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Speaking on Fox Footy\u2019s AFL 360, journalist Sam Edmund and St Kilda great Leigh Montagna unpacked the latest on each coaching race, including where the leading contenders stand at each club.<\/p>\n
And for some left-field analogy, the panel alongside Kath Loughnan gave each vacancy their own racing analogy, given how different a flavour each race has.<\/p>\n
Tasmania \u2014 1200m sprint for a three-horse race<\/p>\n
Carlton \u2014 2500m derby, made up of the best three-year-old horses<\/p>\n
Essendon \u2014 3200m cup in a handicapped race<\/p>\n
Dons, Blues coaching state of play | 04:19<\/p>\n
Read the full transcript discussing each vacancy below:<\/p>\n
ESSENDON<\/p>\n
Sam Edmund says: \u201cFirstly, where it\u2019s at with Essendon at the moment, is a new lexicon has entered the footy arena in recent months. It\u2019s called: \u2018The Coffee Catch-Up\u2019, and Essendon are thick in the middle of the coffee catch-up at the moment. They\u2019re reaching out to as many as 15 aspirants at the moment; just to gauge their keenness for the role and whether they\u2019re still keen to go through the process. Then, they\u2019re going to interview, I\u2019m told, up to 10 candidates \u2014 which sounds like a lot. It\u2019s unclear whether John Longmire will be a part of this process or not; the feeling is he\u2019s a \u2018gun for hire\u2019, but the Bombers refused to confirm his name when I spoke to them earlier on today. We know James Kelly said he would go through the process … a lot of Essendon heritage. \u201c<\/p>\n
On John Longmire: \u201cI can\u2019t confirm whether he\u2019s in there. What I would say about those sorts of guys, whether it be Ken Hinkley or Longmire, or any other established coach, they\u2019re not going to be involved in the initial phase. You speak to enough people who have been through these processes, and someone like Longmire is not going to avail himself to the first interview \u2014 his resume is there. They know what he\u2019s capable of … but, does it get to a stage later on in six weeks where he becomes part of the process? I think that\u2019s a very real chance, without knowing what\u2019s going to happen in Tassie.<\/p>\n
On James Hird: There\u2019s a big Essendon flavour with this, which makes it so difficult to assess. You hear someone like Kevin Sheedy; he\u2019s so strong in his support for James Hird. Not once, not twice, but multiple times. Then, you hear Matthew Lloyd who has almost come full circle, and now got to a point where he\u2019s essentially called Hird the only one who can save Essendon, more or less. Yet, you speak to Essendon and say: \u2018What influence does that have over your process?\u2019 They say: \u2018Zero, nothing, nada, zilch\u2019.<\/p>\n
Sheedy backs Hird return | 01:01<\/p>\n
Leigh Montagna says: Using that racing analogy, it almost feels like every loss that every loss, Dean Solomon is carrying more and more weight going \u2018into the Melbourne Cup\u2019 \u2014 to the point where he probably can\u2019t win it, if they continue to lose … does it enhance James Hird\u2019s chances, in that it\u2019s maybe more than just getting the best coach that might have the best tactical plan or relationship with players?<\/p>\n
Edmund: Don\u2019t you actually have to be able to coach the team? It\u2019s hard to think that someone like Hird, if you stacked his resume up over time \u2014 with all of the established assistants I mentioned \u2014 and especially someone like a John Longmire, if he is part of the process, how he could possibly win that process. On coaching, nous, resume, background over the last 10 years. But, if you are after a uniter, a gatherer and healer, then it\u2019s hard to think that there could be anyone better than James in this moment … in many ways, they\u2019re stuck between a rock and a hard place.<\/p>\n
Montagna: \u201cThat\u2019s what the panel have to decide between: what is more important for the Essendon Football Club with where they\u2019re at right now as a club.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Have to answer Hird question first” | 05:04<\/p>\n
CARLTON<\/p>\n
Sam Edmund on Josh Fraser: \u201cI find it inconceivable to think that a man who has been flawless (and) hasn\u2019t put a foot wrong, is 7-0 … it\u2019s inconceivable to think that he at least wouldn\u2019t be a part of the process. He has to be a part of the process, and I\u2019m fully expecting him to be a part of the process in time. But, the narrative that he\u2019s set and stuck to… he\u2019s a bit like James Hird, he\u2019s very clever. Why would you rock the boat now? Why would you change your mind and a complete 180 and say: \u2018Yep, I\u2019m in\u2019. That opens him up to a whole other layer of questions from the media. \u2018Why hasn\u2019t Carlton appointed you\u2019 … don\u2019t rock the boat now.<\/p>\n
