John Worsfold has been Essendon's version of a war-time prime minister, having led the Bombers through their darkest hour of 2016, when they might have been torn apart by the year-long suspensions to players and the financial, legal and moral morass that ensued.
Worsfold was a calm and commanding presence, helping the club avert upheaval. Game plans and team selection were lesser priorities than rebuilding trust and providing composed leadership in what was an unprecedented set of circumstances.
If he's hardly Winston Churchill with words, honest John Worsfold was still a coach for the tumult of the times.
Essendon's chairman has more than once cited Nathan Buckley and Damien Hardwick when defending Worsfold.Credit:AAP
But Essendon are in peacetime today and, as with post-war Britain, the masses want to see a new prosperity. They've had enough of the rations.
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No longer in the midst of an existential struggle, the Dons are facing a mini-crisis and another kind of challenge – to win games and play a consistent brand of football.
So Worsfold's future is on the line in the coming weeks. He is neither "gone'' nor safe (I had wrongly assumed the latter). That he has a contract for 2020 gives him only a measure of protection, because the Bombers can find a way to reach a settlement if they want a change.
In peacetime, fiscal rectitude is less critical than football results, particularly at a club with Essendon's capacity to conjure dollars from their endless coteries and cashed-up fans. The soft cap on footy spending isn't necessarily a deterrent.
Following the club's abysmal loss to Richmond, Worsfold pleaded for time, comparing his position to that of the formerly imperilled Nathan Buckley and Damien Hardwick and saying that last year was really his first season of clean air, post the drug scandal.
Interestingly, Essendon chairman Lindsay Tanner also has more than once cited Buckley and Hardwick when defending Worsfold, suggesting that those calling for Worsfold's head were the same critics who'd demanded that Collingwood and Richmond guillotine their coaches.
While Worsfold has had much less time than those coaches, it seems unlikely that Essendon will be as patient. The club has traded out first-round picks for 2017, 2018 and 2019, bringing in Devon Smith, Jake Stringer, Adam Saad and Dylan Shiel. Nothing than less finals is acceptable this year.
Bomber Joe Daniher's 2019 was over before it had a chance to really get going.Credit:AAP
Worsfold must earn the right to his 2020 contract. And he can only do this by demonstrating that, in the face of injuries to stars, the Dons have a method and mettle that does not waver, regardless of who's sitting in the stands with Joe Daniher.
It's undeniable that Essendon and their coach have been shirtfronted by injury. The absence of Daniher and now Smith for the season, the frequent sidelining of Orazio Fantasia and Jake Stringer's hamstring have left them with a pop-gun attack, almost bereft of game-turners and goalkickers.
The Essendon hierarchy must take this medical misfortune into account, although they also have to work out if the conditioning and treatment of sore stars – especially Daniher – has played any role in prolonging their time out.
Worsfold's problem is that Richmond, Collingwood and West Coast have all coped with significant or worse injury tolls, yet have developed a system and culture that transcends personnel. Their method rarely wavers.
Worsfold's problem is that Richmond, Collingwood and West Coast have all coped with significant or worse injury tolls, yet have developed a system and culture that transcends personnel. Their method rarely wavers.
If, prior to the season, you'd known that the Tigers would be without Trent Cotchin, Jack Riewoldt, Alex Rance and Toby Nankervis for the Dreamtime game, you'd assume the Bombers – even without Daniher, Smith and Fantasia – would get up. They weren't close.
In a competition as equalised as the AFL, teams have no choice but to develop systems and interchangeable parts (read: players) that can be plugged in and keep them competitive. Collingwood went to a grand final with a glued-together Tyson Goldsack at full-back and Jeremy Howe as the other key defender; the Eagles didn't have Nic Naitanui or Andrew Gaff.
Essendon hired Ben Rutten from the Tigers to teach team defence. To date, progress has been sluggish.
So, if it's clear what Worsfold must do to keep his job (but unclear how), the Essendon board, led by ex-Bomber and footy director Sean Wellman and chief executive Xavier Campbell, have three options for dealing with the coach and an underperforming team:
John Worsfold has been Essendon's version of a war-time prime minister, having led the Bombers through their darkest hour of 2016, when they might have been torn apart by the year-long suspensions to players and the financial, legal and moral morass that ensued.
