Simon Goodwin - Senior Coach

After two years learning the ropes as an assistant under Paul Roos, Simon Goodwin officially took the reins ahead of the 2017 season.

A superstar with Adelaide, Goodwin played 275 matches from 1997-2010, with only Andrew McLeod (340 games), Tyson Edwards (321), Mark Ricciuto (312), Ben Hart (311) and Nigel Smart (278) having played more matches for the Crows. He was a dual premiership player with Adelaide in 1997-98 and captained the Crows from 2008-10.

From 2011-14, Goodwin was an assistant coach with Essendon, where he became a highly regarded coaching prospect. In round 23, 2013, Goodwin filled in as Essendon senior coach.

After starting his career as a defender, he became one of the AFL’s best midfielders in the 2000s – and one of the game’s best players of the modern era.

A five-time All-Australian in 2000-01, 2005-06 and 2009, Goodwin won the Malcolm Blight Medal – Adelaide’s best and fairest award – three times in 2000 and 2005-06. He also finished runner-up in Adelaide’s club champion award in 2007-08 and third in 2009. Goodwin was also named the AFL Coaches Association player of the year in 2006.

In 2000-01, he represented Australia against Ireland in the International Rules series and in 2008 he played for the Dream Team against Victoria. He won the Michael Tuck Medal in 2006. Before his stellar AFL career, Goodwin was a talented cricketer and co-captained the South Australian under-19 team.

Alan Richardson - Director of Coaching

An experienced tactician, Alan Richardson joined Melbourne's set-up as the club's Director of Coaching ahead of the 2020 season.

Richardson is a well respected figure in the footy industry and joined the Demons after six years and 126 games at the helm at St Kilda, where he finished as the club's second longest serving coach.

Prior to working at the Saints, Richardson held assistant roles with the Western Bulldogs, Collingwood, Essendon, Carlton and Port Adelaide and coached Coburg at VFL level in 2003. He also acted as Port Adelaide's senior coach for one match in 2013 in the absence of Ken Hinkley.

As a player, Richardson made his name as a reliable defender across 114 games at Collingwood between 1987 and 1996. At the Magpies, he narrowly missed playing in the 1990 Premiership after being selected for the Grand Final, but failing a fitness test.

Troy Chaplin - Backline Coach

Chaplin has been a part of the Melbourne coaching setup since September 2016, originally serving as the club’s offensive coordinator.

The former key defender, who retired at the end of the 2016 season, played 215 AFL matches from 2004-16.

Chaplin represented Port Adelaide in 140 games from 2004-12 and made 75 appearances for Richmond from 2013-16. During his playing days, he kept an eye towards a coaching career, honing his craft at Sturt, Oakleigh Chargers in the TAC Cup and assisting with Richmond in his last few months at Punt Rd.

He made his AFL debut in round four, 2004 against the red and blue at the MCG – the same day Melbourne general manager of football operations Josh Mahoney played his first game for the Power.

Although Chaplin made just one appearance in his first season – the same year Port Adelaide won its inaugural AFL premiership – by 2006, he was a mainstay in the Power line-up and had received a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination.

In 2010, he finished second in Port Adelaide’s best and fairest award, after coming third in 2009.

In his first season with the Tigers, Chaplin finished third in the best and fairest.

Originally from Maryborough Rovers/North Ballarat, Chaplin was selected by the Power at No.15 in the 2003 NAB AFL Draft. He crossed to Richmond as a restricted free agent in 2012.

Justin Plapp - Midfield Coach

Following three successful years as Casey Demons head coach, Plapp joined the Melbourne coaching panel full-time before the 2018 season.

Plapp played 44 AFL matches from 1998-2002, including 18 for Richmond from 1998-99 and 26 with St Kilda from 2000-02.

In his first two AFL matches for the Tigers, Plapp booted eight goals, including three on debut against Fremantle in round 14, 1998 and five the following match against Carlton. His five-goal haul earned him an AFL Rising Star nomination.

In 2008, Plapp became captain-coach of the Burnie Dockers and guided the club to a preliminary final in 2009.

