Latest news with #Hird
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Essendon must stop pining for the past after finding a semblance of stability
Essendon face all-too familiar problems behind the scenes as a heavy defeat to Western Bulldogs follows a promising start to the 2025 AFL season. Essendon face all-too familiar problems behind the scenes as a heavy defeat to Western Bulldogs follows a promising start to the 2025 AFL season. Photograph: James Ross/AAP It was all trundling along nicely for Essendon. The club spent the past month gently tempering expectations, reminding everyone that this is a long-term project, that there will be bad losses and barren patches, but to stay the course. On field, they weren't beating much, but they were winning, they were defending, and they were having a crack. Coach Brad Scott was getting the most out of a limited but willing team. That all came unglued on Saturday night, when they were trounced by a red-hot Western Bulldogs. Essendon reverted to type and sank back into the pack. Almost immediately, the club was batting away suggestions that Scott's coaching tenure was under threat, and that Bombers great James Hird was the man to replace him. Advertisement In response to Caroline Wilson's suggestion that the wolves were circling, the former Essendon chair Paul Little reportedly told the veteran reporter: 'You never say never to anything. It hasn't been an easy time for the club these past few years. There may come a time where there is a need for a restructure. If I felt I could add value to the club, and if they felt I could help, I would consider it.' That was quickly quashed on Nine's Footy Classified, a program whose entire purpose suddenly seems to be to repudiate what has been reported on Channel Seven an hour earlier. One show says it's on, another says it's off. The dogs bark, the caravan moves on, and the rest of us are left scratching our heads. Hird came within a whisker of reclaiming the Essendon coaching job in September 2022. Kevin Sheedy, his chief backer, was on Lindsay Fox's luxury yacht, sailing around the world with hundreds of movers and shakers to celebrate the trucking magnate's 85th birthday. He was confident that Hird would be appointed, and that the old Essendon was back. Back on dry land a fortnight later, he was informed his man had missed out. Essendon is an unusual football club. For years now it has been very political, riven by factions, dictated to by coterie groups and deferential to its past. It has presented as a club that can't let go, and still pines for the glory years. It manifests in many ways. You see it in the axe-grinding columns Allan Hird phones into the Herald Sun. You see it in the former players who run for board positions. You see it in lifers like former list boss Adrian Dodoro, who strutted around like he owned the place, became the king of October, drafted the wrong players, and then took the club to the Fair Work Commission. Advertisement To his credit, president David Barham has sought to cut ties with the past. 'Harking back to the 80s, 90s or the 2000s and wishing we could return to that just causes drama and disunity,' he said at the AGM last year. 'The competition is so far removed from those times, it is almost a completely different game.' Barham has made mistakes and rubbed plenty of people up the wrong way. He sacked a coach, rolled a president, and appointed the shortest tenured CEO in corporate history. But he's honest about what has gone wrong, and what needs to change. He called it 20 years of 'quick fixes and shortcuts'; 20 years of scandals, sugar hits, false dawns, bad trades, draft busts, and schadenfreude; 20 years of Stephen Dank, Andrew Thorburn, Hird and Dodoro. On Footy Classified on Tuesday night, striking the right balance between bewilderment and defiance, Scott sat next to the man who was said to be in line to replace him. Scott spins a good game. But he and the people who employ him are right. For the first time in a long time at Essendon, there is clarity and a semblance of stability and sanity. To defer to the past, to pine for once what was, and to jump at shadows would rank among the biggest mistakes in recent times at a club that has made more than most. Crunching the numbers The Cats midfielder has the highest winning percentage of all current players to have lined up in at least 100 matches ahead of his 300th game on Thursday night. From the archives Richmond were winless after eight games and coach Terry Wallace was at his wits' end. It was 2007 and the Tigers seemed to have the Dreamtime at the 'G game in the bag. But as was their way back then, they found a way to completely stuff it up. Advertisement With scores level in the dying stages, Matthew Richardson marked, played on, kicked the goal and celebrated like a crazy man. But the umpire, wearing a PlayStation 2 sponsored shirt, adhered to the newly stiffened up 'hands on the back' rule. Richardson was apoplectic, the Tigers blew the game, and Matthew Lloyd rubbed salt in the wound by kicking a goal after the siren that bent like a Wasim Akram outswinger. They said what? Geelong's boom recruit has helped turn his first clash with Western Bulldogs into a grudge match after an exchange of barbs with former teammates. View from the stands (or the couch) 'We will stick to our plan and we think the decision has been sound. But it would be useful to get a few players back and not have as many injuries. Advertisement 'You hold the line and you hope for the injury count to drop.' Port Adelaide boss David Koch shuts down suggestions that the Power will deviate from their succession plan while speaking on 5AA, as he backs coach Ken Hinkley to see out the season before handing the reins to Josh Carr. Footy quiz Which club has won the most Dreamtime at the 'G clashes between Essendon and Richmond? Bonus point if you know how many. Answers in next week's newsletter, but if you think you know it, hit reply and let me know! Last week's answer: Which club is enjoying the longest current wooden spoon drought? Geelong. It has been 67 years since the Cats finished bottom in 1958. Advertisement Congratulations to Mick C, who was first to reply with the right answer. Want more? The death of Adam Selwood aged 41 has been a reminder to reflect on the magnificent triviality of sport. Carlton, Fitzroy and Brisbane great Robert Walls died aged 74 and has been remembered as a teacher, a competitor and a hard but fair man. West Coast star Jeremy McGovern's AFL playing future is in doubt as the five-time All-Australian suffers ongoing concussion symptoms after a head knock in round eight. Got a story tip? Reply to this email and drop me a line, or email fromthepocket@ Enjoying this newsletter? Have a friend who might? Forward this to them, or tell them how to get it.
