Robbo Q&A: Ben Rutten breaks silence and lays out his plans for Essendon

In his first major interview, soon-to-be Essendon coach Ben Rutten goes head-to-head with Mark Robinson about Joe Daniher, Adam Saad, his plans to make Essendon great again and what he has learned from 2020.

Ben Rutten will take charge of the Bombers in 2021.

MARK ROBINSON: Are you ready, Ben, to coach the Essendon Football Club?

BEN RUTTEN: Yes, I am. From a personal point of view this season has been fantastic. It’s been a rich learning environment for me, and to be given the opportunity from the club and from Woosha (John Worsfold) to support me in my growth, it has been awesome. We didn’t expect the season we had, but in a lot of respects it’s worked well for me. I’ve been exposed to so much with Woosha by my side.

MR: You’ve run the training program and match-day coaching, and you now add messaging to media, members and fans. Are you prepared for that part of coaching?

BR: For me, this year was about connecting more and building strong relationships with the players, really embedding myself into the football program, and I haven’t had the focus so far to be involved in the media side. But certainly I’ve been involved in the preparation for that from Woosha and he has guided me through that and how he does things. That doesn’t mean I’m going to be exactly the same. It’s going to be the next step in the evolution of me as a coach to take charge of that and drive the messaging.

McGUANE: ‘DELUSIONAL’ DONS MUST FACE REALITY

John Worsfold hands over the Essendon coaching job to Ben Rutten after Round 18.

MR: John Worsfold on Friday described himself as an introvert. Are you an introvert, an extravert or someone in the middle?

BR: Probably somewhere in the middle. I don’t go out of the way to draw attention to myself, but this year has given me the opportunity to express myself to the group and have an influence, which I’ve really enjoyed.

MR: Are you a ruthless coach, Ben, and I ask that question because Tom Bellchambers retired this week and you didn’t select him for a farewell game against Melbourne. Was he injured or did you pass on a farewell game?

BR: T-Bell has been a fantastic warrior for the footy club, played such a significant part, and we’ve been communicating with T-Bell since January/February around what the team would look like. Then COVID hit and we knew he wouldn’t be playing every game because of a physical point of view. Unfortunately, the past few weeks he hasn’t been able to train or prepare his body as he would’ve liked to. I certainly don’t think one more game for Tommy defines him as a footballer. I’ve seen the legacy he will leave, especially with Sammy Draper, and that’s enormous. We don’t want to see Tommy out there labouring in his last game, that’s not him as a footballer and he’s comfortable with the decision.

MR: What does Essendon mean to you?

BR: I’ve only been here two years and some of the history attracted me to the role and club. In the initial stages was the fact it’s a 150-year-old club with a lot of success and a lot of enthusiastic and passionate supporters and member base, and they are really important things to any footy club. It takes a whole footy club to win a premiership and that’s something I’m really passionate to get back to the footy club as soon as we possibly can.

MR: Are you an Essendon person?

BR: I’ve certainly grown to be an Essendon person. The club has given me a great opportunity to lead the club, to be part of the Essendon history and shape and create our path forward. The journey which we are about to embark on, I’ve got no doubt it will be an exciting one, a fun one, it isn’t going to be smooth sailing the whole time, but I’m certainly looking forward to the opportunity.

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Ben Rutten speaks to the Bombers in their Round 17 loss to Port Adelaide.

MR: Kevin Sheedy arrived at this club in 1981 — after a disappointing previous decade — and brought a ruthless, arrogant attitude and a want to be a powerhouse club. What’s your vision for the Bombers?

BR: All footy clubs have got a past and Essendon certainly has got a significant past and I’m certainly keen to bring that ruthless, hard-nosed, dependable, consistent edge back to the club. For me, it’s about the way we prepare, the way we build relationships, the way we communicate with each other, the way we compete regardless of what the scoreboard says. We could be 10 goals up and ruthless is kicking the goal, protecting for your teammate, it’s doing the team thing first, that’s part of being ruthless. That kind of calculated way we want to do things on a consistent basis. We want to be a hard, competitive, physical team, but we also want to have calculated execution in what we do. That’s what we’re working towards.

MR: The fans and the competition does not look at Essendon as a ruthless club or team.

BR: I understand the disappointment from our members and supporters and this season we haven’t been satisfied with our performances and there’s been a number of reasons for that. That ruthlessness in what we do is about preparing, the way we train, starting well week in week out regardless of the situation. We’ve been inconsistent in those areas and that’s what we want to bring back and be a hallmark of our footy club.

MR: How demanding will you be in bringing that ruthlessness back? Are you an overly vocal coach as well as a relationship coach?

BR: That’s where it starts. I’ve been building strong relationships and connections with the players and by doing that, we can, and this is what we need to do, and that lifts our expectations of each other and increases our standards. There’s not one big massive thing we need to lift, it’s across the board. It’s the way we train, the way we prepare, we communicate, it lifts our expectations around the way we live our lives as Essendon footballers. And building it on trust and relationships, we can expect more from each other, we can be more demanding.

MR: The style of football and the system at Essendon this year has been widely discussed and criticised. What is the game style? What are you trying to achieve?

BR: As I said, our level of consistency hasn’t been there. There are a number of reasons for that, be it player availability and continuity of our players. Having said that, we’re looking at building a brand of footy which is connected, contested and competitive and which stands up in finals. To do that we need to have a clear understanding of the personnel on our list, what our players strengths are, our strengths as a team, and play a style which supports our list.

Ben Rutten says Essendon needs to improve ‘across the board’. Picture: Michael Klein

MR: Here are some stats from 2020. Scoring is nothing above 14th. Efficiency 14th and 17th. Contest is 17th. Pressure applied 15th. Territory in forward half 14th. Forward-half turnovers 17th. Footy can change quickly but those numbers suggest there needs to be a savage increase in all elements of the game. Fair assessment?

BR: Yes, it is. There’s not a level of satisfaction about what’s been achieved this year and part of us getting better is all of those things. I know the playing group and the coaching group are determined to improve on them. All those things you reeled off are a part of the DNA of successful footy clubs.

MR: People have said you’re trying to copycat Richmond with handball. For a time there, it looked like you were trying to copy Geelong with safe ball movement. Can you talk specifically about what you’ve tried to implement this year?

BR: We’re trying to play an Essendon band of footy. We need to develop a unique brand that suits our personnel. Every cub has a different list, style of play and different strengths. For us, it’s about identifying those and being able to play a well-balanced brand. So our attack doesn’t compromise our defence, our defence doesn’t compromise our ability to attack and we need to have flexibility within our game so if the game requires us to be safe out of the backline we have the ability to do that. If the game needs us to play faster or take ground or get over the back, we need to be able to do that as well. That’s part of us building our brand. I certainly don’t have all the answers to everything, but whether it be Geelong, West Coast or Richmond, we’ll see what other clubs are doing and we’ll see if that would apply to us, and learn and add and evolve our game.

MR: So, this will be Rutten’s system, having learnt at Adelaide as a player, as a coach at Richmond, from John Worsfold at Essendon and, of course, studying opposition teams?

BR: All those things have had strong influences on me. On top of all those things is me as a person as well.

MR: Are you going to ask Essendon fans for patience?

BR: We are on a mission to get back to being a premiership club as quick as we possibly can. That needs to be really clear from me as the senior coach and I want our members and fans to understand that’s what we’re doing. We’ve met with every player in the past week and the strong, consistent message from every one of those players has been their want to drive this club forward.

MR: Who spoke to the players? You?

BR: Absolutely. And that’s the consistent theme. We are going into an off-season period we haven’t seen before and God knows how many weeks before we get them back. But every one of those players is committed to coming back in better shape than they are in now in one way, shape or form. They are really clear where they are as a player and what they can do over the next 16-week period.

MR: Were they brutal conversations, honest, or were they an arm-around-them conversation?

