He is a great coach. He wouldn’t if coached them to GF’s and prelims since if he wasn’t good
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I’m not sure Bomba gets credit for Geelong’s 2022 flag.
I agree, just about anybody could have come in and won a flag with that Cats team in 2011. But not ‘anybody’ could have kept the ball rolling all this time the way Chris Scott has. It’s a damn fine effort.
And Brad looks exactly like him, so he must be just as good as him.
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While he has certainly done well, I also feel like they have seriously underachieved with the lists they have had. They should have had more GF wins in that time imo.
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the simple answer is the environment they are in.
They would at a guess be very similar in most things related to coaching.
you could definitely make the argument brad in geelongs environment would get similar results, and chris would get similarly poor results at this club.
but that’s where I think they would both fail at essendon, cos their belief is older and experience is better than youthful exerburence.
At geelong you can afford to play the older guys, esp when you keep topping up your list with a grade stars over the journey (danger, cameron etc) compare that to us topping up with mid table questionbale plodders.
things work at geelong because they are the finished product, they are a well run and greased machine. you can make predictable decision based off of reliable data.
at our club, if you play the older guys, all you’re doing is entrenching a ■■■■ culture and ■■■■ history of poor performance.
so they are probably very similar in coaching style and ability, that style is not conducise to where this club sits.
I don’t reckon their lists were really that good. They had a great top 5 players (bit like Carlton the last 2 years) but the rest of the list had a lot of filler / plodder types, who they managed to get some good footy out of.
The footy world wrote them off for like 5-6 years straight ‘This is the year they fall off a cliff,’ yet they never did. Farkin still haven’t.
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Yeah, I think he’s a magician too. Talks absolute bullshit and has acheived absolutely bugger-all as a coach, but has the football world at large convinced he’s some sort of soothsayer. That’s some some sort of magic trick…
The night of the destroyed Warne stand toilets.
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What does that even mean?
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The four players Essendon should trade – and a couple they should be chasing
CHRIS PELCHEN
Strategy or its execution? Which is more important to a football club? Put simply, success isn’t achievable without both in combination. A football strategy unfulfilled is frustrating, while execution minus deliberate planning proves futile.
I’ve experienced both scenarios. Having been list manager at Port Adelaide from 1997-2004, then Hawthorn from 2005-2011, I saw the benefits of a carefully prepared list strategy supported by all facets of the organisation.
Both clubs were willing to commit to the long-term objectives associated with a detailed list strategy incorporating player recruitment, development and Total Player Payment (TPP) modelling that brought ultimate success – winning premierships.
Conversely, I saw the effects of a club not united in the one goal at St Kilda. A club that in 2013 committed to the same list strategy as prepared for Port Adelaide and Hawthorn but changed course after only one year when new executive management was appointed.
This led to confusion, uncertainty and inevitably, division within a club that repeatedly looked for a quick fix. Being competitive assumed priority over positioning the club for genuine success. Execution of the strategy was severely compromised.
Essendon Football Club now finds itself in a similar position. The Bombers have a proud history but too often recently have focused on being competitive, setting shorter term goals and accepting mediocrity as an outcome.
How did this come about? Where did the jealous respect for a football superpower go? Why did other clubs stop fearing the Bombers, who were once the equal of any in the competition?
Only those within the club truly know, but as a results-based organisation, the numbers don’t lie. A highest ladder finishing position of seventh in the past 20 years, without a finals win during the same period, is a damning indictment on a team that had been the game’s most successful in the previous century.
Anyone associated with Essendon should be disappointed. Frustrated. Angry.
Essendon have talked the talk, sometimes even walked the walk, but all too briefly. Too often they have been flaky or flawed – not qualities we or they would associate with great Essendon teams of the past.
The Bombers have lacked steel, strength and conviction, and that needs to change. Success is earned through hard work and commitment, through proper strategy and execution.
Essendon does have a strategy; they have started a three-year plan. Brad Scott knows what success looks like – as a player at the Brisbane Lions he was part of one of the greatest teams in AFL history. His coach, Leigh Matthews, is one of game’s most pre-eminent figures. Both are strong, both unyielding.
