AFL 2025: Essendon willing to hire from beyond AFL circles to rectify injury troubles next season

Essendon won’t stop at AFL figures to rectify its injury carnage next season and fill a vacant key role.

Essendon is open to exploring outside AFL circles to fill its vacant high performance manager role in 2026.

The Bombers parted ways with high performance manager Sean Murphy last week after their injury toll gathered stunning momentum.

They took on GWS last week with 15 players unavailable, including 11 without a return date, and an extra rested.

Essendon coach Brad Scott said Murphy was receptive to his departure after a difficult year.

He also confirmed the Bombers would look beyond AFL fitness gurus and would appoint as soon as possible.

“Once the club had made the decision that we’d be making change at the end of the year, in my view, the moral and ethical thing to do to is inform those people,” Scott said.

Lewis Hayes is one of the many Bombers sidelined through injury. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images

“Sean is a really high-quality person, his first instinct and reaction – outside of obvious disappointment – was he didn’t want to leave the players short-changed.

“He wants to do what’s best for the club, which speaks volumes to his character and integrity, but we also can’t run an exhaustive process without informing our current staff.

“We thought that was the best process and the best way morally to handle that. Ideally. when does that person get appointed? Well, it’s very difficult.

“It won’t just be the AFL circles, it will be looking at all sorts of sports for the best available people in those roles.

“But almost by definition those people are currently in roles. We will run our process and let it take its course, but we’d like to think sooner rather than later is always better.”

Typically, club staff are informed of their future informally ahead of August 1.

Uncontracted assistant coaches can then place themselves on a list set up by the AFL Coaches’ Association for other clubs to hire from.

Former Essendon fitness boss Sean Murphy.

Scott said it would be distasteful to project whether the club would make any further changes to its staff but reiterated the intention to reinforce the medical department.

“It would be unfair to speculate, our staff are working extremely hard,” he said.

“What I can say to our fans and members is that we’re looking to build the most robust, high performance area we can and will leave no stone unturned.

“I’ve been public in that we will reallocate resources to that space; we’re restrained by a soft cap but we can reallocate resources into that area.

“We know more than most this year how important it is.”