second quarter...they tell the ruckman," he said. "We were about to step in the circle, and I realised we had about two seconds to find a winger; there wasn’t a winger on the other side. 

"From there, I didn’t nail it. In the end, it’s three seconds so I don’t have much time, but I sent (Jack Viney) to the wing and tried to get a forward in – but it was a back that we had too many of. After that free kick happened, we didn’t nail it as well.”

Gawn said it's unfair to lay the blame at Goodwin's feet. “In the end, there’s 18 guys that have managed to stuff that up on the field, in terms of positioning with the 6-6-6," he said "We’ll wear that. Beforehand, I think the boys just allowed the Saints to get a few early goals and then momentum is that hard to stop. Coaches are in with the players; that’s a world record loss. It’s a disappointing one."

Speaking on Fox Footy, David King was just as critical of the Demons' leaders. King suggested the Dees players didn't know the rules and where they were allowed to stand on the restart from the 6-6-6 infringement.

“Name me the leaders at Melbourne. They’re all there," King said. "They’ve got (Christian) Petracca, Gawn, you’ve got (Christian) Salem behind the footy, (Tom) McDonald. They’re everywhere there. They should have understood this situation.

“They should have understood the 6-6-6. Instead of getting confused here … why is Max back in the middle? I just spoke with (ex-AFL umpire) Ray Chamberlain, he said there is no rule that says Max has to go back in and reset. He should be the loose man."

St Kilda players celebrate after Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera's winning goal. (Photo by James Wiltshire/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

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King continued: “What the hell is Viney doing in the middle of the wing when his opponent has gone to the left edge to charge forward? So, as the fourth midfielder comes in no one is communicating. No one knows who’s got who. 

"I don’t understand how they’ve capitulated so poorly in the space of 30 seconds. They haven’t assessed the situation. They haven’t assessed the likely danger zones and they’ve allowed Wanganeen-Milera to charge unopposed into that dangerous area through a lack of understanding of what’s going to happen and a lack of communication.

"This comes back to coaching, I don’t care what anyone says. It comes back to learnt habits, learnt skills at training... They should have known these things. This is their profession. It’s the dumbest thing I’ve seen this year."

Max Gawn and Melbourne players walk off the field. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Reporter Mitch Cleary wrote on social media: "Was 55 seconds from the Demons’ 6-6-6 infringement to the Saints actually getting the ball. How on earth has no one on the Dees’ bench told Jack Viney to get to the defensive edge of the centre square?! Would’ve been in the exact hole where NWM marked it." While Daniel Garb suggested it could have 'major ramifications' for some at Melbourne.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo Sport Australia at https://au.news.yahoo.com/questions-asked-of-melbourne-demons-leaders-after-diabolical-late-mistake-against-st-kilda-214437639.html

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