AT AROUND 6pm on May 28, 2022, the Melbourne premiership dynasty looked unstoppable.

Having marched to a first flag in 57 years, the 2021 premiers had stormed to a 10-0 start to the 2022 season and were on track to make it 11 in a row when it led Fremantle by as much as 30 points on a cold Saturday evening at the MCG.

An 18th win on the trot loomed, and talk of multiple premierships appeared justified.

Since that moment a little more than three years ago, almost everything that could have gone wrong for the Demons has gone wrong, culminating in the departure of coach Simon Goodwin on Tuesday.

Below is a timeline of the flashpoints that have plagued the club in the years since.

May 2022

In one of the biggest shocks of the season, Fremantle recorded a rare away win at the MCG, stopping Melbourne’s unbeaten run dead in its tracks. The Dockers turned a 25-point deficit at half-time into a 38-point win, kicking 12 goals to one in a stunning second half. It was one of just six losses for the Demons across the entire season as they finished the second on the ladder. But having looked invincible in the 10-0 start to the year, the loss to the Dockers – the first in a run of three defeats in a row – at least made them look beatable.

June 2022

Star defender Steven May was banned for one match after an alcohol-fuelled fight with teammate Jake Melksham outside a Melbourne restaurant. Melksham was also sidelined having required surgery on the infected hand he hurt in the fight. Coach Simon Goodwin labelled the incident “embarrassing” but stressed there was “no divide” between players who’d played in the 2021 Grand Final and those who’d missed out.

September 2022

Having earned a home qualifying final, the Demons spectacularly bowed out of finals in straight sets, giving up leads to the Swans and the Lions in consecutive weeks. It was just the 10th time in the AFL era that a club had lost two finals in as many weeks and the premiership defence was officially over.

September 2022

Fremantle lured Luke Jackson back home after a long chase for the Western Australian product, but it didn’t take long for Melbourne to find an impressive replacement, snaring two-time All-Australian Brodie Grundy out of Collingwood. Grundy still had five years remaining on his contract at the Pies, but joined the Demons to partner with Max Gawn in what was expected to be an intimidating ruck combo.

July 2023

While tipped to be a near-unstoppable pairing, the Gawn-Grundy combination didn’t quite pan out as hoped. Melbourne found it functioned better in the second half of the season with Gawn as the sole ruck, leaving Grundy without a spot. He was dropped after round 17 and managed just one more game (in round 22) for the season. He was on the move again at the end of 2023, making it three clubs in three years after landing at Sydney in the trade period.

September 2023

In an incident that divided the footy world, Brayden Maynard jumped off the ground in an effort to spoil Angus Brayshaw’s kick early in the first quarter of the qualifying final but collected the Demons midfielder in the head, knocking him out. Brayshaw was motionless for some time after the brutal and contentious incident, with a lengthy delay as medics assisted Brayshaw from the field with the aid of a stretcher. Melbourne players appeared aggrieved by the collision, with Jack Viney remonstrating with Maynard some time after the incident occurred when a replay was flashed on the scoreboards at the MCG.

September 2023

The Demons went from looking unstoppable after their drought-breaking 2021 premiership to consecutive straight sets exits from finals in the ensuing two years. Melbourne blew an inside-50 advantage of 69-37 to go down by seven points to Collingwood in week one of the 2023 finals, before it lost the unloseable against Carton in the semi-final. The Demons looked home into time-on in the fourth quarter before Jesse Motlop kicked a goal to reduce the margin to under a kick, then Blake Acres kicked the winner for Carlton with under a minute left. The Dees wound up with the unwanted record of becoming the first team since the current finals system was introduced in 2000 to suffer a straight-sets finals exit in consecutive years.

October 2023

Forward Joel Smith tested positive for cocaine and was provisionally suspended from the Demons’ football program while Sport Integrity Australia, with the support of the AFL, investigated the circumstances of his positive test. The sample in question was provided by Smith after the Demons’ round 23 game against Hawthorn. Smith was ultimately banned for four years after a lengthy investigation that ran for more than a year. That suspension related to five rule violations from Smith, including returning a positive match-day test for cocaine, trafficking or attempted trafficking, and possession.

October 2023

Clayton Oliver’s playing future was the subject of fierce speculation after AFL.com.au revealed clubs were weighing up whether to make a play for the four-time club champion. The onballer endured a difficult 2023 season due to injury and off-field issues, but Melbourne later shut down any prospect of Oliver leaving and he stayed put. But the severity of his off-field issues came to the fore after the trade period. Oliver was challenged by the club on his professionalism with then-CEO Gary Pert saying the club “has very clearly outlined to Clayton the behavioural expectations that we have of him”. It culminated when Oliver was taken to hospital in October following a seizure, which he partially attributed to the dizzying side effect of his ADHD medication.

