Mark Robinson gives his take on Essendon’s review findings and key club personnel
Essendon could have learnt a thing or two from two want-away stars from diverse backgrounds who ended up thriving at rival clubs writes Mark Robinson.
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If the pillars of Rome were at Essendon, only two are left standing after one of the most tumultuous and bloodied off seasons in the club’s 150 years.
One pillar is Adrian Dodoro.
The other pillar is Josh Mahoney.
Which is ironic because it said those two haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but not to the point where they can’t work together.
Let’s be frank, the lack of unity, which was a buzz phrase in this week’s external review report, was, in part, directed at Mahoney and Dodoro.
Mahoney is the great survivor of this internal Spring Offensive, which has seen the Bombers ultimately ripped apart and set on a path of a renaissance.
Unbelievably — or is that admirably? — Mahoney has survived as head of football.
Others have gone. There’s a new president, there will be a new football director, there’s a new coach and there will be a new chief executive.
All the while, the head of football, which has been the underperforming arm of the business, keeps his job.
Appointed in 2020 to replace Dan Richardson, Mahoney departed Melbourne after eight years as head of football, a role which became slightly confusing in 2019 when Alan Richardson was appointed director of coaching, which effectively meant Richardson worked solely with the coaches.
Confusing because, when Mahoney departed for Essendon, Richardson was appointed general manager of AFL performance, which meant he was the highest-ranked official in the Demons football department.
Mahoney is now advertising for a general manager of AFL performance at the Bombers, a role which the Bombers this week said would report to Mahoney.
So what is exactly Mahoney’s role?
At Melbourne, Richardson works purely on AFL, which is the players, coaches, development, fitness, medical, high performance, and leaves the AFLW, VFLW and overall operations to Marcus Wagner.
It’s curious because the Richardson role at Melbourne is top dog, but the similar advertised role at Essendon is not.
That’s OK, you’re allowed to be different.
But why have two senior football positions when the soft cap is so tight?
Or is Mahoney now doing the Wagner role at the Bombers?
In effect, Mahoney and the Bombers are creating a new role, a super-duper role which oversees the traditional head of footy.
The release this week of the findings and recommendations in the external review, which was orchestrated by president David Barham, is seen by the club to be a watershed moment.
It was Barham who had earlier thrown in the bin Mahoney’s internal review, which recommended Ben Rutten remain as coach.
From reading, it appeared the Essendon football department was non-functioning and a monumental failure on all fronts.
The report made comments on leadership, fitness, training, development, coaching, disunity, list management and recruiting, which all come under Mahoney’s brief.
And he ran the coaching process and he wrote the internal review which was turfed.
Still, he keeps his job.
Under his watch, Essendon did not have a head of development. What is that?
We know under-15 boys and girls teams who have parents who take kids for extra kicking and marking sessions. But Essendon, in the major league, is bereft of a development boss.
And the Bombers quasi pat themselves on the back when they announce they will be adding a head of development and general manager of high performance.
Why didn’t the football program, headed by Mahoney, have those two roles already?
What a joke.
And were the players asked about the game plan, their arousal levels and their relationships with each other.
The recommendation to improve the club’s indigenous space, which includes naming an indigenous board member, is further evidence the Bombers had dropped the ball in that regard.
The most recent red flag was the Nova Peris furore, when she said she felt disrespected by then Bombers chief Xavier Campbell, who might find himself with a role at Collingwood by the way.
Diversity gives you strength, and some people at Essendon never quite got it.
Not just in the indigenous space, either. Inclusivity means everyone. In this external review, were Adam Saad and Bachar Houli, two Muslims, ever spoken to about why they left Essendon?
Inclusivity starts with respect and understanding differences.
An indigenous board member is a step in the right direction, but real change starts at grassroots and community level engagement, of which Richmond is clearly the AFL leader.
The Bombers have been all bluster on this front and it’s embarrassing that it’s taken an external review to highlight their indigenous failings.
In fact, it’s embarrassing from what we’ve read so far the club was so poor in so many areas. Seriously, an external report discovered the players weren’t fit enough and didn’t train hard enough?
Mahoney is smart, he’s supportive and he’s a club-first person and he’s not to blame for all of the failings inside the football department.
But as head of footy, albeit for just short of two years, he has to shoulder a lot of the responsibility.
It’s incredible — or is that admirable? — his pillar is still standing.
Originally published as Mark Robinson gives his take on Essendon’s review findings and key club personnel
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