Rolling contract in offing for Goodwin

MELBOURNE is considering putting coach Simon Goodwin on a rolling rather than setterm contract as talks ramp up on a new deal.

It’s expected an announcement will be made before Round 1.

Goodwin signed a five-year contract when he joined the club as an assistant under Paul Roos at the end of 2104 and Demons president Glen Bartlett says he is open-minded on the strategy going forward.

“We will look at all options,’’ Bartlett said. ‘’What works for the club, what works for Goody, we want stability and you need to be sensible about it as well. It’s quite an interesting discussion.

“If you look in the corporate world, it’s very much an ongoing relationship, you don’t worry about three years or five years.’’

Carlton coach Brendon Bolton has an employment contract, which is in offing for Goodwin, although Bolton’s deal includes security until the end of the 2020 season.

Bartlett, who yesterday announced a new jumper sponsorship with Jaguar, declined to divulge the intricacies of the Goodwin discussions

“Certainly there’s a trend of people thinking about an ongoing contract as such, but there’s something about footy and the AFL which seems entrenched about three, four or five-year fixed-term congrats and there’s stability around that.

“It’s something a bit peculiar to our industry.

“They’ve got their pros and cons. It does add stability and on the other hand, every time you get the near the end or having a chat about it, there’s all this speculation about what’s going to happen.

“Whereas, if you don’t have that, it’s just ongoing until it changes.

“Anyway, he’s doing a great job, the whole coaching department is, led by him, I couldn’t happier with him.’’