Essendon premiership defender Dean Wallis calls for sweeping changes at the Bombers
Dean Wallis is disgusted with the direction Essendon has taken, saying the Bombers aren’t the same club he played for and loved. And he won’t attend another premiership reunion until there’s an overhaul at the top.
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Dual Essendon premiership enforcer Dean Wallis says the club’s top office has been hijacked by “imposters”.
In a blistering attack on the Bombers administration, Wallis said he spoke for a silent majority of Essendon people who have “had a gutful” of the years of mediocrity.
The 1993 and 2000 premiership defender has called for a wholesale independent review into the club’s administrative and football department operations.
He said there were “skeletons” in the Essendon closet that would disgust the club’s loyal supporter base starved of a single finals win for 16 seasons.
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“Twenty years ago when we won the 2000 premiership we were the most envied sporting club in Australia,” Wallis said.
“The people who I still speak to at the club tell me it’s a lifeless environment today.
“I’m on the outside now, but they’re telling me it’s lost its soul.
“And unfortunately those people won’t stand up and say anything because they are scared of losing their jobs - and don’t worry there are plenty of frustrated past players out there too.
“All I know is that a bloke called Graeme McMahon (the former Essendon president) would never, ever have let this happen and allowed the club to get to where it has and staff to get away with what they have.
“I’ll never forget a couple of days before he passed away (in July 2014), I was sitting by his bedside at his house, he had a tear coming out of his eye and he said, ‘Wally, whatever you do, fix this club. The club is f---ed’.”
Rumblings of a board challenge grew on Sunday night after Essendon was mauled by Geelong, slumping to 11th on the ladder.
Asked to identify the club figures he was talking about, Wallis said: “They know who they are.
“If there was an Olympic Games for imposters in the AFL, Essendon would win gold, silver and bronze.
“Some people will have a go at me for speaking out like this, but someone needs to stand up. “The reality is, I’m just a past player who cares about his club.
“There needs to be a full review and investigation into the ongoings of the past and hopefully there are some passionate Essendon heavy hitters that can rally together to make drastic and necessary changes.
“There was some amazing energy around the place when Hirdy (James Hird) and Bomber (Mark Thompson) came back to the club and if the saga hadn’t happened we could have won a couple of premierships by now.
“But unfortunately, lives have been destroyed.”
Wallis, 50, spent most of his adult life at the Bombers and in the AFL system - first as a rugged defender and then as an assistant coach and football department staffer under Kevin Sheedy and Hird.
“I love the Essendon Football Club: it was a part of my life and my family,” Wallis said.
“It was my heartbeat and my passion and to be given the arse seven years ago and to never be told why still bloody hurts.”
Wallis, who played in two flags under Sheedy, was cast aside by Essendon’s new broom in the wake of the drugs scandal that engulfed the club.
He said it disgusted him to learn of the forced departures in recent years - well before the coronavirus crisis hit - of long-serving servants including a doorman, property steward, head trainer and club chaplain.
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“I know everybody has a use-by date but for some of these guys, it was their life,” Wallis said.
“The culture of the club is driven by the people around the club which breeds success and they’ve lost some amazingly good people and they won’t ever get it back if they continue on the path they are currently on.
“We keep hearing in the media about finals and this window of opportunity for the next premiership, but they’re absolutely dreaming.
“People can say I’m a disgruntled ex-employee, but anyone who knows me knows how much I love Essendon.
“If I didn’t care I would have moved on many years ago, like so many people have told me,
‘just move on’, but I can’t and won’t move on until people are made accountable for their actions.
“But I can’t do this alone, I need support from those that have been behind the scenes. I need those people who have been calling me over the last how many years to stand up and be heard.”
Wallis said he would continue to boycott premiership reunions and club functions until wholesale changes are made.
“It absolutely kills me not to be a part of my premiership reunions. I have upset a lot of my teammates by not attending, it is nothing personal towards them, but I’ll keep boycotting them until it is addressed,” he said.
The 127-game hard man filed an explosive Workcover claim three years ago accusing club bosses of covering up staff cocaine use, sexual harassment and fraud.
“I’m happy to sit down with the board and the integrity department and detail it all - but they don’t want to listen because they don’t want to hear the truth,” he said.
“Enough is enough. The sponsors, members and supporters, who are the club, deserve better.
“My motive in doing this is simple, it’s to get that club back to where it belongs - a powerhouse again.”
Originally published as Essendon premiership defender Dean Wallis calls for sweeping changes at the Bombers