BR: The brutal conversations are when they are honest and that’s what they were. It went both ways. There was good clarity between players and coaches because we’re in this together. The level of honesty we got from the playing group was fantastic and that’s going to be the catalyst of our growth moving forward.

Incoming Essendon coach Ben Rutten says he needs Joe Daniher by his side next year.

MR: I’ve been told you have a great relationship with Joe Daniher. What do you have to do to convince Joe to stay, or has he already told you his future is at the footy club?

BR: No, I don’t know where Joe’s head is at. He’s got decisions to make. It’s certainly been made clear from my point of view that Joe Daniher is a significant part of us moving forward. I need Joey right by my side. As a coach, I’d love to have that, I’d love to have him by my side, as I would other leaders. But Joe is a significant part of that. He’s popular among the group and I’d love to see him run around in an Essendon jumper and I’d love nothing more than to start my journey as a senior coach with him right beside me.

MR: Describe your relationship with him?

BR: I have a good open relationship with Joey and we’ve built that over the past couple of years, this year in particular, like I have with a lot of players. He’s got some thinking to do but he’s really clear on where he sits and how much we value him.

MR: My understanding is he’s going to go away for a couple of weeks after the season to consider his future. Are you happy with that or do you want answer ASAP?

BR: There’s no time frame on it, but we need to know at some point. But the most important thing is Joe makes the right decision for him. I want Joe Daniher at this footy club and I know once he makes his decision, and let’s hope it’s at the footy club, his heart and soul will be in it. That’s what I need him to be really clear on. He’s got all the information from us, he’s very clear about where we’re going as a footy club and how important he is in the role he’s going to play moving forward and that’s my No.1 priority.

Essendon defender Adam Saad is yet to recommit to playing with the Bombers next year.

MR: How did your honest discussion go with Adam Saad, who is yet to recommit to the club?

BR: I love Saady. We’ve had some good, honest conversations. We’ve made it really clear his importance to us. We believe where we’re going as a club and I want him to be part of that.

MR: Does he believe?

BR: As far as I know. That’s the conversation we’ve had.

MR: Does the list need severe cutting, key older players added to it, or more youth? What’s your position on the list?

BR: We’re entering a phase where we want to improve our playing list and absolutely we’re going to be aggressive in improving our list.

MR: Your version of aggressive?

BR: It’s about making clear decisions. There will be some difficult decisions like there are every year, where we’ll have to let players go. That’s my responsibility. But having said that, I’ve got strong belief and trust in our playing group. From what I’ve seen over these past three weeks in particular, the guys have got a lot of belief and faith in our current list as a whole. The majority of them are going to take us forward.

MR: How have you seen that faith and trust in the past three weeks, where you have lost by 15, 66 and 50 points?

BR: We’ve started increasing the demand and it’s largely been led by the players. The drive out of our … particularly Ridley, McGrath, Saad, Draper, Parish, that group of players coming through, a lot of them have had breakout seasons. That next group of players have taken real ownership of the footy club. I’m seeing it day in day out.

MR: Do you suspect Dyson Heppell will be captain next year?

BR: I’d be surprised if he’s not. He’s universally seen by the playing group as our No.1 leader at the moment.

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MR: Kevin Sheedy, I understand, will have a role in footy next year. How much will you use his knowledge?

BR: I’ve formed a relationship with Sheeds and he’s more than happy to take my call. He’s a revered person at this footy club and he’s got fantastic knowledge of people, of football, and of life which I can absolutely learn from.

MR: I asked are you ready. Can you be ready at 37 to coach senior football?

BR: It’s one of those jobs where nothing you can do can prepare you for it. This year has been a privilege, from the club and from Woosha, and it’s a unique experience that I’m sure every first-time senior coach would’ve loved to have had. As I said, do I have all the answers, do I know all the parts of the job, absolutely not. But am I prepared, am I willing to take it on and lead the footy club and grow as a person and bring a group of young men on … absolutely.