L’ancien joueur et actuel entraîneur adjoint des Sydney Swans, Mark McVeigh, se trouve en position idéale pour succéder à Brad Scott à la tête des Essendon Bombers. Alors que le club de Melbourne s’apprête à faire une annonce officielle, la nomination de McVeigh semble imminente après une course à quatre candidats.
La direction des Essendon Bombers s’apprête à dévoiler le nom de son nouvel entraîneur principal.
Mark McVeigh to present to the Essendon board
Essendon has been searching for its next coach since sacking Brad Scott after the Bombers’ round 11 loss to Richmond. Sydney assistant coach Mark McVeigh is in the box seat to land the Essendon coaching job. AFL.com.au understands the Swans assistant and former Bomber is due to present to the Essendon board on Monday as the club zeroes in on its announcement. The Bombers are expected to unveil their new coach on Tuesday. When contacted by AFL.com.au, Essendon said no decision has been made and the process is ongoing. Sydney is understood to be aware of McVeigh’s growing favouritism to secure the job and the latest developments in the Bombers’ process. McVeigh has been in a race of four candidates for the Essendon role alongside former Essendon captain and coach James Hird, Fremantle assistant Jaymie Graham and Adelaide assistant Murray Davis. McVeigh, who played 232 games for the club, has been Sydney’s defensive coach for the past three seasons. He was also a caretaker senior coach for Greater Western Sydney in 2022.
Une présentation décisive devant le conseil d’administration
L’entraîneur adjoint des Sydney Swans devait présenter son projet devant le conseil d’administration d’Essendon lors d’une réunion organisée à Melbourne. Âgé de quarante-cinq ans, l’ancien joueur aux deux cent trente-deux matchs sous le maillot des Bombers est le seul candidat de la liste restreinte à effectuer cette dernière démarche formelle avant une nomination attendue par le club.
James Hird and the Essendon coaching selection panel
The former Bombers star will reportedly present to the club’s board on Monday in a huge sign he’s on the brink of being appointed senior coach. He appears to have won the race ahead of former Essendon captain and coach James Hird, Fremantle assistant Jaymie Graham and Adelaide’s Murray Davis, with an announcement expected on Monday or Tuesday. Ken Hinkley presented to the Tasmania board just before he was confirmed as their inaugural coach making McVeigh’s appointment appear imminent. McVeigh, 45, played 232 games at the Bombers and was one of the ‘Essendon 34’ suspended for using illegal supplements during the 2012 season. He then became an assistant coach working at the Giants, including a period as their interim senior coach working with James Hird and Dean Solomon, before moving to the Swans where he currently serves as defensive assistant coach.
La direction du club avait initialement réduit sa liste à quatre techniciens. Outre McVeigh, cette sélection comprenait l’ancien capitaine et entraîneur James Hird, l’adjoint de Fremantle Jaymie Graham ainsi que Murray Davis, entraîneur adjoint à Adelaide.
Sydney Swans’ assistant Mark McVeigh will present to the Essendon board on Monday as the club prepares to make an announcement on their new senior coach. The 45-year-old was in the coaches’ box as the Swans defeated North Melbourne in an emotional encounter at the SCG but will be in Melbourne to make a final presentation to the board before his expected endorsement as coach, according to two industry sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity. McVeigh played 232 matches at Essendon after being chosen with pick No.9 in the 1998 national draft. After retiring in 2012 he moved back to NSW where he became an assistant coach at the Giants, and served as the club’s interim coach for after Leon Cameron stood down in 2022. He coached 13 matches for four wins with his former teammates James Hird and Dean Solomon in the coaches’ box alongside him. He then moved to the Sydney Swans, where he coached as an assistant under John Longmire and Dean Cox. Other candidates for the Bombers’ position were James Hird, Jaymie Graham and Murray Davis, but McVeigh is the only candidate to make a final presentation to the board. Graham flew back to Perth with Fremantle’s team after their match against Carlton on Saturday.
Le parcours des candidats et la fin de la course
Alors que James Hird bénéficiait d’un important soutien auprès d’une frange des supporters, son implication passée dans le scandale des compléments alimentaires de la saison 2012 et son long éloignement des bancs de touche ont pesé dans la balance. La nomination de McVeigh se dessine ainsi comme l’option privilégiée par la direction pour stabiliser l’équipe.
While Hird had enormous support from a section of the Essendon fanbase, his role in the supplements saga and lengthy period out of the game meant McVeigh has been viewed as the favourite to replace Brad Scott for several weeks. McVeigh was a teammate at Essendon of club president Andrew Welsh, as was director Ted Richards. Hird, an Essendon great who is a friend of McVeigh, declared on Channel Nine’s Footy Classified in late May that he was keen to coach the Bombers again after leaving the club in 2015 following the drugs saga which saw the Court of Arbitration for Sport suspend 34 players for the 2016 season for anti-doping infractions. In declaring his interest for the job, Hird told the club he wanted to be put through an exhaustive process to find a replacement for Brad Scott who was sacked with 18 months remaining on his contract.
De son côté, le comité de sélection d’Essendon comprenait le président Andrew Welsh, le directeur général Tim Roberts, le vice-president Anthony Di Pietro, le membre du conseil d’administration Ted Richards et la responsable des personnes et de la culture Caroline Monzon. Les postulants ont également passé des entretiens conduits par l’analyste chevronné John Wardrop et l’ancien entraîneur du Melbourne Victory Kevin Muscat.
Andrew Welsh and the Essendon selection panel
Several potential candidates, including Ken Hinkley, who will coach the Tassie Devils, and Nathan Buckley, did not take part in the process, however the Bombers managed to select from a short list of four. Their coaching selection panel included Welsh, CEO Tim Roberts, vice-president Anthony Di Pietro, board member Richards and people and culture manager Caroline Monzon. The shortlisted candidates also underwent further interviews by experienced football analyst John Wardrop and former Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat. Interim coach Dean Solomon decided not to throw his hat in the ring to be senior coach after his stint as interim coach saw little improvement in the Bombers’ performances. Since Scott’s departure, key members of the football department – David Rath, Travis Varcoe, Dan McPherson, Ben Jacobs, Ben Robbins and Cam Roberts have finished up with the club. Roberts, McPherson and Rath continued in their roles until the home-and-away season ended with Sunday’s loss to Port Adelaide.
La préparation des Sydney Swans face au départ de leur adjoint
Du côté de Sydney, l’éventuel départ de l’entraîneur adjoint n’a pas pris la direction au dépourvu. L’entraîneur principal des Swans, Dean Cox, a indiqué que son club s’était préparé à cette éventnalité au cours de discussions internes menées ces dernières semaines.
It was reported last week McVeigh could leave the Swans immediately to play a role in end-of-season list management decisions.
L’entraîneur de Sydney, Dean Cox, a déclaré la semaine dernière, au sujet de la possibilité de perdre McVeigh, que ce club de football avait su bien faire une chose pendant une longue période, à savoir se préparer à l’imprévu ou à l’éventualité d’un nouveau développement.
Il a également ajouté que des réunions et des discussions avaient eu lieu et que la situation était parfaitement claire quant à ce qui se produirait s’il obtenait ou non le poste.
Mark McVeigh possède une expérience d’entraîneur acquise au sein des Giants du Grand Ouest de Sydney, où il avait notamment assuré l’intérim en 2012, avant de rejoindre le staff des Swans en tant qu’adjoint responsable de la défense au cours des trois dernières saisons.
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