Mick Malthouse: Bombers, Hawks and Saints all need key elements to line up and that starts now

The Bombers are up and down like a yoyo on the ladder, but Brad Scott will bring a highly disciplined approach. However, some Bombers fans may be left frustrated, says Mick Malthouse.

Among Sunday’s three games, three clubs have new coaches this season. And one club has a second-year coach.

The coach is not the be all and end all for how these clubs will fare this year, or in the future.

It cannot be lost to in translation how important it is for a club to have all the right ingredients, at all the right times, for it to be successful.

Let’s focus on the three Victorian clubs.

Essendon has been a tease for many, many years. St Kilda has promised so much without

delivering. And Hawthorn has promised and delivered in the past.

On any given day these three clubs could worry any side in the top eight, but then be vulnerable against the bottom teams. It just seems to be their way, currently.

For continued growth and development, key elements need to line up. A supporter base, a stable board, the recruitment department, the football administration, the CEO, and then the coach and player group.

Hawthorn and Essendon no longer have representation in their original suburbs. The Hawks’

home base is moving further and further from the CBD, and the Bombers were forced to set up home at Tullamarine.

But they’ve made it work.

Sam Mitchell and his young Hawks would love to get an early win against the old enemy. ,

The Saints have been at Moorabbin for over 60 years — aside from a failed stint at Seaford — and still haven’t attracted local sponsors or supporters in great numbers.

It’s no accident that clubs find a way to build membership and make money.

Hawthorn has had a recent change of president (Andrew Gowers) not without some bitterness. But generally, the Hawks’ board is highly efficient. Sometimes noisy, but mostly supportive.

Essendon’s board and new president, Dave Barham, were under siege in the pre-season after making some controversial decisions. However, it is generally a highly stable football club (drug scandal aside.)

St Kilda’s board is very quiet. As the most financially topped-up Victorian club in the league,

it makes you wonder if it is silent by its own making, or silenced.

In the last twenty years, St Kilda has had five coaches. The sixth, Ross Lyon, is back for round two. In that time the Saints have contested eight seasons of finals and been runners-up twice.

Hawthorn has had three coaches since 2003, including Sam Mitchell, and won four premierships from 10 finals campaigns.

Essendon is onto its seventh coach in 20 years, including Mark Thompson briefly. Playing

eight years of finals (including 2003) for just two finals wins. It’s a lousy record.

This year marks a chance for each club to move forward. To take positive steps in the right

direction.

Brad Scott and his Bombers to will be desperate to distance themselves from the poor pre-season performance against St Kilda.

Getting the off-field stuff right helps the on-field stuff immeasurably.

Mitchell and Hawthorn have clearly elected to clear out as many “older” players as they can

and start again.

Mitchell seems to have been given carte blanche with his early coaching

plans, which are to slowly build the list into something that resembles the Hawks’ dominant

eras.

They can and should be led well by new captain James Sicily, who is an outstanding player.

As much as Mitchell wants his team to play on the edge, that’s not a message I would be

sending to Sicily as he needs to set a disciplined example.

Mitchell will be sweating on the return of Mitch Lewis who is an outstanding key forward.

Essendon appeared to pick the eyes out of the draft a couple of years ago and looked good.

And then looked terrible.

The Bombers are up and down like a yoyo on the ladder, but Brad Scott will bring a highly

disciplined and competitive team to the field. Supporters will need to be patient, which may

annoy some at Bomberland. Therein lies Scott’s biggest hurdle, not being an original

Essendon man.

It will be interesting to see which direction the Bombers’ players take with their new captain, Zach Merrett. He seems to set a high standard for what he believes the players need to adhere to. This will be much in line with Scott, who won’t take any nonsense.

Ross Lyon knows an early statement with St Kilda will do wonders for the club.

The Saints’ full list looks impressive, but the continual stream of injuries may well deplete the team in its early days.

Ross Lyon has always thrived on big key forwards. Strikers win games. He knows it will take

a big forward to get the Saints up the ladder, and therefore will be sweating on Max King’s

return from shoulder surgery, and hoping for a highly competitive Rowan Marshall.

As an entirety, St Kilda has all the potential if only it could get its whole act together as

opposed to piecemeal on a year-to-year basis.

This puts Hawthorn and Essendon ahead of the Saints, with a clear path forward.

Sunday’s games won’t represent the clubs for their past or their future, but Essendon, Hawthorn and St Kilda could all make a statement for 2023 today.

The Saints at home, even with injuries, are a chance against Fremantle. Essendon and

Hawthorn’s wonderful rivalry make it a flip of the coin, though I do fancy the Bombers.

I have little expectation of any of these three clubs challenging for the final eight, this year. But the future is bright for the club that can provide all the ingredients, plus the time to cook with them. A delicacy indeed.