He was assistant coach with Box Hill Hawks in 2010 and Williamstown in 2011, before coaching the Sandringham Dragons in the TAC Cup from 2012-14.

Plapp guided Casey to the finals in each of his three years in charge, including a minor premiership and Grand Final appearance in 2016.

Ben Mathews - Stoppage and Contest Coach

Mathews was one of the first coaches Paul Roos brought to Melbourne, having played under the 2005 premiership coach in the Swans’ 72-year drought-breaking Grand Final win.

After playing 198 matches and kicking 45 goals for the Sydney Swans from 1997-2008, Mathews became a development coach with the Gold Coast in 2012, before he joined the red and blue.

Originally from Corowa-Rutherglen, Mathews developed in the Sydney reserves in 1996, before he made his AFL debut against the West Coast Eagles in round 16, 1997.

Mathews’ durability and reliability was a feature of his career. From round 16, 1999 to round five, 2006, he made 151 appearances from 154 matches.

After gaining a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination in 1999, Mathews stepped up considerably in 2000, finishing sixth in Sydney’s best and fairest. In 2001, he finished third.

Mathews was regarded as a courageous player and an integral part of Roos’ time as coach in the Harbour City.

Matthew Egan - Head of Player Development

Egan was appointed head of development in September 2016, after earning a reputation as a highly-respected coaching member with the Bombers.

The former Essendon interim senior coach – he guided the Dons in the last three rounds of the 2015 season – Egan was an outstanding key defender in a brief career, cut short by a debilitating foot injury.

Egan played 59 matches for the Cats from 2005-07 and was named All-Australian in 2007, before a fractured navicular bone prematurely ended his career.

Egan suffered it in round 22, 2007, during a marking contest with Lions great Jonathan Brown. He required immediate surgery to have screws inserted in his foot. It proved to be his last AFL match.

After retiring, Egan was a development coach with Geelong from 2009-11.

He was then an assistant coach with the Bombers from 2012-15 and head of development and VFL coach in 2016.

Egan came to Melbourne having already forged several strong relationships with the likes of Simon Goodwin, Brendan McCartney and Craig Jennings at Essendon. McCartney was also Egan’s line coach at Geelong. Egan was also a former Geelong teammate of Shannon Byrnes, who works in welfare at Melbourne.

Max Rooke - Development Coach

Two-time Geelong premiership player Max Rooke was appointed to the role of development coach in November 2016.

Rooke, who was also a development coach with the Gold Coast Suns in 2016, played 135 matches for Geelong, including its 2007 and 2009 premierships, from 2002-10.

A versatile player, with a fearless approach to the game, Rooke retired in 2010 after a knee injury ended his career prematurely.

Originally a rookie with the Cats, Rooke joined Geelong from Casterton and became a highly-respected player.

He overcame several injuries throughout his career – he even went to Germany for surgery on a debilitating hamstring – and was crucial in Geelong’s premiership campaigns in the late 2000s.

In Geelong’s 2009 Grand Final win over St Kilda, Rooke kicked two goals.

At the end of the 2011 season, Rooke was appointed to Geelong’s coaching panel and spent 2012-15 in a development role with the Cats.

In late October 2015, Rooke joined Gold Coast and spent the 2016 season with the Suns.

Rooke has reunited with the likes of Brendan McCartney, Matthew Egan and Shannon Byrnes, who were all part of Geelong’s successful era and are now members of Melbourne’s football department.

Sam Radford - Development Coach/VFL Senior Coach

Following a mid-season reshuffle at Melbourne in 2019, Sam Radford took over the VFL coaching reins from Jade Rawlings.

Radford serves dual roles with the Casey Demons VFL side and the Melbourne AFL team, while he has previously served as an assistant coach in the AFLW program.

He coached Parkdale in the VAFA from 2011-16, which included back-to-back flags in 2011-12 and runner-up in 2014.

He is a AFL level three accredited coach. Radford has coached St Bedes College since 2011, where he is a teacher.

Radford played in the TAC Cup for Sandringham (Prahran) Dragons in 1995 and later for Sandringham Zebras in the VFA/VFL from 1997-2004.