Paul Brasher interview: Essendon president backs coach Ben Rutten, rules out James Hird return in wake of internal review launch
Armed with a war chest, Essendon is preparing to be a major player in free agency and the trade market. President Paul Brasher chats Ben Rutten, the list build and more.
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Essendon president Paul Brasher says there is no circumstance in which Ben Rutten will not be the Bombers’ coach next year as he made clear James Hird’s days as senior coach were over.
Brasher’s Bombers have launched a full-scale internal review led by director Sean Wellman but the clear parameters are to support Rutten and his football team rather than to turf him out.
WATCH BRASHER’S MEMBERS’ ADDRESS IN THE PLAYER ABOVE
He said on Tuesday the club’s parlous 2-9 start to the season had not “changed my faith that in the next two or three years we can be a premiership team”.
Essendon will keep its list boss Adrian Dodoro and has promised an aggressive approach to the trade and free agency period that could see it spending its spare millions on rival players including Jordan De Goey, Bobby Hill and a key position back like Fremantle’s Griffin Logue.
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Brisbane free agent Dan McStay and Dockers ruck-forward Rory Lobb would also suit a Dons side with emerging key talls in Harrison Jones, Peter Wright and Kaine Baldwin.
But Brasher told the Herald Sun on Monday Rutten’s performance in his first year in charge last season had convinced him he was the man to lead the club.
“If you look at what we did last year, clearly it exceeded expectations in terms of where we got to. We looked at the different things that had come out of the review at the end of 2020 and looked at the targets set coming out of that and Ben achieved them all,” he said.
“Personally I believe he has got a very long career ahead of him and I think he will have some success with us but also further down the track as well.”
Asked if there was any circumstance in which he would not coach next year Brasher told the Herald Sun: “I don’t believe so, no.”
The review will focus on player development, coaching and list management but given Rutten has existing mentors the club has ruled out approaching an Alastair Clarkson-type figure to be used as a senior mentor.
There are senior figures within Essendon that believe former coach Hird, sacked by the club 19 games into his return from a 12-month ban, wants to coach again but Brasher has scotched that speculation.
“I would start by saying that Ben is there, and I believe Ben is the right guy,” he said.
“In terms of Hirdy I don’t think it would be a consideration for him. He is always welcome at the club but I can’t see any scenario in which we would be putting Hirdy in. Ben is there and he is going to succeed.”
He said he was thrilled Hird was back watching sons Tom and Alex in the club’s VFL side and had caught up with him recently.
Brasher hopes he will attend the club’s 150th anniversary gala dinner: “He would have been invited to the 150th celebration, I haven’t caught up with whether he has responded to that but he would be very, very welcome at that.”
Brasher said the circumstances of Rutten’s appointment to a succession plan with few other candidates vetted was appropriate, stating: “I guess the fact that he got the kind of leap with the team last year, that would make me feel very comfortable.”
And while he says the members should have found out first about chief executive Xavier Campbell’s new two-year deal, his expiring contract in October meant the club had needed to make an early decision.
Former player and 2000 premiership assistant Robert Shaw has complained about the “soul of Essendon” being lost in the move to the Hangar given the focus on ridding the club of so many famous identities and cultural touchstones.
Said Brasher: “I saw them quoted, someone texted them to me. I think he’s wrong, I don’t know if Robert has been out to the Hangar recently but it’s now very much Essendon territory, with (A League club) Western United at the other end.
“We had a reunion for the 1962 premiership team the other day, it was one of the best events I have been to. We get past players in, we get people through to the Hall of Fame.
“Is it Windy Hill? No, of course not, it’s not 150 years old. But I don’t think it lacks soul, I don’t think the players would believe that.’’
Of the capacity to use the spare cap space on list holes, Brasher was emphatic.
“I think we have got a real opportunity ahead of us, no doubt,” he said.
“We have room in the cap, we are going to have a reasonable draft hand, realistically.
“So I would think we are going to be pretty aggressive. It’s not necessarily looking at everyone around, it’s the draft, but it’s also looking at players who can play roles in areas we think can have deficiencies at the moment.”
Bombers can win flag within three years: Brasher
—Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Essendon president Paul Brasher has declared the Bombers can still win a flag within three years a day after launching a full-scale review.
Brasher backed Bombers coach Ben Rutten as the man to lead them to a premiership saying he doesn’t believe that Rutten “feels threatened by this process”.