But the Bombers’ three-year plan should be part of a six to eight-year plan that incorporates the arrival of Tasmania into the competition. A plan that builds upon their recent primary focus on the draft.
Essendon have had 12 picks inside the first two rounds of the AFL National Draft since 2020. They have another four selections in the first two rounds this year.
That position assumes even greater significance when considering the limited access to early draft selections caused by forthcoming concessions for the Tassie Devils.
Like Richmond, Essendon have made the right decision to attack the draft now. Those who hesitate will suffer – like the clubs that didn’t suitably plan for recruiting concessions granted to Gold Coast
and GWS from 2009-2012. Such decisions were pivotal to Hawthorn assembling a player list to compete in four consecutive grand finals from 2012-2015.
Essendon’s strategy should be reviewed, analysed, executed then reviewed again. Its development isn’t linear. It requires careful planning, periodical change and honest appraisal.
No individual coach, staff member or executive can be allowed to hijack the process – some disagreement is expected, even encouraged, but it’s critical that the coaching, player development, high performance and list management teams are aligned.
The Bombers have young talent. With the fourth-youngest list in 2025, their age demographic is skewed towards the future. They are not starting another re-build, that undertaking was initiated more than five years ago.
Twenty list changes in the past two years have only accelerated the program. But it’s essential they don’t look at their players through a biased lens – coaches and recruiters often favour their preferred players when success demands the same standards apply to everyone.
They have the nucleus of a successful team – Andrew McGrath and Jordan Ridley in defence, Zach Merrett, Jye Caldwell and Sam Durham in the midfield plus Kyle Langford and Nate Caddy in attack provide a solid foundation for the future.
But there are still too many players who show potential rather than consistent talent. Good one week, poor the next. Willing to follow rather than lead. Satisfied with playing at AFL level over being the best. Neither unflinching, uncompromising or unconditional.
More players need to become like their captain and coach – tough and relentless – strong leaders who view team success as their legacy.
While 2025 is an important step along the way, Essendon must keep their focus on the bigger picture – they simply don’t have the right personnel to win a premiership just yet.
So where to from here?
Two statistics from 2025 clearly point to immediate needs. First, kicking efficiency – ranked 16th in the competition. Second, hard ball gets – also ranked 16th.
Both statistics have been integral to premiership teams over the past 20 years, so ignore them at your peril. The Bombers need players who can hurt the opposition by foot and/or win contested possession under pressure. And players who can break lines with their disposal.
Essendon have high draft selections to work a trade for specific players in 2025 – they should firmly set their sights on Zak Butters (Port Adelaide) and Harley Reid (West Coast) if they can be convinced to return to Victoria.
Their early draft picks should only be expended to secure players of this calibre or to maximise their draft position in 2025-26.
The draft is likely to be compromised by the Tassie Devils from 2027, so recruiting the best young players now is of even more importance. While 2025 does not offer the same depth of talent as last year, the draft window is closing, so selection value is going to become greater over the next two years.
Similarly, the Bombers should look to trade players who don’t form part of their premiership model.
This doesn’t mean releasing players at any cost but being prepared to take a step back to go forward in the longer term. These choices are sometimes contentious, but it is often the difficult decisions that bring the biggest rewards.
Players to consider:
Sam Draper
As a free agent in 2025, Essendon should look to move him to improve their draft currency via AFL compensation or initiate a trade to a club offering the most favourable return.
Nik Cox v Harrison Jones
Both players possess ability but have struggled with injury. With multiple ‘‘talls’’ on the list, they will compete for a position in the same team. Retain one, move the other.
Darcy Parish
Has been unlucky with injury but the development of Caldwell and Durham means he is better served at a club competing for a premiership in the short term.
Peter Wright
While he adds depth to their forward line, the Bombers should look to trade him while he still has limited currency. Not part of their premiership model.
For Essendon, compromise isn’t an option. Stick with the strategy. Execution is paramount.
Chris Pelchen is a former list manager at Port Adelaide, Hawthorn and St Kilda.
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That’s pretty conservative by Pelchen, there’s a few others that should be on that list and with more trade value.
