EFC to Fletch: You didn't get the job you didn't apply for and that's okay

Anyone got a link to the actual audio? Because it’s a decent sized leap from “I would have liked to have helped out at Essendon a bit but that didn’t go down” to “CLUB SEVERS TIES”

Has anyone asked Dustin whether he even wants to go straight into coaching after 100 years playing the game? I'd have thought he and his family might enjoy Dusty being somewhere other than a footy club for a season or two.
Yes - didn't you read the report? I will paste it into the OP.

Edit to my last post: I can’t edit posts here.

Here is the article:

Australian Associated Press
Sunday 22 November 2015 03.56 GMT Last modified on Sunday 22 November 2015 04.00 GMT

Essendon champion Dustin Fletcher will sever ties with the Bombers after the AFL coaching aspirant wasn’t offered a job with the club. Fletcher, 40, retired at the end of the season after 400 games and two premierships.

The well-respected defender has coaching aspirations and was keen to remain with the Bombers in a coaching capacity but is looking elsewhere after no offer to join John Worsfold’s staff was forthcoming. “I would have liked to have helped out at Essendon a bit but that didn’t go down,” Fletcher told SEN after Australia was defeated by Ireland in the International Rules Series in Dublin. “I’ve got a few little things on the go … I’ll get back to Melbourne and get into it.”

Worsfold was appointed to replace sacked senior coach James Hird in October and completed his assistant coaching panel with the addition of former Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna.

The obvious role for Fletcher is as defence line coach, according to the below article, back in the ill fated 2012 season, this seemed to be very much in the pipe line (at least as an assistant coach), I remember reading this article when it was originally published, but didn’t hear any more of it. I assumed it was just as low key as anything else he did.

The thing that strikes me most is that our most outstanding development of players in the time frame of Fletcher apparent stepping up as on field coaching assistant has been of key talls. 2013 was the year Carlisle was seen as a likely All Australian before he started being moved forward, 2014 was Cale Hookers year of being All Australian and this year it was Michael Hurley. I certainly remember Cale Hooker and Michael Hurley giving Fletcher considerable credit for their development and all coaches have gushed over him with his influence. We shouldn’t forget that Fletcher pretty much revolutionised the role of the defender and has done incredibly well at adapting to different styles of play, which indicates the depth of his knowledge football IQ, this was even apparent in the IR today.

I do feel for Fletch in that he must be pretty much be institutionalised into the EFC, but I suppose the closest comparison I can think of is Matthew Scarlett going to Footscray as a mentor, and now he is back at Geelong. I wish him every success and hope that he thrives somewhere else besides Essendon, but does come back to us even better and wiser. But there is also the possibility that we have underestimated his worth due to his low key manner, and the respect the players have for him would be best harnessed with continuity of relationships.

Anyway if he goes I hope he has obvious success and is appreciated and we get him back ASAP and he is part of a new golden era.

AFL’s oldest player to guide next generation

MARK ROBINSON HERALD SUN FEBRUARY 07, 2012

Dustin Fletcher shares his footy tips with a youngster. Picture: Nicole Garmston

DUSTIN Fletcher has joined Essendon’s coaching ranks.

The 36-year-old will combine playing with a coaching-type role that includes the selection committee, heavy involvement in game and training strategy, and preparatory discussions with the line coaches.

Coach James Hird initiated the move in preparation for Fletcher becoming a full-time assistant coach after his playing career.

‘‘The thing I will concentrate on is playing footy, that’s not going to change, and now my down time will go into the coaching side of footy,’’ Fletcher said yesterday.

Fletcher will swap ideas with Hird, assistant coaches Mark Thompson, Sean Wellman, Simon Goodwin and the recently appointed Matthew Egan and senior club personnel, including Danny Corcoran.

Fletcher, who left the leadership group this year, will not be paid extra money for the role.

Hird said the advantages for Fletcher and the club were obvious.

‘‘Dustin has a future in coaching. He understands the game as good as anyone I’ve seen and his ability to help our younger players is a real advantage for us,’’ Hird said yesterday.

‘‘For him, his ability to learn the coaching job as he’s playing will give him an advantage when he retires at the end of this year, next year or whenever it is.’’

Fletcher was thankful for Hird’s encouragement.