Sydney Morning Herald
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Essendon legend Hird makes call on coaching future
Essendon legend James Hird has categorically ruled out a return to AFL coaching, emphatically shutting down resurfaced speculation linking him to the Bombers. Two days after Essendon's 91-point smashing by the Western Bulldogs, former Bombers president Paul Little gave a provocative statement saying he would not rule out a push to return to the club's board. The report on Seven claimed Little, who led the Bombers from 2013-15 after the damaging supplements regime, would seek to remove incumbent Brad Scott and install Hird as coach if he was back in charge. In a bizarre twist, Scott was already locked in to appear on Nine's Footy Classified program with Hird – a regular panellist – on Tuesday night. Nine is the owner of this masthead. Seated next to Scott when asked if he wanted to coach again in the AFL, Hird said he didn't. 'I've got a business that is taking a lot of my time, and it's actually quite concerning when reports like that come on air,' Hird said on Footy Classified. 'I get calls all day from my investors saying, 'what are you doing? Why are you entertaining this', so it damages my business. 'I haven't got ambitions. I'm loving what I'm doing with my son [Tom] down at Port Melbourne, and that is the extent of it.'
The Age
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Age
Essendon legend Hird makes call on coaching future
Essendon legend James Hird has categorically ruled out a return to AFL coaching, emphatically shutting down resurfaced speculation linking him to the Bombers. Two days after Essendon's 91-point smashing by the Western Bulldogs, former Bombers president Paul Little gave a provocative statement saying he would not rule out a push to return to the club's board. The report on Seven claimed Little, who led the Bombers from 2013-15 after the damaging supplements regime, would seek to remove incumbent Brad Scott and install Hird as coach if he was back in charge. In a bizarre twist, Scott was already locked in to appear on Nine's Footy Classified program with Hird – a regular panellist – on Tuesday night. Nine is the owner of this masthead. Seated next to Scott when asked if he wanted to coach again in the AFL, Hird said he didn't. 'I've got a business that is taking a lot of my time, and it's actually quite concerning when reports like that come on air,' Hird said on Footy Classified. 'I get calls all day from my investors saying, 'what are you doing? Why are you entertaining this', so it damages my business. 'I haven't got ambitions. I'm loving what I'm doing with my son [Tom] down at Port Melbourne, and that is the extent of it.'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
James Hird's family revelation as AFL legend caught in awkward scenes on live TV
James Hird has stated he's too invested in his new business and working with son Tom at Port Melbourne to even consider a return to AFL coaching with Essendon. There were slightly awkward scenes on Tuesday night on Channel 9 when Hird and Bombers coach Brad Scott sat side-by-side on 'Footy Classified' and discussed rumours that Hird still holds a desire to take Scott's job. Hird is a Bombers legend and coached the club between 2011 and 2015. He re-applied for the role when Ben Rutten left in 2022, but missed out to Scott. On Monday night, Caroline Wilson made explosive claims on Channel 7 that former club director Paul Little was eyeing a return to the board, and could bring Hird back as coach if he got the gig. It came after the Bombers were thrashed by 91 points by the Western Bulldogs last Saturday, leaving them 10th on the AFL ladder. Hird and Scott both appeared on 'Footy Classified' on Tuesday night to put the rumours to bed. Journalist Tom Morris revealed he'd spoken to Little and he has no desire to return to the board. And Hird said he isn't eyeing the Essendon job, revealing how the rumours have impacted his business. "I have a business that is taking a lot of my time and it's actually quite concerning when reports like that come on air," he said. "I had calls all day today from my investors saying 'what are you doing? Why are you entertaining this?' It damages my business, I haven't got ambitions." Hird is the founder and director at Euree Asset management. He also serves as a coaching director at Port Melbourne Football Club in the VFL, where he works with son and former Essendon player Tom. "I'm loving what I'm doing with my son down at Port Melbourne and that's the extent of it," he said. "It's a little bit concerning that every time there's a story, I'm the one that's focused (upon). I don't want to coach at Essendon." RELATED: 'Positive' new details emerge amid Cyril Rioli and Hawthorn situation AFL world shattered as Collingwood coach breaks down in presser Despite the awkward situation with Hird, Scott issued a classy response. "A lot of people were asking what was happening and clearly the club were put in a position where they've got to respond to these sorts of things," he said. "Clearly it's a