December 2023

Oliver’s ongoing issues culminated in him leaving Melbourne’s December training camp in Lorne to deal with personal and medical issues. Oliver attended the first day of the camp but returned to Melbourne that evening, with Demons football boss Alan Richardson confirming Oliver was “taking a break as he continues to deal with some issues.” The move came days after it emerged that he had been charged with driving with a suspended licence after his licence was revoked on medical grounds following his October seizure.

February 2024

Premiership Demon Angus Brayshaw medically retired following the concussion suffered in the 2023 qualifying final. While Brayshaw was able to return to training in the pre-season, scans showed “microscopic changes” in Brayshaw’s brain after that concussion. That, combined with extensive neurological testing and discussion with medical experts, left a “devastated” Brayshaw with no choice but to medically retire from the game.

March 2024

Federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie alleged players had faked injuries and withdrawn from games to avoid drug testing for illicit substances on match days. The allegations were made by former Melbourne club doctor Zeeshan Arain and Shaun Smith, the father of Joel, to again shine a light on the culture at the Demons. In response, AFL CEO Andrew Dillon defended the League’s “clinical intervention model”, in which players are tested for illicit drugs under the supervision of club doctors.

June 2024

After starting the season with a 7-4 record to again put themselves forward as a premiership contender, the Demons are humiliated by Fremantle by 92 points in a ‘home’ game in Alice Springs. It was Goodwin’s biggest defeat as coach and a performance he labelled “completely unacceptable”.

June 2024

Star midfielder Petracca was rushed to hospital after a terrifying ordeal during the King’s Birthday match against Collingwood, where he suffered four broken ribs, a lacerated spleen and a small puncture to his lung. The severity of his injuries ended his 2024 season, while discontent over his treatment by the club’s medical staff was an issue that would fester for some time to come.

Jun-Aug 2024

After looking on course for another finals campaign, the Dees finish the season 4-8 and end the campaign in 14th spot, missing the finals for the first time since 2020.

August 2024

Reports emerge for the first time that Petracca wants out of the club amid hurt and frustration at his treatment following the King’s Birthday incident. Club stalwart Alex Neal-Bullen also requests a trade home to South Australia for family reasons.

September 2024

President Kate Roffey resigned just a week after she was heavily criticised for a radio interview about disgruntled Demons superstar Christian Petracca. Roffey admitted in an interview on SEN that she had not spoken directly with Petracca, and denied he and the club were in a “stand-off”.

October 2024

The reports of Petracca’s discontent continued in the trade period, while his midfield teammate Oliver was also floated as a trade option. Oliver even met with Geelong players in a hope of getting a fresh start at the Cats, while Petracca had reportedly expressed an interest in joining Collingwood or Carlton. But with both players tied to lucrative long-term contracts, deals could not get done as Melbourne held firm on its two superstar midfielders.

October 2024

After a tumultuous period on and off the field, which sparked two separate reviews of operations, CEO Gary Pert stepped down. Following Roffey’s departure, it left the club without a CEO and a president just months after two of its leading players attempted to be traded.

Mar-Apr 2025

After a chorus of positivity over the summer about love and connection, the on-field results to start the 2025 campaign spoke for themselves. An 0-5 start to the season did little to quell the pressure on Goodwin and the entire club, with the unrest highlighted by Petracca’s furious reaction to a loss to Geelong in round four.

June 2025

Following their horror start to the season, the Demons enjoyed a brief resurgence that included upset wins over Fremantle and Brisbane as well as the long-term deal signed by in-form star, Kozzy Pickett. But things took another turn on King’s Birthday, when their admirable loss to ladder leaders Collingwood was overshadowed by Steven May’s heated confrontation with Max Gawn in the dying stages of the game. May chastised Gawn for an errant kick, leading the irritated skipper to shove the defender in return.

July 2025

In one of the most extraordinary results of the season, the Dees give up a 46-point lead at three-quarter time in a stunning loss to St Kilda. The chaotic final play, where the Demons conceded a 6-6-6 free kick and failed to track the run of Saints star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, became emblematic of the club’s issues. In the wash-up, skipper Max Gawn acknowledged his side ‘doesn’t know how to win’.

August 2025

Just 10 days after the horror loss to the Saints, and just three days after a thumping 83-point win over West Coast, Goodwin is sacked by the club. He departed with a 106-85-1 overall record, including finals campaigns in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023.