I guess the silver lining of Parish and Caldwell being out means we’ll get to see plenty of midfield time for Hobbs and Tsatas…
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So we aren’t the only ones that think our duds have trade currency.
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The key point of Pelchens analysts isn’t what most Bomber fans focus on. The central point isn’t about the two star players we need or players we should trade.
The central argument raised is all about ensuring Essendon establishes the right strategy over the next 6-8 years and executes that strategy without being distracted or chasing shortcuts. Thats it……
Embedded in this 6-8 year plan is all the decisions, including who we need to target, draft strategy and trading…
A 6-8 year plan isn’t what fans want to hear but it’s the reality for Essendon who has previously never seen through a strategy for all sorts of reasons.
That’s why those advocating to sack the coach and sack everyone else are advocating for a continuation of the cycle of failure at Essendon.
That’s why we need to see through the initial 3 years of Scott’s, Vozzo and Rosas plan to ensure we can execute the strategy and not see it hijacked by other forces.
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I can handle a 6-8 year plan but did it start when Scott came on board or is it from now or next year? I can never work out where we are in the rebuild process.
Every club has a 6-8 year plan, granted. But successful clubs see through their plans whilst constantly reviewing and evolving it.
Essendon hasn’t seen through a strategy and plan for years and years because it kept being hijacked as a result of sacking coaches and dealing with saga consequences.
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I’d say it begins when a good majority of the leadership group are in alignment with the strategy.
When Scott came in, he could have thrown out the coaches, recruiting, players, S&C, etc. But the club leadership wouldn’t have allowed for it. And some consequences come from a decision like that. It didn’t work for Melbourne when they cleaned out and drafted Trengove and Scully. It doesn’t always work out. Players can also leave. Whilst we all point to Massimo going, it would have been worse if more good players like Martin, Durham, Merrett and Caldwell all left. That pretty much locks you out of recruiting any decent players. We might get lucky, but it’s unlikely. And rookies may not want to stick around a bottom of the ladder languishing team. Someone like Horne-Francis saw North Melbourne and said ‘they aren’t for me’ and left.
We didn’t go down that path. We wanted to ‘get more out of the list’. That’s not the words of a rebuild. Far from it. It’s clear there were conflicting opinions on where our problems were. It’s also clear we haven’t had the words ‘we’re rebuilding’ mentioned at all, but the action at the end of last season point directly to a rebuild. And naming the youngest team in the league for each round also supports that. Doesn’t mean we ‘play all the kids’ just means we’re giving more opportunities that way.
In my mind, it started when Dodoro left. So around the middle of last year. One and a half years was used to re form the Football Department (keep who was a good fit and get rid of who wasn’t). Same with the ruck coaching situation. Same with assistant coaches. Due to monetary restraints, we chose to shift assistant coaches into the VFL program instead of getting rid of them.
Good or bad, we decided against a tear down and rebuild and decided to keep what was good and get rid of what wasn’t. It doesn’t mean we’ve fixed things. It doesn’t mean decisions made are all correct. But we’ve gone down a path.
I do not think we need to see through a 6 to 8 year plan with the same people in place. We can continue that plan with other people in place. But I’d hope the plan has measurable and realistic targets to trigger action. Then you introduce people who can carry out the next part of the plan.
When I mean ‘plan’ the details along the way can shift and shuffle. You have to do that. The game trends and rules will change so you have to change with it. But the over arching plan needs to be broad enough to allow for change and not ‘wishy washy’ enough to be win a premiership at every level by 2030. Something like that may be the end goal/vision, but I’d say the smaller ‘needs’ like improve training standards, increase foot skills (by specific training or drafting), improve strength and conditioning of players, reduce major injuries, develop a winning mindset, etc would form the plan.
Every department would have their own plan and it all works well with other department plans. I suspect, there was a disconnect between departments prior to Scott coming to the club.
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And he is mistaken citing McG on the need to keep list. (Even naming him first).
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A premiership at Essendon, it will be a long time in the coming. I would think many of us, would be likely, downstairs, pushing up daisies. We have to learn to enjoy what we have or give up.
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This is the way