Worsfold was a calm and commanding presence, helping the club avert upheaval. Game plans and team selection were lesser priorities than rebuilding trust and providing composed leadership in what was an unprecedented set of circumstances.
If he's hardly Winston Churchill with words, honest John Worsfold was still a coach for the tumult of the times.
Essendon's chairman has more than once cited Nathan Buckley and Damien Hardwick when defending Worsfold.Credit:AAP
But Essendon are in peacetime today and, as with post-war Britain, the masses want to see a new prosperity. They've had enough of the rations.
Advertisement
No longer in the midst of an existential struggle, the Dons are facing a mini-crisis and another kind of challenge – to win games and play a consistent brand of football.
So Worsfold's future is on the line in the coming weeks. He is neither "gone'' nor safe (I had wrongly assumed the latter). That he has a contract for 2020 gives him only a measure of protection, because the Bombers can find a way to reach a settlement if they want a change.
In peacetime, fiscal rectitude is less critical than football results, particularly at a club with Essendon's capacity to conjure dollars from their endless coteries and cashed-up fans. The soft cap on footy spending isn't necessarily a deterrent.
Following the club's abysmal loss to Richmond, Worsfold pleaded for time, comparing his position to that of the formerly imperilled Nathan Buckley and Damien Hardwick and saying that last year was really his first season of clean air, post the drug scandal.
Interestingly, Essendon chairman Lindsay Tanner also has more than once cited Buckley and Hardwick when defending Worsfold, suggesting that those calling for Worsfold's head were the same critics who'd demanded that Collingwood and Richmond guillotine their coaches.
While Worsfold has had much less time than those coaches, it seems unlikely that Essendon will be as patient. The club has traded out first-round picks for 2017, 2018 and 2019, bringing in Devon Smith, Jake Stringer, Adam Saad and Dylan Shiel. Nothing than less finals is acceptable this year.
Bomber Joe Daniher's 2019 was over before it had a chance to really get going.Credit:AAP
Worsfold must earn the right to his 2020 contract. And he can only do this by demonstrating that, in the face of injuries to stars, the Dons have a method and mettle that does not waver, regardless of who's sitting in the stands with Joe Daniher.
It's undeniable that Essendon and their coach have been shirtfronted by injury. The absence of Daniher and now Smith for the season, the frequent sidelining of Orazio Fantasia and Jake Stringer's hamstring have left them with a pop-gun attack, almost bereft of game-turners and goalkickers.
The Essendon hierarchy must take this medical misfortune into account, although they also have to work out if the conditioning and treatment of sore stars – especially Daniher – has played any role in prolonging their time out.
Worsfold's problem is that Richmond, Collingwood and West Coast have all coped with significant or worse injury tolls, yet have developed a system and culture that transcends personnel. Their method rarely wavers.
Worsfold's problem is that Richmond, Collingwood and West Coast have all coped with significant or worse injury tolls, yet have developed a system and culture that transcends personnel. Their method rarely wavers.
If, prior to the season, you'd known that the Tigers would be without Trent Cotchin, Jack Riewoldt, Alex Rance and Toby Nankervis for the Dreamtime game, you'd assume the Bombers – even without Daniher, Smith and Fantasia – would get up. They weren't close.
In a competition as equalised as the AFL, teams have no choice but to develop systems and interchangeable parts (read: players) that can be plugged in and keep them competitive. Collingwood went to a grand final with a glued-together Tyson Goldsack at full-back and Jeremy Howe as the other key defender; the Eagles didn't have Nic Naitanui or Andrew Gaff.
Essendon hired Ben Rutten from the Tigers to teach team defence. To date, progress has been sluggish.
So, if it's clear what Worsfold must do to keep his job (but unclear how), the Essendon board, led by ex-Bomber and footy director Sean Wellman and chief executive Xavier Campbell, have three options for dealing with the coach and an underperforming team:
