Truth behind Essendon coach John Worsfold’s meeting with chief executive Xavier Campbell
The rumour mill went into overdrive when Essendon coach John Worsfold was spotted dining with Bombers CEO Xavier Campbell, two days removed from the horrific loss to the Bulldogs. Here’s why they met.
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The onlookers that spotted besieged Bombers coach John Worsfold deep in conversation with CEO Xavier Campbell at an Essendon steakhouse on Monday wondered if it was a prelude to the Last Supper.
The pair dined at Squires Loft in Essendon on Monday night, only 48 hours after one of the most humbling losses in the club’s 120-year history.
But as Essendon made clear yesterday, the pair catch up once a month in a series of regular chats as two of the club’s most senior figures.
Their discussion was part of a scheduled dinner as the club does everything it can to turn around its disastrous last six quarters.
Earlier that day Campbell had backed in coach Worsfold and the club’s football department, adamant Essendon had improved from 2018 after 11 wins from 21 rounds.
The premiership coach has been under fire amid speculation he could lose his job if he fails to qualify for finals.
Worsfold has been criticised in recent days for his almost total lack of emotion during games despite sitting on the bench during the match.
But club best-and-fairest winner Brendon Goddard lauded John Worsfold’s calm demeanour as his greatest strength.
He told Fox Sports News’ AFL Tonight on Monday that although the recent losses had been hard to swallow, Worsfold’s body language wasn’t the main issue.
“I’m a little bit torn because one of Woosha’s great strengths is he is very measured. There was just something about it; he was less interested and measured than he would normally be considering the circumstances,” Goddard said.
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“It was a little bit concerning and that’s his great strength. He still would have been positive, guys coming off the ground giving them feedback and staying positive — that’s one of his great strengths. So I’m a little bit torn.
“There is no doubt (I was hurt by it). At times I struggled to make comment on the game. Obviously I’ve got to do that, but it was difficult and a hard pill to swallow.
“There were two guys that stood out in my mind from Essendon and that was Zach Merrett and Pat Ambrose. Guys that didn’t let the scoreboard dictate their effort and they stood out because of how poor everyone else was.
“Some of things I saw it was almost like a training drill for the Bulldogs, which is pretty concerning because of the circumstances they are in and where they want to get to and two weeks out from a potential finals campaign.”
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