Fifteen rounds into the season and with just five wins, Essendon are the biggest disappointment of 2010.
Interestingly, Richmond has the same number of wins, including its last four games in a row. But despite this identical win ratio, there is an enormous contrast in the way the two clubs are perceived. When I look at Richmond, I see the toughness and competitiveness of Hardwick the player. The message they are sending is strong and simple: they are united, and they have a clear plan to build for future success.
It was very easy to dislike Damien Hardwick as an opponent. He wasn’t the sort of player whose influence you’d spend a lot of time planning to restrict, but you knew that if you wandered into his part of the ground, he would be in your face and looking to inflict maximum pain. His teammates loved his brutal, committed approach to the game. I get the impression the Richmond players are responding equally well to his no-nonsense style of coaching.
One of the intangible qualities a coach needs is presence. Leigh Matthews didn’t need to raise his voice to get his point across; just walking into the room was often enough to achieve the desired effect. In a different but equally valuable way, Damien Hardwick brings that quality to Richmond. The eight-week club-imposed suspension of Daniel Connors was a clear indication of the standards that are now expected at Punt Road.
Matthew Knights has faced a unique set of circumstances at Essendon. After Kevin Sheedy’s 27-year reign, his job was always going to attract serious scrutiny. The belief among a coterie of powerbrokers and influential members that the club missed the opportunity to appoint a former premiership hero in Mark 'Bomber' Thompson, Mark Harvey or Damien Hardwick also adds to the pressure Knights is under.
Tim Watson’s position at the club is unusual in that he is one of its all-time greats and the father of its current captain. On his SEN radio show this week, Tim alluded to how much damage the powerful behind-the-scenes factions were doing to the club and its coach: “These people need to grow up. They need to understand that they support - or should support - the Essendon Football Club … They are divisive. They allow confidential discussions to become a part of the general conversation.”
Knights was also given the unenviable task of persuading Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas to retire. The timing of this decision and the way it was handled are questionable. And as a result, the club now faces the awkward prospect of having two of its all-time greats, both of whom were perhaps forced into premature retirement, working in the media.
James Hird’s name will always be mentioned in Essendon coaching discussions. He is one of only a handful of past players whose status and reputation would allow him to walk straight into a senior coaching job. Only Hird himself knows if coaching is on his radar, but his close friendship with Essendon president David Evans means that people will continue to speculate.
Matthew Knights strikes me as being very well prepared. He has demonstrated his work ethic and his determination to succeed, just as he did throughout his outstanding playing career. If life is about timing, then Knights has arrived at Windy Hill in time for an enormous challenge. The question for me is not whether Matthew Knights can coach or not; it is more about whether he is the right man, in the right place at the right time.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