Leigh Montagna says: \u201cYou don\u2019t want to change anything. I said (Monday) night that it feels very similar. He\u2019ll keep this line until probably 2-3 weeks time when the process starts to narrow down. He will be, I think, in that process. Do you think then, the next question is \u2018would he be the favourite right now for the job?\u2019<\/p>\n
Fraser NOT asked to be apart of search | 00:48<\/p>\n
Edmund: It\u2019s a very hard one to answer … when it comes to the coffee catch-ups, they\u2019ve done all theirs, just about. There\u2019s somewhere around 16 names in this group here, I\u2019m told. So that\u2019s going to be widdled down to maybe half a dozen or four, for some real in-depth interviews and presentations \u2014 which is where Adam Simpson will come in with scenarios and some game-based stuff and the like to really \u2018test the metal\u2019 of these coaches. It\u2019s hard to say whether he would be favourite or not, but it\u2019s getting harder and harder for him to answer the question. If it\u2019s 8-0 and they beat Hawthorn (on Saturday), then it\u2019s going to be nigh on impossible for him to answer the question.<\/p>\n
Montagna: It\u2019s going to take a very, very impressive presentation to top him you\u2019d think. Because he\u2019s already got the proof in the pudding about adjustments with game day, and personnel … all those things that Adam Simpson is going to ask the prospective coaches in their presentations. Josh Fraser\u2019s got proof.<\/p>\n
Edmund: \u201cShouldn\u2019t sleep on the resume. In 14 years, he\u2019s coached his own teams, he\u2019s been an assistant coach at AFL level, he\u2019s been a development coach at AFL and now he\u2019s a senior coach at AFL level. He\u2019s ticked every box there is to tick … there would be no one on this earth that thought Josh Fraser would harness that group like he has done. From the biggest losing streak in the game, to the biggest (winning) one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buckley on Tasmania Devils interview | 03:22<\/p>\n
TASMANIA<\/p>\n
Sam Edmund says: \u201cWe know he\u2019s (Longmire) in for Tasmania, we absolutely know that \u2014 we can state that as fact. That is a three-horse race. It\u2019s feeling like that timeline will come to fruition sooner than the other two, don\u2019t we? Given Tasmania is on the record (CEO Brendon Gale) as saying they want this done by the end of the season. It might even be done earlier than that.<\/p>\n
\ufeff\u201cThis is quality not quantity, isn\u2019t it? We\u2019ve got three guys who have achieved so much in the game. I mentioned that \u2018Bucks\u2019 has presented again \u2014 that\u2019s the second time he\u2019s done so formally. John Longmire and Ken Hinkley, they\u2019ll present formally within the next two to three weeks themselves … these three are not going to be easily separated on experience, knowledge and nous. Hinkley met with Gale in May, but that was more under the guise of a \u2018Head of Football\u2019 role. His next meeting will be about being the senior coach. All chips in the middle of the table for him and John Longmire. They want a coach appointed by the end of the season, (but) what I\u2019m hearing is it might come to hand earlier than that. This one will be the first one done.<\/p>\n
Leigh Montagna says: \u201cI like Ken Hinkley\u2019s approach. I think he\u2019d be great for Tasmania … Kenny would be good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edmund: \u201cI\u2019ve asked Brendon Gale, they will not be flustered. They\u2019re on their own timeline, and they won\u2019t be rushed at all … I\u2019m leaning towards (Hinkley), but geez, they\u2019re tough to split. I don\u2019t know how they can make a football decision on the three. Maybe it comes down to who they bring with them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The AFL\u2019s three biggest coaching vacancies are all at different stages, with Essendon, Carlton and Tasmania each taking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":784669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-784668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=784668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/784669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=784668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=784668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=784668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}