the former AIS biomechanist also acknowledged in the AFL world for helping turn Hawthorn into the competition’s best kickers during their premiership run from 2013 to 2015. And, among many other things, Rath is also widely respected as an insightful trend analyst.
Rath was instrumental in helping the Hawks win the 2008 premiership with a new zone defence system most teams later copied, and the AFL even recruited him to adjust the game’s rules a decade later, to open up the game.
“He’s one of the brightest blokes I’ve met in sport generally,
Loving this. Further investment into coaching/development with a bloke that was part of 4x premierships and a highly regarded sports psyche to address the ‘between the ears’ issues that plagues the club.
Since Rob Harding left, we have probably had a void in our game plan / match-day tactics and coaching in a strategy sense. Essendon has often been seen as a ‘Plan A’ only team, incapable of responding to teams who challenge its game plans during matches. This makes sense.
Obviously kicking technique and skill is an area of deficiency at Essendon, a great chance for a skilled coach to work with Tsatas et all to improve technique and accuracy by foot (Rath is a Biomechanist who up-skilled Hawks kicking in Clarko era).
Given the Club needs to build resilience and mental capability, Robbins appointment adds necessary resources to a noted weakness too.
All in all, on paper these both appear to be strong appointments.
