MELBOURNE’S “Mr Invincible” Max Gawn has re-signed with the club for another three years.
The ruckman has been in career-best form this season, and while he’s not all that happy with his nickname — bestowed upon him after asked how he felt following the team’s win over Geelong — he is rapt to be staying a Demon until at least the end of 2018.
“I’m not the biggest fan of it (the nickname), but I’ve become accustomed to it,” Gawn said on Friday morning.
“(Re-signing) was a pretty easy decision. I love Melbourne, and there’s a good upwards trend going on here at the moment. Hopefully a little bit more consistency with the way we play and over the next few years we should be able to play some good footy.”
Gawn was left out of Melbourne’s Round 1 side, which he says proved the kick along to help him find his best form.
“I was pretty disappointed in my form really early in the year. I was disappointed I didn’t get picked in the Round 1 side and I took that pretty poorly and it took me three or four weeks to get back to the form that I wanted to be in,” he said.
“It took me a while to crack in but once I cracked in I started to enjoy my footy.”
Coach Paul Roos says the move is a fantastic show of faith in the club, which is preparing to transition to having Simon Goodwin step into the senior coaching role at the end of next season.
“It shows some faith in the club, all our young blokes that have been signing up and can see some direction in where the club’s heading,” he said.
Roos says Gawn’s turnaround this season should set an example for other Demons to follow.
“He told me (how good his form has been) walking down here,” he joked.
“It’s been terrific because early in the year was a bit frustrating for him. It’s actually worked out really well, because the tendency is to perhaps throw guys in when they’re not ready and aren’t in great form. Then he went through a four week patch of really good form in the VFL and it translated to his AFL footy.
“Certainly in my short time here I hadn’t seen him play better and he continues to get better week-in, week-out.
“That’s the message for all of our players — to try and continue to improve and get better and Max has certainly done that.”
The Demons take on the Western Bulldogs on Sunday with the hope of snapping a 21-game losing streak at Etihad Stadium.
“When you’re up and about like they are, probably the start is the most important thing,” Roos said.