‘‘Hirdy wants me to be more vocal on the ground and give more direction and he wanted me to help in football direction,’’ Fletcher said.

''He’s given me the respect to invite me into meetings, football idea meetings, the design of training, how we train, and game strategies.

‘‘It’s a pretty big step and great for me.’’

Fletcher’s resolve to become an AFL coach sky-rocketed last year when he employed long-time AFL development coach David Wheadon as a mentor.

He also completed several coaching certificates and the Next Coach program.

The last senior coach to play as well as coach was North Melbourne’s Malcolm Blight in 1981.

On the track, Fletcher has completed up to 95 per cent of pre-season, which has included increased running

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/afls-oldest-player-to-guide-next-generation/story-e6frf9jf-1226264152226

Time for fletch to run off and learn to coach elsewhere, then come back as head coach and win ten flags!

Congrats he has coaching accreditation, a certificate doesn’t mean you can do something.

Let him go develop some u18s or a school or whatever, get a feel for teaching kids how to play the game, then work your way up. He loves footy, is humble.

Would be a great get for something like PEGS.

Yeah, this is pretty ■■■■■■ up.

We can’t find ONE spot on the coaching panel for a bloke like Fletch? Nothing at all? He HAS got a coaching record - he’s been a playing semi-coach in the back line since 2012, and we’ve had two AA key defenders since then. He’s also famously easy-going and gets along with pretty much anyone, so if this is because he’s butted heads with someone on the new coaching panel I’d say we have problem there already.

Two club premiership captains have been lost to the club in the past 12 months, and management decisions were heavily involved both times. You can put that down to necessity or special circumstances if you like, but managing to alienate the club games record holder at the same time - well, it’s maybe at this point the club needs to be looking at themselves and asking ‘hey, there’s a pattern developing here - what if the problem is me?’

I’m with ben on this one. This is ■■■■■■ up. Ease fletch into coaching at a lower level? FFS, we gave ■■■■■■ Skipworth a spot on the coaching panel pretty much straight out of footy, and he spent less than half the time in the game that Fletch did. Fletch is 8 years older than him NOW. Nah, the ‘ease him into it’ thing doesn’t wash. Neither does the boys club thing, not when we’re busily bringing blokes like Madden back to the board and Neale Daniher back to the coach selection committee.

Something’s very seriously rotten in the state of Denmark right now.

LET’S ALL GET ANGRY ABOUT A SINGLE FAIRLY UNINFORMATIVE SENTENCE

LET'S ALL GET ANGRY ABOUT A SINGLE FAIRLY UNINFORMATIVE SENTENCE

reported in THE MEDIA!

Don the Sash*!

*Unless your surname is Fletcher, Hird or Lloyd.

I would agree with the no more jobs for the boys if Harvey wasnt still there.

Pretty ■■■■ poor by the club.

The truth is who knows what is going to be good, what is going to be bad. There was only one new staff member starting with the AFL side and that position went to Bluey McKenna, it is hard to argue with his credentials and the fact is Worsfold is senior coach and we believe he may be stuck with a less than dream team with Skipworth and Harvey, he was probably entitled to someone he preferred.

The truth also is we made a loss this year and there may not have been the stomach for paying out coaches who we no longer preferred, Fletch as a skills coach/mentor working towards assistant coach would have been my preference, or working with Egan in the VFL. Hopefully Skippy surprises the sceptics, Harvey should be competent given his background and McKenna should be good.

Another article in which Fletch describes his coaching ambitions which seem to focus on a development role when he spoke about it early last year.

THE MORNING AFTER - Q&A WITH DUSTIN FLETCHER
By Sam McInerney Mar 22, 2014

AFLPlayers caught up with evergreen Essendon defender Dustin Fletcher the morning after his record-breaking 379th game to discuss playing, coaching and life after footy.

AFLPlayers: Firstly, congratulations on the milestone. It’s an amazing achievement and last night was a great way to start the year.

Dustin Fletcher: It was. There was a big crowd, and first game of the year everyone was a little bit nervous. We obviously had a few milestones with Jake Carlisle, Paddy Ryder – and myself, obviously. For us to win the first game and play the way we want to play was great.

AFLPlayers: You tend to stay out of the spotlight. Are you glad to have the milestone out of the way?

