Is Essendon the new Richmond? | Thebigtip

Who would have thought at the start of the year that Essendon would finish just 4 points ahead of Richmond to end the season in 14th position? It would have been ludicrous to suggest that Essendon, who had made the finals in 2009, were a chance to finish behind the basket case that is, or rather was, Richmond.If not for one game and percentage. But it very nearly happened.

Two members of the original ‘big 4’ AFL clubs, these two sides share a rich rivalry and history, which in recent years has been rather lopsided. It was although the football Gods had favoured Essendon, placing them at the top of the AFL while discarding the Tigers to the scrapheap.

In the 30 years since the Tigers last won a premiership, they have gone through 12 coaches, not counting current coach Damian Hardwick. It has been a period marred by infighting, power struggles, rising debt, dwindling membership, instability, poor recruiting and list mismanagement.  The Bombers on the other hand have been the complete opposite, having amassed one of the largest fan bases in Australian sport, due largely to them having won four premierships under the tenure of master coach and marketig guru Kevin Sheedy.

While Essendon were busy winning premierships and establishing dynasties, Richmond developed a losing culture which has stuck till today. It makes one question whether the club is actually cursed, much like the Boston Red Sox. It’s ironic to think that the most popular theme song in the AFL, “Oh we’re from Tigerland”, is also one of the least sung songs due to the Tigers lack of success.

While other clubs were investing in list development and recruitment, Richmond seemed content to trade away promising first round picks for developed players who never lived up to expectations. Remember this is a club who picked Aaron Fiora ahead of Matthew Pavlich in the 1999 draft under then coach Danny Frawely. This is a club who in 2005 signed Terry Wallace to a 5 year deal, a deal which raised eyebrows as most coaches are only offered three years in their first term at a new club.

Both coaches would ultimately share the same fate, paraded to the Richmond fans and branded as ‘saviours’, it wasn’t long until they were stabbed in the back by the faceless members of the board who hired them. The Richmond coaching job description read more like that of a suicide bomber, it could only end in one way; in flames. So what’s changed?

For one Clinton Casey was displaced by Gary March in 2005, and in 2009 club legend Brendan Gale came to the club, instantly bringing the stability and direction the club lacked. The club invested heavily in list management and recruitment, making it a number one rule that under no circumstances would they be trading away any first round draft picks. They also recruited ex-Essendon and Port Adelaide premiership player Damian Hardwick as their coach at the end of 2009 and he immediately gave Richmond back its bite.

Under Hardwick Richmond were back to playing at their veracious best; attacking the football and tackling in numbers. Finally the toothless Tigers, who had been the joke of the AFL for the last 30 years, got their act together and played the type of uncompromising tough football that would have made Captain Blood proud.  Although they started the season 0-9 and finished the season in 15th position, there is a lot to like about the Tigers going forward.

The same can’t be said however about Essendon, who at the end of the 2010 premiership season are coachless. Season 2010 was so bad for the Bombers that embattled coach Matthew Knights was shown the door with two years left on his contract. Knights went into Sunday’s round 22 clash with the Bulldogs a dead man walking, his fate having already been sealed a month earlier.

It all started in 2007, when Essendon decided not to extend legendary coach Kevin Sheedy’s contract past that season, they sought a new direction you see. However, it is believed the board, in particular Ray Horsburgh, wanted more control over the direction in which Essendon were headed and couldn’t do so with Sheedy in charge and so they hired Matthew Knights as their new senior coach.

Knights got the Essendon job after having unsuccessful coaching stints with the Port Adelaide Magpies in the SANFL and the Bendigo Bombers in the VFL. The irony is that Knights beat out Hardwick for the Essendon coaching job, the joys of hindsight……..

It was never going to be easy for Knights at Essendon, shunned by fans and treated as an outsider, Knights was very much on his own at Essendon. He spoke of bringing the Bombers back to their glory days. He spoke of employing a youth only policy, a policy which saw the unpopular departure of Essendon’s leading goal scorer Matthew Lloyd and another club legend Scott Lucas, ultimately retired by Knights at the end of the 2009 season.  The youth only policy must have been missing when Knights decided to recruit premiership forward Mark Williams from Hawthorn, who by 2010 was a spent force.

In three years at the helm, Knights brought Essendon to their first finals appearance since 2004, a result that led Ian Robson to offer Knights a two year contract extension in 2009, even though Knights still had one more year remaining on his current contract. The fans however did not share Robson's belief in Knights as a coach, with members threatening not to renew their memberships as long as Knights was in charge. This all came even though Knights had been reassured by the board that he would be coaching next year. Knights was subsequently sacked less than 12 hours after coaching the Bombers in their round 22 loss to the Bulldogs, ending the year with a 7-15 win loss record.

It’s fair to say that Essendon have wasted the last three years with Knights in charge. Its no dig at Knights, it’s not even his fault. He should never have been in charge of Essendon in the first place. The fact of the matter is that the Essendon board’s incompetence has cost the club between $800,000 to over $1.2 million in severance payments, money which could be going towards the development of Windy Hill or more importantly the list. It is this sort of incompetence that can cost clubs dearly in the long run, especially in the current economical environment. Essendon luckily enough have the financial resources to cover their losses, for now.

So where to now for both clubs? Of the two lists Richmond’s is the most promising. They have a Coleman winning full forward in Jack Riewoldt, a terrific leader in Chris Newman and future All-Australians Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin and Brett Deliedio. You throw in consistent performances from Shane Tuck, Robin Nahas, Alex Rance, Nathan Foley, Ben Nason, Mitch Morton and there is a lot to like about Richmond. 

Essendon on the other hand don’t look so good going forward. Their board is a mess, with members happy to leak confidential information regarding the Knights fiasco to the media. Essendon’s list is a worry too; their only A-graders are couraeous captain Jobe Watson and emerging talent Michael Hurely, while it is littered with underperforming players. This is why the Bombers need to choose their next coach wisely, they can ill afford to make the mistakes they made with Knights. The board needs to show the leadership needed and steer this great club into a direction before its too late, or has the balance of power already shifted in Richmond’s favour?