Your team’s road ahead ranked from hardest to easiest
Essendon have the toughest fixtures of the 18 clubs for the remainder of the season, leaving interim coach Dean Solomon facing an uphill battle to prove his credentials if he decides to apply for the job.
The Bombers have the toughest game in the second half of the season, while Hawthorn and Carlton are the easiest team to run home with, according to Champion Data, which assesses the difficulty of each club’s home run by giving the opposition a weighting based on each team’s percentage.
Solomon’s opening game as interim coach on Sunday night did not result in a Carlton-like surge; The Bombers lost by five goals to the West Coast Eagles in Perth and have just one win in their last 25 games.
The Bombers, under interim coach Josh Fraser after parting ways with Michael Voss, play the Blues, who have won three in a row at the MCG on King’s Birthday Eve, then bid farewell and then play North Melbourne, St Kilda, Brisbane at the ‘Gabba, the Giants and Hawthorn before the end of July.
Nine of Essendon’s last 10 matches have been against teams seeking the title or final under the new top 10 model. Gold Coast, Port Adelaide, Greater Western Sydney and Fremantle are in the top five of teams facing the toughest period of September.
Which teams have the toughest run at home?
(Ordered from most difficult to easiest)
- Essendon
- Gold Coast
- Port Adelaide
- GWS
- Fremantle
- St Kilda
- Western Bulldogs
- Sydney Swans
- Melbourne
- Richmond
- Adelaide Crows
- North Melbourne
- West Coast
- Brisbane Lions
- Geelong
- collingwood
- Carlton
- Hawthorn
Source: Champion Data.
Essendon great Matthew Lloyd says he does not expect his former premiership team-mate Solomon to replace Brad Scott, who was sacked last Tuesday with 18 months left on his contract.
“It’s rare for the interim coach to get the job, I know we’ve seen that before, if they can run away, so he’s got to take a real role to get that job otherwise it goes elsewhere,” Lloyd told the AFL website.
“He’s the perfect guy at the moment because he’s so selfless, he’s such an Essendon man. He’s just doing the right thing for the club at the moment. I’m sure he’ll be delighted if he gets the job, but I’m sure that’s not on his mind at the moment.”
Hours after Scott’s departure, Hird put his hand up to return to Essendon as manager, 11 years after leaving the club.
An industry source with knowledge of events at Tullamarine, speaking anonymously as the process is not yet complete, said Hird would endorse Solomon as a potential Essendon senior coach not only for his coaching but also for his ability to unite the club.
The same industry sources said Solomon might be open to becoming his assistant coach if Hird fails.
Solomon has not yet announced whether he will pursue the senior role. He tried to dodge questions about Hird’s possible return following Sunday night’s defeat.
“I turned off all my social media to be honest… I had to control what I can control, focus on what I can focus on and that means leading this club, these staff and players in the short term,” Solomon said.
“So I don’t think it’s going to have any impact on me. I can’t really speak for the players but I’m sure we’re all locked in on what we need to do at the moment.”
While some potential candidates are under fire until the Bombers announce whether Hird is a candidate, former Sydney premiership coach John Longmire emerges as an intriguing man.
The Blues, who announced last week that a subcommittee had been formed to find Voss’ replacement, look set to rule out Longmire as well.
Lloyd said it was important for the Bombers to conduct an open process that included all interested candidates.
“You just hope that the other people they want to interview are also willing to interview. That’s what you hope for, that’s the board’s process. It’s going to be a big few weeks for them,” he said.
Hird is a friend and premiership teammate of Solomon and has long respected his coaching and development abilities.
Welsh and CEO Tim Roberts are trying to establish a coaching subcommittee with job criteria to follow.
Co-host Jimmy Bartel didn’t ask Hird about his coaching dreams. Football Oven Nine owns this tag after the Bombers lost to the Eagles. But he backed Solomon to leave a “mark” in Sunday’s clash with the Blues.
“I think it’s been tough going intercounty, obviously Dean got the job four days ago. It’s quite difficult to make a lot of changes, he’s left two assistant coaches on him and he’s lost five of your most experienced players.” [to injuries]“There was a ridiculous amount of games that came out,” Hird said.
Assistant coach Ben Jacobs and psychologist Ben Robbins resigned Friday out of loyalty to Scott.
“So it’s not their best performance but hopefully Dean, he’s got a whole week to prepare for the Carlton game, he can put some things together, put together a game plan, get his name in the team and good luck to him next week,” Hird said.
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Jon Pierik is a sports reporter for The Age. He covers the AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect with: X or email.
