JAMES Hird will have his first official involvement with Essendon since departing as coach, joining a new club podcast with former skipper Jobe Watson and CEO Xavier Campbell.

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The ex-Essendon coach and champion player left the club at the end of 2015 after returning to coaching following a year ban for his part in the club's supplement saga.



His son Tom recently signed with the Bombers as a category B rookie and now the Brownlow medallist and premiership captain will have a regular involvement with the club in the digital space.

The podcast Working Through It will be streamed live every Wednesday afternoon on the club's website, with fans able to call through and speak directly to Hird, Watson and Campbell.

Watson was the public face of the Bombers' drugs saga, being one of 34 past and present Bombers banned for the 2016 season and ultimately handing back the Brownlow Medal he won in 2012 during the club's program.

The interactive podcast will see Hird and Watson join forces for the first time since 2015, with the pair having previously been teammates before Hird assumed the Essendon coaching position in 2011.

The Bombers had been due to celebrate the 20-year reunion of the 2000 flag that Hird skippered ahead of their clash with Melbourne this year however the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has altered plans.