COACH Simon Goodwin has shared insights into the player-only meeting during which Christian Petracca informed his teammates of the battles he'd faced in recent months.

The Demons coach expressed that the meeting was an important step in the reintegration of Petracca back into the club, and reiterated that the star would remain in red and blue for at least the next five years. 

Goodwin also expressed confidence that Jack Viney was nearing a new contract with the club, spoke of the incredible impact that Ben Brown had made at Melbourne and addressed the Demons v Magpies rivalry ahead of Round 24.

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Christian Shares his Story

“I think part of that (meeting) was to share his story with with everyone and make sure everyone understands what he's going through," Goodwin said.

“Christian is going to be at this footy club for the next five years.

“We can communicate all we like about what Christian's had to go through from a trauma perspective – I think when people hear it from Christian I think it means so much more.

“It's just great to see him smiling again.

“He's obviously still working through some processes in terms of his recovery. He's on a limited program at the moment.

“But as the offseason unfolds, we will certainly be in a position to start to build him up and by the time he returns, he'll be available to do a full pre-season."

Ben Brown's Legacy

“He's had a huge impact Browny, not only on the field, but as importantly off the field," Goodwin said.

“It's really clear how passionate he is, not only about the game, but community, in a whole range of different areas.

“He's brought so much to our footy club in that space. We've learned so much from Ben.

“He helped take us to the place that we wanted to go and was a big part of that.

“We brought him into to our footy club to have an impact for us in the forward half of the ground. In 2021 and 2022 - you couldn’t have seen someone that gave more to a footy club.”

Jack Viney's Contract Situation

“He's a Melbourne person through and through and we love everything that he brings to our footy club. You've never seen someone more passionate about a footy club than Jack Viney," Goodwin said.

“We're confident that something's coming pretty soon."

The Collingwood Rivalry and a Visit from 1964 Heroes

“We just had a Hassa Mann down here, from the 1964 premiership team that we’ll honour on Friday night," Goodwin said.

"He's a legend of our footy club and he spoke pretty clearly about the dislike for Collingwood.

“It's a massive game against a team that we've had some cracking games with in recent times and developing a really big rivalry.

“It doesn't mean a lot in terms of finals, but it means a lot in terms of us – we play to win no matter what.”