Fletcher: To be honest, I probably am. I reckon you lose a little bit of the old nervous energy when the spotlight’s on you, so I think I’ll be better for the run, to be honest, and am looking forward to next week already.

AFLPlayers: The only thing last night was missing was you kicking a massive bomb. Did you think about sneaking forward in the last few minutes when the game was all sealed up?

Fletcher: I did, but the way footy’s played now, you’ve pretty much got to do your role. I sort of let a torpedo go in… I think the first quarter, that nearly got there but just wasn’t long enough.

AFLPlayers: You spoke this week about the importance of keeping mentally fresh throughout your career. What allows you to do that?

Fletcher: Obviously the family keeps me pretty busy, but I just think you’ve got to pick your times. When you walk into the club you’ve got to be switched on and need to make sure your mind’s going, but as soon as I walk out I try to sort of switch off and think about other things and enjoy different things. I think that’s sort of helped me get the journey.

AFLPlayers: The AFL Players’ Association has changed a lot since your career began, but there’s a strong focus on making sure players are prepared for the next phase of their life when their footy careers end. Hopefully you’ve got another couple of years left in the game, but have you thought about what will happen when you hang up the boots?

Fletcher: Yeah, certainly. I’ve done a lot of the coaching courses and the Next Coach program with Dave Wheadon was fantastic. I do a day a week here [at Essendon] – usually on the day off I come in and do a bit of stuff that’s going to help me for later on, so I do think about that but at the moment my focus is still on footy and trying to get the boys over the line, and so far so good.

AFLPlayers: What do you do at the club during that day off?

Fletcher: At the moment, I’m on the computers doing the sports-code, which is sort of editing different things that happen on the ground. I can go through that with a few of the players. For the next couple of months that’s the area I’ll be enjoying, because it’s a part of coaching and a part of helping the kids.

AFLPlayers: You mentioned through the week that you might like to step away from footy for a bit when you retire, but it sounds like you’re certainly setting yourself up for a coaching career too.

“I CAN’T SEE MYSELF BEING A SENIOR COACH, BUT I THINK THE DEVELOPMENT ROLE IS SOMETHING I ENJOY” – FLETCHER

Fletcher: To be honest, I can’t see myself being a senior coach, but I think the development role is something I enjoy. The young kids, the way they come up these days is pretty professional and the earlier you can get them on the track and playing games, it’s definitely a help to the footy club. I’d like to be involved in Essendon in some way down the track and we’ll just have to see what happens at the end of the year or whenever it might be.

AFLPlayers: Good luck for the year ahead – have you got anything you’re going to try to do differently this season or are you going to approach your footy the same way?

Fletcher: I approach it the same way, but I think if I can get 16 or so games, or somewhere around there, at the best level I can play… Basically [my focus is on] just playing my role now. Footy’s changed a bit – you’ve just got to do your role and as you saw last night if blokes do that you know you’re in games and you can hold them to a pretty low score. [The Kangaroos only scoring] 60 points was great.

AFLPlayers: Sixteen games this year would leave you just short of 400. Any chance you go around again next year?

Fletcher: We’ll see what happens but it’s a fair way away yet. We’ll see how we go.

To read AFLPlayers’ full-length feature on Fletcher’s record-breaking game, featuring Matthew Lloyd and Simon Madden, click here.

To learn more about the Next Coach program, click here.

http://www.aflplayers.com.au/article/the-morning-after-qa-with-dustin-fletcher/

LET'S ALL GET ANGRY ABOUT A SINGLE FAIRLY UNINFORMATIVE SENTENCE

Let’s also assume he’s massively disappointed and bitter so we can be.

It’s almost like the media report things in a way to get outraged people to buy their newspaper.

Relevance Deprivation Syndrome …

No nepotism = No loyalty. Coaches from outside the club can be sacked with a lot less angst.

Has anyone asked Dustin whether he even wants to go straight into coaching after 100 years playing the game? I'd have thought he and his family might enjoy Dusty being somewhere other than a footy club for a season or two.
Yes - didn't you read the report? I will paste it into the OP.

Kind of embarrassed to say that yes I did read it, and no I don’t know how I didn’t pick that up…

Oops.

I think it is very very disappointing. Yet another questionable decision by the club.