story, people have great interest in it. From my perspective, James didn't ask for any of this, James hasn't spoken about this ... I would find it very hard in James' position to answer questions about what other people think he's going to do." Hird also fired back at Channel 7's Kane Cornes, who said it was "selfish" for the Essendon legend to still be harbouring desires to return. "In terms of Kane Cornes, I don't know Kane Cornes, he doesn't know me, it's water off a duck's back to me whether he calls me selfish or not," Hird said. "He has no idea what my life is about and what I want to do, so it doesn't really worry me at all. Brad Scott is the best man for the job and I for one support him." "He has no idea."James Hird fires back over claims he is part of a plot to return as Essendon coach, and responds to Kane Cornes' comments.#9FootyClassified | Watch on Nine & 9Now 🖥️ — Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) May 20, 2025
The Advertiser
20-05-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Essendon legend Hird makes call on coaching future
Essendon legend James Hird has categorically ruled out a return to AFL coaching, emphatically shutting down resurfaced speculation linking him to the Bombers. Two days after Essendon's 91-point smashing by the Western Bulldogs, former Bombers president Paul Little gave a provocative statement saying he would not rule out a push to return to the club's board. The report on the Seven Network claimed Little, who led the Bombers from 2013-15 after the damaging supplements regime, would seek to remove incumbent Brad Scott and install Hird as coach if he was back in charge. In a bizarre twist, Scott was already locked in to appear on the Nine Network's Footy Classified program with Hird - a regular panellist - on Tuesday night. Seated next to Scott when asked if he wanted to coach again in the AFL, Hird said he didn't. "I've got a business that is taking a lot of my time, and it's actually quite concerning when reports like that come on air," Hird said on Footy Classified. "I get calls all day from my investors saying, 'what are you doing? Why are you entertaining this', so it damages my business. "I haven't got ambitions. "I'm loving what I'm doing with my son (Tom) down at Port Melbourne, and that is the extent of it." Hird coached Essendon from 2011-13, served an AFL suspension during the 2014 season, before exiting amid poor results and the flown-on effects of the supplements saga in 2015. When the Bombers coaching job became vacant at the end of 2022, Kevin Sheedy, who still sat on the Essendon board, publicly supported Hird even after Scott had been chosen. After assisting Mark McVeigh in 2022 when his former teammate was interim GWS coach, Hird then wanted to return to Essendon but conceded the "best man" got the job. Hird has made a return to coaching at VFL level this year, acting as an assistant at Port Melbourne. Scott has regularly spoken about the need for stability at former AFL giant Essendon, who haven't won a finals match in 21 years, since he became coach ahead of the 2023 season. The 49-year-old did his best to dismiss questions about the story on Tuesday, saying he didn't "react at all". "The risk in any of that is that it distracts me from the task at hand," said Scott, when asked if he had sought reassurances from the current Bombers board. "I've been really overwhelmed with the level of support and follow through, really the things that I made clear that were non-negotiables when I came to the club, around things like stability and support for all levels of the football club. "Our board, executive have delivered on those things. "I just need to focus on my job and let all the other stuff go on in the background, not let it distract me or anyone else who's in a position, coaching or the executive. "The thing you learn in 30 years of the AFL industry, there's always something going on. "The more you get distracted by those things, you take your eye off what you really need to be focused on." Essendon (5-4) sit 10th ahead of their Dreamtime clash with Richmond at the MCG on Friday night. Essendon legend James Hird has categorically ruled out a return to AFL coaching, emphatically shutting down resurfaced speculation linking him to the Bombers. Two days after Essendon's 91-point smashing by the Western Bulldogs, former Bombers president Paul Little gave a provocative statement saying he would not rule out a push to return to the club's board. The report on the Seven Network claimed Little, who led the Bombers from 2013-15 after the damaging supplements regime, would seek to remove incumbent Brad Scott and install Hird as coach if he was back in charge. In a bizarre twist, Scott was already locked in to appear on the Nine Network's Footy Classified program with Hird - a regular panellist - on Tuesday night. Seated next to Scott when asked if he wanted to coach again in the AFL, Hird said he didn't. "I've got a business that is taking a lot of my time, and it's actually quite concerning when reports like that come on air," Hird said on Footy Classified. "I get