00:00Bombers have got a PR problem.
00:02Boat race bombers is our first point on six points this morning.
00:06A lot of conversation about whether or not this is just a boat race,
00:09this new coaching opportunity at the Essendon Football Club
00:11after James Hurd sensationally announced his candidacy last weekend
00:15or last week on Footy Classified.
00:17It scared off a lot of people to the point where coaches,
00:21senior coaches like Ken Hinckley and Adam Simpson,
00:23on the weekend, Brett Montgomery, assistant coach of the Giants
00:26and Troy Chaplin.
00:27You were on Radio Half.
00:28You were asking the hard questions of these two on ABC Radio yesterday.
00:31Take us through what these key assistants think of the situation.
00:34Well, Brett Montgomery said to us, one looks, in terms of the process,
00:38one looks like it's fairly open, the Carlton one.
00:40We're talking about the Carlton there.
00:41And the other looks like it's fairly shut in regards to the Essendon one.
00:44And Troy Chaplin, who's an assistant at the Demons,
00:47was a caretaker coach for them last year as well.
00:49He says whether they want to go with James Hurd
00:51or if they want to run a proper process,
00:53so having a bit of a dig there, I reckon,
00:55I think they need to work that out before you can declare yourself
00:57as interested in that job.
01:00So assistant coaches are saying they don't really want to be a part of it
01:02because they don't believe the process.
01:04Two senior coaches, Ken Hinckley and Adam Simpson,
01:07have said effectively the same thing.
01:08They've got a massive PR problem, the Bombers, now.
01:10What do they do?
01:11Was this unfair on Andrew Welsh?
01:12Because in the press, he really said that all options are open.
01:14We're not ruling anything or out.
01:16So he couldn't rule out Hurd at that stage.
01:17So he hasn't sort of said that James Hurd's on board
01:21and we're going to interview James Hurd.
01:23So they've sat on the fence there.
01:24I would say to any assistant coaches, if you want the job,
01:27put your hand up.
01:28You're not going to get the job if you don't have a crack.
01:30But are they going to get the job anyway?
01:31This is the whole thing.
01:32The perception is the reality in this game,
01:34as you well know, Steve, through your years of journalism.
01:36So they've got three options as far as I'm concerned.
01:38Well, Andrew Welsh and the board of Essendon go to James Hurd
01:42and say, you're not going to get the job.
01:44We're not giving it to you.
01:45You've got to go through the process as number two
01:47and you've got to go through it all the way through
01:49or we're going to give you the job right now.
01:51They're the three options for Andrew Welsh
01:53after James Hurd came out so strongly
01:55and effectively said, I want this job.
01:57I'm desperate for this job.
01:58I really think I can do this job.
02:00And there's part of me that thinks
02:02it's probably going to be the outcome anyway.
02:04Because the spectre of James Hurd hanging over Essendon
02:06for the last 10 years, since the saga,
02:09since he got sacked,
02:10the spectre of him hanging over that club
02:12has been really heavy
02:13and it's affected everyone.
02:14Even Brad Scott,
02:16even when he was coaching there
02:17in the last couple of years,
02:18it was always, yeah, but Hurd is in the background.
02:20People are pushing for Hurd if he come back.
02:21There's never been stability or solidarity at Essendon.
02:24Maybe this is the only way they could get it done.
02:26Yeah, it's going to be tough either way.
02:28It's polarising, is it?
02:29If Welsh comes out and said,
02:30no, we're not going to go down the James Hurd route,
02:32that's a problem.
02:33And if he says yes, it's a problem.
02:36So does he just quietly ring James Hurd
02:37and say, look, Jimmy,
02:39maybe you just quietly pull out
02:40and concentrate on port,
02:42take the heat off us?
02:43Well, Jimmy's not going to pull out.
02:44No.
02:44He wouldn't have said what he said last week on CV
02:46if he was going to not be fully committed
02:49to being the next coach of Essendon.
02:50And he's a smart guy.
02:51He wouldn't have done that
02:52without a level of conversation
02:55somewhere within the corridors of power
02:57there at Essendon.
02:58He's not a silly guy, James Hurd.
02:59Yeah, so I'm on the James Hurd bandwagon
03:02on this one.
03:03I know that we did this at Zero Hangout last week.
03:06I think it was the only one of our riders
03:08that put their hand up and said,
03:09I'm on the Hurd train.
03:10I think it's time.
03:11They need a circuit breaker.
03:12They need a legend back at the footy club.
03:15A little bit of magic, magic dust, if you like.
03:17They have to give it a go.
03:18They have to scratch that itch half
03:20and get it done.
03:21So prepare to take a punt on James Hurd.
03:24I think the fact that he's down at Port Melbourne
03:26at the moment, he's still doing his homework.
03:28We saw the TV cameras down at Port.
03:30It was a bit of a circus on the weekend,
03:32but he's revered what he's doing at Port
03:34and that's enough for me.
03:35People say he hasn't been involved in 10 years.
03:37Well, he has.
03:38He's been at the Giants.
03:39Now he's at grassroots footy
03:41and that's where you learn a lot.
03:42There's nowhere to hide in grassroots footy
03:44and he's put the hard work in.
03:45So I'm on board with James Hurd at Essendon.
03:47I must admit, I'm leaning that way.
03:49I just think it's the circuit breaker they need.
03:50In the last two weeks,
03:52obviously they lost to coach Brad Scott
03:53after the loss to the Richmond
03:54and then of course they lose on the weekend
03:56under Dan Solomon.
03:57The new coach bounced.
03:58It was a dead bounce yesterday at Optus Stadium.
04:01Dead game.
04:01Worst game of footy I've ever seen in a wind cycle.
04:03The last two wooden spooners in the last two weeks.
04:05That's a bad sign for the Bombers.
04:06But Solomon, he was talking up West Coast,
04:08you know, they're a good side
04:09and, you know, we tried hard.
04:10There were some positives.
04:11West Coast aren't a good side
04:12and that was a pox game of footy, unfortunately.
04:15In the wind, I know,
04:16but gee, it was a pretty flat Sunday
04:19but we'll get on to that later.
04:20We will.
04:21So that's the Bombers.
04:22They're one of the stories
04:23because there's a coaching job up for Greg.
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