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Melbourne CEO Gary Pert has launched a fierce defence of the club’s culture labelling incidents involving Clayton Oliver and Joel Smith “isolated behaviour issues”.
The Demons have endured a tumultuous off-season so far, with Oliver spoken to by the club amid “complex personal challenges” before being briefly hospitalised, while Smith has been provisionally suspended after testing positive to cocaine.
Pert addressed the rumours surrounding both players in a letter to Melbourne’s members on Monday night.
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“The club is aware of the personal challenges that Clayton has outside of football and key club experts will remain part of his daily support team,” his letter read, in part.
“I want to be clear that the current conversations we are having with Clayton are not related to these challenges, but rather his ability to make disciplined life decisions, reflective of what is expected of all our professional athletes.
“Club leaders have very clearly outlined to Clayton the behavioural expectations that we have of him, and these behaviours will be reviewed on a regular basis. It is the player leadership group, as well as (football boss) Alan Richardson, (senior coach) Simon Goodwin and myself, who will decide if Clayton is meeting minimum behavioural expectations.”
Pert said Oliver’s behavioural issues were “unrelated” to Smith’s provisional test and subsequent suspension.
”It would be totally inappropriate to take the accountability away from the players and the decisions they are alleged to have made by blaming either our cultural programs or cultural leaders,” he said.
The Demons CEO also hit out at rumours surrounding senior coach Simon Goodwin claiming he is a frequent user of illicit drugs, rumours he deemed “completely without basis or truth”.
Pert said he “personally investigated” the rumours around Goodwin and found there were “no basis to the claims”.
“The only valid information was that Simon was seen having a drink with some of our player leaders at the Sorrento Hotel which was hardly surprising, given his strong relationship with the players who were holidaying in the area over the summer break,” he said.
“The ongoing embellishment and spreading of untrue rumours have placed an enormous stress and mental toll on Simon and his family over the last three years.
“It is totally unacceptable, and it must stop.”
Melbourne’s culture has been questioned by many in the AFL world in recent months following the club’s disappointing finals campaign.
According to Pert, the off-field dramas involving Oliver and Smith aren’t a sign of a “fractured culture”.
“Everyone in our program is clear on the expectations of both elements, and they fully understand the accountability that is required to build a program to compete in the elite AFL competition,” he said.
“Unfortunately, a strong culture does not guarantee that we will not have isolated behaviour issues from time to time in the future.
“This is not a sign of a fractured culture, but an opportunity for our club leaders, including myself, to take responsibility and reaffirm our expectations of individuals in a high-performance environment. It is also important that the players who live our standards and disciplines every day see that those who fail to do so are held to account.
“In no way am I saying our programs are perfect, in fact there is no such thing. We continually review our cultural programs throughout the year and post season. We will continue to evolve and move with the changing dynamics of our club and the broader industry.”