Brasher said this morning on SEN that the Bombers’ poor 2022 campaign had not “changed my faith that in the next two or three years we can be a premiership team,”
The outgoing president revealed in a video to members that football director Sean Wellman had been tasked with investigating “every aspect of our football program” that will focus on player development, coaching and list management.
Speaking on radio on Tuesday, Brasher said it wasn’t a case of jobs being on the line.
“Review is one of these words that takes on a mystical significance,” he said.
“That you are going to turn the place upside down and get rid of most of the people in it.
“What I said was we are looking at every aspect of our football program and examining how we can improve it.
“Not just for the second half of this year but more importantly in some ways to make sure we can realise the potential of some of the guys we’ve got.
“We actually believe that we have the right people in our football program and we are supporting them.
“But we are not happy where we are and we need to obviously make some adjustments to get us to where we want to be.
“I think we are looking at perhaps adding rather than deleting.”
The Bombers, who have not won a final since 2004, will look at identifying additional resources that can accelerate player development and what coaching expertise is required to support Rutten.
Brasher said Rutten was the man for the Bombers.
“I don’t feel like Ben feels threatened by this process,” he said.
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And he said despite being 2-9 and 16th on the ladder, he was confident the Bombers could challenge for premierships soon.
“Yes we certainly don’t want be 2-9, you will definitely see an improved performance in the second half of the year,” he said.
“But it hasn’t changed my faith that we have a team that in the next two to three years can be a premiership team.”
Brasher also used the video to members to apologise for failing to announce the decision to re-sign chief executive Xavier Campbell.
On Tuesday Brasher described Campbell as the “best commercial CEO in the competition”.
What Dons told members about CEO’s secret deal
—Sam Landsberger
Essendon has launched a full-scale review of its underachieving football department and apologised to members for failing to announce its decision to re-sign chief executive Xavier Campbell.
Outgoing president Paul Brasher revealed in a video to members that football director Sean Wellman had been tasked with investigating “every aspect of our football program” that will focus on player development, coaching and list management.
“(Wellman) has got a couple of pretty good football minds alongside him in Kevin Sheedy and Simon Madden, who we can call upon at any stage,” Brasher said.
It will be Essendon’s second football review in less than two years.
Brasher, in conjunction with Wellman, Sheedy and Madden, conducted more than 40 interviews after the dismal 2020 season that uncovered a more “ruthless” coaching mantra suited the players.
The Bombers have not won a final since 2004 and now want to identify additional resources that can accelerate player development and what coaching expertise is required to support Ben Rutten.
“The actions that come out of this review are likely to be incremental in terms of additional resources, rather than transformational,” Brasher said.
“Are there particular skills? Are there particular areas that we need to invest more in?
“We’re looking at support for the coaches, including support for Ben and the other coaches. What do they need?
“Thirdly, the recruiting and list management area is one that’s going to be taking on a lot more importance this year, because of the opportunities we have.
“We’re likely to have reasonably high draft picks, room in our salary cap, and the ability to go into a period of trade free agency and drafting with a real head of steam.
“How quickly some of the actions that we’ll be taking will translate into results will we’ll see.”
Brasher predicted “real improvement in the second half of the year” as Jake Stringer, Will Snelling, Kyle Langford and James Stewart return from injury.
The 2-9 Bombers sit 16th and are on track to land the No. 3 draft pick this year.
He pointed to the Dons’ challenging fixture, having lost games against Melbourne, Brisbane Lions, Fremantle, Geelong, Sydney, Western Bulldogs, Richmond and Collingwood and Port Adelaide.
The Bombers played with spirit against the Power on Sunday but were beaten by 16 points.
Brasher, who was on the flight home from Adelaide, said “nobody was happy” with the performance.
“We don’t want honourable losses,” he said.
Brasher said Campbell’s reappointment was a “unanimous decision” from the board.
“I should apologise for the fact that you didn’t hear it from us first,” he said.
“We believe that he is the best person to provide the stability that we need and to lead us through this next stage of our five-year strategic plan, including football success.
“The CEO role has got many facets. Clearly, football success is what is our number one priority for you, for me, for everybody at this club.
“But it’s not just success in the immediate term. It’s longer-term sustained success.”
The Bombers played finals last season, but Brasher warned that progress wasn’t linear.
“It’s a tough time,” he said.
“We know that the win-loss record is not what we wanted. And of course, tough times tend to bring out a whole lot of other things.
“There tends to be something of a pile on, and I understand that. I get as frustrated and as disappointed as you do.
“But I have an extra dimension in that I have the responsibility along with all the people in this club, to try to get us to the point that we’re all going to be happy with.”
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