“I’m not going to go into the details, but he’s someone that … there’s footy, and there’s some stuff in life. We’ve just got to understand that people have backstories, and he’s someone that we love dearly and will certainly be part of the response” – Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin on his captain Max Gawn, after the skipper was beaten in the ruck duel by North Melbourne’s Tristan Xerri on Sunday.

Simon Goodwin’s motives can’t be faulted. The senior coach put Max Gawn’s private travails into the public domain in an attempt to provide the champion with a partial alibi for his performance on Sunday.

Goodwin wasn’t asked, “what was the issue with the skipper?” The question was simply one of how Gawn was feeling about being eclipsed by Xerri, and whether his pride had been dented.

Gawn has been dealing with family matters. Goodwin knew the background and wanted to provide the football public with some context, without any specifics.

It is difficult to be critical of a senior coach who is being truthful and also showing care for his captain. Was this intervention necessary? No, it wasn’t. The outcome of Goodwin’s burst of empathy was to create a considerable curiosity about the “backstory” behind Gawn’s apparent struggles.

The cliched, dead-bat answer would have been along the lines of, “Max had his colours lowered by a good up-and-coming ruckman in Xerri, he’s a proud man and I’m sure he’ll respond” and to sidestep the backstory altogether.

The problem with raising the idea that Gawn was affected by personal matters is that a million people immediately wanted to know what Max was dealing with; if you raise the personal, folks will crave the gossip, even if it’s innocuous.

Gawn will have his say on Triple M on Tuesday, and it’s unclear whether he will provide further information on his family situation. I would venture that the skipper, as an elite player who seldom makes excuses, will likely give credit to Xerri and downplay the impact of private distractions on his performance.