1 week Ago By Peter Ryan
Melbourne have invited All Blacks leadership consultant Darren Shand to join new club president Brad Green and CEO Gary Pert to review the club’s football operations as they deal with the fallout from finishing 14th in 2024 and star player Christian Petracca’s frustration. The Demons announced a review of the board on Friday , when Kate Roffey stepped down as president and from the board, effective immediately. An industry source with knowledge of the review confirmed the invitation to Shand.
Brad Green after his last game for Melbourne in 2012. Credit: Joe Armao Senior coach Simon Goodwin, football manager Alan Richardson and Pert spent time at the All Blacks’ facility in Wellington last year in the week following Goodwin and Pert’s famous SEN interview, where the CEO said the club’s culture was the best he’d experienced in 40 years. Shand also spent a week with Melbourne midway through the season and he will bring a fresh set of eyes to the post-season review, which was already happening under Pert.
There have been calls for an external review by ex-player David Schwarz and board challenger Peter Lawrence. This decision takes the existing review a step further but remains short of a full external review. However, it indicates the board want to have more oversight over the process after Green replaced Roffey.
Her departure came shortly after she conducted an interview with SEN that was roundly criticised. Shand was involved with the All Blacks – New Zealand’s rugby union team – for two decades, but now advises sporting and business leaders on how to create strong cultures. Clayton Oliver had a disappointing season after a tumultuous off-season Credit: Getty Images Melbourne’s culture has been under fire for more than 12 months, and the club has been in the headlines over that period for Clayton Oliver’s off-season, the anti-doping charge brought against Joel Smith and the treatment of Petracca after he was seriously injured on King’s Birthday.
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