AFL Easter Sunday LIVE: Nightmare task for lowly Essendon against high-scoring Western Bulldogs

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Sunday deep dive: The Bombers powerbroker backing Brad Scott, but it’s not unconditional

By Andrew Wu

In the summer of 2018, Essendon’s coaches were presented to influential coterie group members for a Q&A at “the Hangar”. Such sessions are commonplace at AFL clubs, where passionate and cashed-up supporters have access to coaches as part of their coterie package, some costing five figures.

These forums help build relationships between the football department and prominent supporters, while also raising valuable revenue if done well. This one wasn’t.

At the time, hopes were high among the Essendon faithful. The drugs suspensions had been served, the Dons were coming off a finals berth, and the recruiting of established trio Jake Stringer, Adam Saad and Devon Smith from other clubs was supposed to propel them further up the ladder.

According to two sources present in the room, coaches were taken aback by the aggressive tone of the coterie members, who were highly critical of the club’s performance.

One football department staff member likened the hour-long or so session to a “spray” at the on-field tactics, while another was bemused by their level of entitlement that they would know better than the coaches and air it in such a fashion. Neither had been subjected to such an episode at other clubs.

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