calls all day from my investors saying, 'what are you doing? Why are you entertaining this', so it damages my business. "I haven't got ambitions. "I'm loving what I'm doing with my son (Tom) down at Port Melbourne, and that is the extent of it." Hird coached Essendon from 2011-13, served an AFL suspension during the 2014 season, before exiting amid poor results and the flown-on effects of the supplements saga in 2015. When the Bombers coaching job became vacant at the end of 2022, Kevin Sheedy, who still sat on the Essendon board, publicly supported Hird even after Scott had been chosen. After assisting Mark McVeigh in 2022 when his former teammate was interim GWS coach, Hird then wanted to return to Essendon but conceded the "best man" got the job. Hird has made a return to coaching at VFL level this year, acting as an assistant at Port Melbourne. Scott has regularly spoken about the need for stability at former AFL giant Essendon, who haven't won a finals match in 21 years, since he became coach ahead of the 2023 season. The 49-year-old did his best to dismiss questions about the story on Tuesday, saying he didn't "react at all". "The risk in any of that is that it distracts me from the task at hand," said Scott, when asked if he had sought reassurances from the current Bombers board. "I've been really overwhelmed with the level of support and follow through, really the things that I made clear that were non-negotiables when I came to the club, around things like stability and support for all levels of the football club. "Our board, executive have delivered on those things. "I just need to focus on my job and let all the other stuff go on in the background, not let it distract me or anyone else who's in a position, coaching or the executive. "The thing you learn in 30 years of the AFL industry, there's always something going on. "The more you get distracted by those things, you take your eye off what you really need to be focused on." Essendon (5-4) sit 10th ahead of their Dreamtime clash with Richmond at the MCG on Friday night. Essendon legend James Hird has categorically ruled out a return to AFL coaching, emphatically shutting down resurfaced speculation linking him to the Bombers. Two days after Essendon's 91-point smashing by the Western Bulldogs, former Bombers president Paul Little gave a provocative statement saying he would not rule out a push to return to the club's board. The report on the Seven Network claimed Little, who led the Bombers from 2013-15 after the damaging supplements regime, would seek to remove incumbent Brad Scott and install Hird as coach if he was back in charge. In a bizarre twist, Scott was already locked in to appear on the Nine Network's Footy Classified program with Hird - a regular panellist - on Tuesday night. Seated next to Scott when asked if he wanted to coach again in the AFL, Hird said he didn't. "I've got a business that is taking a lot of my time, and it's actually quite concerning when reports like that come on air," Hird said on Footy Classified. "I get calls all day from my investors saying, 'what are you doing? Why are you entertaining this', so it damages my business. "I haven't got ambitions. "I'm loving what I'm doing with my son (Tom) down at Port Melbourne, and that is the extent of it." Hird coached Essendon from 2011-13, served an AFL suspension during the 2014 season, before exiting amid poor results and the flown-on effects of the supplements saga in 2015. When the Bombers coaching job became vacant at the end of 2022, Kevin Sheedy, who still sat on the Essendon board, publicly supported Hird even after Scott had been chosen. After assisting Mark McVeigh in 2022 when his former teammate was interim GWS coach, Hird then wanted to return to Essendon but conceded the "best man" got the job. Hird has made a return to coaching at VFL level this year, acting as an assistant at Port Melbourne. Scott has regularly spoken about the need for stability at former AFL giant Essendon, who haven't won a finals match in 21 years, since he became coach ahead of the 2023 season. The 49-year-old did his best to dismiss questions about the story on Tuesday, saying he didn't "react at all". "The risk in any of that is that it distracts me from the task at hand," said Scott, when asked if he had sought reassurances from the current Bombers board. "I've been really overwhelmed with the level of support and follow through, really the things that I made clear that were non-negotiables when I came to the club, around things like stability and support for all levels of the football club. "Our board, executive have delivered on those things. "I just need to focus on my job and let all the other stuff go on in the background, not let it distract me or anyone else who's in a position, coaching or the executive. "The thing you learn in 30 years of the AFL industry, there's always something going on. "The more you get distracted by those things, you take your eye off what you really need to be focused on." Essendon (5-4) sit 10th ahead of their Dreamtime clash with Richmond at the MCG on Friday night.
