Garry Lyon lashes AFL over 'disgraceful' move that cost the Melbourne Demons Mac Andrew

Melbourne great Garry Lyon has taken aim at the AFL for a controversial rule tweak that cost his former club signing young talent Mac Andrew from their academy. In 2022, the Bulldogs landed Jamarra Ugle-Hagan as the next generation academy player. However, the AFL changed the rules to make sure clubs could not bid on players in the top 40 draft.

This backfired on Melbourne who watched Andrew leave the club in 2023 as their best next generation academy player. In a brutal blow for Melbourne, the AFL then changed the rules back in 2024. The Demons ultimately lost out after the brief rule change.

Melbourne has watched Andrew develop into a future star at the Suns in 2024. Andrew slotted the winning goal against Essendon last week in a major sign of his emerging talent.

With the likes of Max Gawn coming to the end of his career, and Brodie Grundy leaving to Sydney, Melbourne were on the look out for depth. Andrew would have helped improve Melbourne for years to come as the defender appears to be a long-term prospect.

And Lyon has taken aim at the AFL for backflipping on the rule, which has seen Melbourne potentially lose out on a superstar. “If Melbourne put all the data of the last two years of results into a machine and looked at where their deficiencies are, what they need most, the fact that they need more size with Max Gawn coming towards the end and getting rid of Brodie Grundy,” Lyon said on SEN Radio.

“If they put in all that data about the Dees over the last few years it would spit out one name of the player that they needed – Mac Andrew. And they had him as an Academy player. It would be like Jamarra Ugle-Hagan just ripped off them and just saying ‘no, I know he’s you’re player, but you’re not having him’.

“And then you know what would be worse? Saying two years later ‘listen, we’re changing the rules back’. So if you think I’m bitter about it, 100 per cent I am...that is disgraceful. These things make or break clubs.”

The Demons suffer Clayton Oliver blow

The Demons have endured a tough season under Simon Goodwin and they were hit with another blow this week after Clayton Oliver was ruled out for the remainder of the season. Oliver has undergone further surgery on the hand he injured earlier in the season, but also suffered cracked ribs in Saturday night’s defeat to Port Adelaide. He was ruled out for the final two rounds.

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This has prompted questions over whether Oliver will remain at the club next year. Although Goodwin was adamant the youngster would not be leaving having spoken to him after the injury. “We’ve got to get him physically well again, and he’s walking around this morning with a smile on his face and more determined than ever to get his football back to the highest level," he said.

“He’s had some challenges physically this year. He’s obviously had a plate in his hand for a big part of the year … that’s now been removed, we’ll get that right, we’ll get him physically ready to go, and he’s going to have an enormous pre-season.”