Campbell Brown has slammed the Melbourne Football club after they were bundled out of the 2023 finals series last Friday night.
Simon Goodwin’s Demons became the first side to suffer back-to-back straight-sets finals exits since 2000 when losing to Collingwood in the Qualifying Final and the Blues in the Semi Final over the past fortnight.
Given the Demons have one of the best lists in the competition, both the playing group and coaching staff have drawn justified criticism for the way they performed in September.
AFL reporter Jon Ralph reported that “senior figures” at the Demons felt that the uncertainty around Angus Brayshaw’s concussion and his health, suffered in the Pies defeat, left them feeling “emotionally charged” and was a monumental factor in the club’s finals embarrassment.
But Brown isn’t having those excuses, saying the Dees got too far ahead of themselves and only have themselves to blame.
“I don’t want to hear the bloody complaints and excuses from the Melbourne Football Club,” Brown told SENTrack.
“I don’t want to hear them full stop, let’s be honest, they choked twice.
“One, because they aren’t as good as what they think they are and two, they can’t execute in front of goals.
“The commentary out of senior officials was absolutely pathetic, saying that the Brayshaw concussion really impacted the playing group and that’s the reason we were out in straight sets.
“I agree that he’s a really important player and had he been playing they probably win the first final and the probably win the second final.
“But don’t look for excuses and give me that garbage, get mentally stronger as a playing group, I won’t have it.”
The premiership Hawk says Goodwin should have a word to those senior officials to ensure stuff like that doesn’t get made public in the future, suggesting a media gag order.
“If I was Simon Goodwin and whoever that senior Melbourne official was, I would gag them, because that is just absolute rot,” Brown added.
“You don’t come out publicly and say you got knocked out in a finals series because a player got concussed, just pathetic.
“I think they’re a fragile football club and have been for a little while and they just played into that.”
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