By Jake Niall
Brad Scott has already changed Essendon. The Bombers will play a different brand that emphasises defensive actions, deploy players in new roles and have more than doubled the size of their development coaching group.
Scott has been given enormous clout within the Hangar, and Essendon insiders say his impact on the players has been profound.
Brad Scott has had a big impact as he reshapes Essendon.Credit: Artwork: Jamie Brown
If the Bombers liked his predecessor Ben Rutten – who handled his brutal exit with grace and class – Scott, a 10-year coach at North Melbourne with a further three years in a senior role at AFL headquarters, carries more authority than the less seasoned “Truck”.
The players, who are said to view the new coach with just a touch of trepidation, are eager to please.
Scott inherited the front line of his assistant coaching team and also a conditioning group. Some changes – such as the beefing up of development – reflect Essendon’s needs, in that the Bombers remain bottom four for experience.
The following have been five key stories of Essendon’s pre-season under Scott.
1. Game style and coaching method
As rival club track watchers have observed and Essendon officials confirm, Scott has placed great store on protecting a defence that wasn’t afforded protection in 2022, when opponents were able to move the footy with oft-embarrassing ease over the length of the field. Essendon were 18th for defending transition.
To avoid a repetition of 2022’s most egregious failing, the Scott Bombers will be attempting to play more of a turnover game, keeping the footy in their attacking territory and seeking repeat forward entries. They want to force more turnovers in the midfield and score from them.
Reckoning there was too much unrewarded running last year, the Dons are focused on a revamped structure – where players are stationed – rather than simply saying “run harder both ways”. If Scott is overseeing the shift, Blake Caracella, as defensive coach, has been handed this paramount portfolio.
That undersized Jayden Laverde will still be asked to man leviathan forwards such as Tom Hawkins and Tom Lynch underscores the need for protective measures.
Scott’s man-management philosophy will be to focus on players’ strengths, what they can do rather than what they can’t.
That said, if Darcy Parish is better at winning the ball than running back, there will be minimum standards and a balance between playing to one’s strengths and team imperatives.
2. New roles for Heppell, McGrath, Caldwell
Whether Dyson Hepppell continues on as skipper, as Scott suggested likely, the veteran has been re-deployed from half-back to the wing, where Scott wants the veteran’s experience.
Andy McGrath, forced to play midfield last year more often due to injuries, will return to a running half-back role that seems to suit him.
Jye Caldwell has been used as a midfield tagger/run-with player in the match simulations and is slated to share that role with Carlton recruit Will Setterfield, who can man bigger opposition guns.
3. A fresh set of eyes on fitness and injury
Scott has brought in Peter Blanche, the ex-Brisbane Lions conditioning man who worked at Essendon until 2017, to act as a consultant in the conditioning/high-performance area.
While Blanche is only part-time, he’s been hired to provide a fresh perspective on the Essendon conditioning program and to mentor staff.
Essendon have had a number of injuries in pre-season, especially to talls Peter Wright (calf), Sam Weideman (quad), James Stewart, Nik Cox (back) and Zach Reid (back), with Jake Stringer (leg) also interrupted slightly.
Happily, Wright, Weideman and Stringer are recovered and will play against Gold Coast next week.
4. Zach Reid’s injury timeline and importance
Few players have more riding on their shoulders – and on Essendon’s ability to get him on the park – than third-year tall defender Zach Reid; there is an urgent need to locate and/or develop a bona-fide tall defender given Laverde et al lack size.
Indeed, it’s arguable that Reid is the most crucial missing piece in the Essendon mosaic, the 200-centimetre-tall back having been drafted in 2020 to redress a long-term need.
Talent unquestioned, to date, Reid’s body has been uncooperative. In this pre-season, he’s been grounded with back stress fractures and will not resume playing until probably the first month. His long-term value is such that the Bombers and Scott are handling Reid with care, knowing that he should be around for another decade, if all goes well. Cox has had a similar injury and is a little more advanced in his recovery.
5. The development agenda
The Bombers have increased their development coaching ranks from two-and-a-half to five-and-a-half. Ex-Magpie premiership player Travis Cloke, beloved ex-Essendon key back Michael Hurley and Scott’s resilient and redoubtable former tagger at North, Ben Jacobs, have been added to the development coaching brigade.
AFLW senior coach Natalie Wood will assist in development of the AFL squad, too. Brent Stanton has been upgraded to full-time and Cam Roberts will head up the development operation.
Scott has inherited a contracted and well-credentialed cohort of line coaches in Daniel Giansiracusa, Caracella, Dale Tapping, with the experienced Leigh Tudor coaching the VFL.
Jacobs will add support in coaching the mids, while Cloke will assist the forwards and Hurley the defenders.
Essendon will be judged externally not only on wins and losses, but on the growth/development of players, whether the game plan is effective and whether they can avoid 2022’s blowouts.
How they lose will matter as much as how often they win.
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