WITH 80 seconds left on the clock during Saturday night’s Wildcard Final against Carlton, Melbourne captain Max Gawn realised his side was going to lose.  

Not because he didn’t have belief in his team. He was proud of what they’d achieved for the year, but he knew they weren’t ready. Yet.

“We probably played our worst game of the year in our most important game, but most of that can be put to Carlton, they were pretty special,” Gawn said.

“I had some reflection out there on the ground, which is rare in such a big game that you get time to think.

“I wish that I was still thinking about trying to win the game, but it was going to be pretty hard work for us to win.

“I realised in that moment, how young the group was and my initial thought was, we're not ready.

“It would have been a cool and an almighty story if this young team buzzed their whole way through the final series.

“It wasn’t like the last two years where we missed finals. It’s just that we’re not ready right now. We're ready next year.

“We all saw my mindset last year against Collingwood [in Round 24], where I said that we needed to learn how to win. That's not the feeling that I had this time around. I think we have learned how to win.

“We won 15 times, and when the whips got cracking, we probably just weren't the big, strong enough team yet, but that will come.”

It was a bittersweet end to a season that defied expectations.

With a new coach and a host of fresh faces, Melbourne was projected to finish outside the top 10, naysayers across the AFL world predicting a year at the bottom for the team going through big change.

They instead produced 15 wins, some of which were against teams tipped to be premiers.

The buzz around the Dees started to shift and a brand of fun and dangerous football was their new tagline.

“I’m stating the obvious, but it was a bit of change, trying to score and the power of Gen Z in our team,” Gawn said.

“The young guys are really taking this group forward. One of the more infectious things that can happen in a space is a young person developing and watching that happen in front of your very eyes.

“It was cool to see that come from within, because it hasn't really been that much change other than Steven King coming in and losing a couple of very, very good players.”

It wasn’t the fairytale ending they’d hope for, exiting the premiership race in their Wildcard Final against Carlton.

The week prior, the Dees had also lost an important game to the Western Bulldogs.

According to Gawn, these back-to-back losses were the biggest learning curves for the Dees, where the expectation of success crept into their mindset.

“We have to learn from the last two games in particular,” Gawn said.

“We were a group that was so free [at the start of the season] and I think the fact that no one tipped us almost helped us. We got to live as underdogs, which is a much easier place to live.

“I've lived at the other end of the spectrum where we’re tipped to win every game, and that's tough.

“We were in the better end where you just rock up to games and try to play your best footy.

“But expectation slightly crept into the building late in the season, so it's how we deal with that going forward.

“People might start telling us that we’ll be in the eight, people might start telling us that we’ll be in the four. The expectation might be in the building real early [next year].

“So, it’s about how we deal with that, how we have the urgency around the place, but then still feel our carefree, Gen-Z selves.

“It's going to be an interesting thing. I haven't dealt with this in my career. The fact that we're a young group and we're trying to learn how to deal with expectation.”

As a team, the Dees defied expectations, but Gawn himself created history, becoming the first player to receive nine All Australian selections.

Having been touted as the greatest ruck for a long time, Gawn was used to batting off the questions about his talents, instead deflecting to other players or making jokes at his own expense.

This accolade, however, was a level above.

It was confirmation of his star status in the league, and it meant that it was finally time for Gawn to show some pride in the career that he’d put together to date.

“We wrestle each other a little bit on this topic, I don't necessarily love talking about it,” Gawn said.

“I'm really proud of my longevity in the game, I don't necessarily think I'm better than any other ruck in the comp.

“One of my main goals is to be ageless and keep coming in here and performing. I don't want to be here on this list as an older guy that needs to be rested, worried about his form…that's not what I want to be here for.

“I want to be here, still at the top of my game, and right now I think I am still at the top of my game.

“So, when you get the [ninth] jacket, and you think ‘I'm still in the conversation’. That's the cool bit.”

It’s the classic case for a ruck to hit their peak further into their career, but at the age of 34, many see Gawn’s continuous improvement a marvel to watch.

What’s the secret to his improvements at age 34? It’s not the usual strict professionalism or recovery.

“There are heaps of different theories and unfortunately, I've nailed the ruck stereotype, spent six years in the VFL battling injuries and then I get better as I age,” Gawn said.

“What I've realised is that I play my best footy when I'm happy, and another thing that I joke about too much is my family, but my family is actually very important to me, and I'm happiest when I'm with them.

“For example, if we were playing this week, I would have gone for a big bike ride with George and Louis on Monday and that would have been better than an ice bath and sauna.

“And loving the game, that's tough as well right now, the game is sort of copping it a little bit, and you can easily fall out of love with the industry, but you've got to learn what it is that made you love this game.

“You’ve got to go watch Friday night footy, even though you might be footy’ed out.

“It’s a little balance and I generally think the secret key ingredient is mood.”

As the group enters into their off-season, Gawn is already preparing for what will be his 18^th year at the top level and the plan isn't to slow down anytime soon.

“We’re in a better spot than where we were last year,” Gawn said.

“Things change, things happen so quickly, the team that sits on their backsides and does nothing over this [off] period, is the team that goes downhill pretty quickly.

“[The plan is to] watch a bit of the finals because I'm keen to see what the best is doing. I’ll do my normal off-season routine that I normally do…and then I’ll come back on day one, ready to get after year 18.”