Brad Scott could prove to be a change agent for Essendon in the same way that Kevin Sheedy was 40 years ago, according to Ben Dunn, a board member when the Bombers won their last flag under Sheedy and who is vying to get back on the board and give Scott the support he needs.
Dunn, who was on the board from 1998 to 2006 before going overseas for work, believes the club’s football department has been under-resourced and wants a football-led resurgence of the club.
New Essendon coach Brad Scott.Credit:Getty Images
“Sheeds was a great change agent for the Essendon Football Club and shepherded us into an era where we were a great club, and he was an enormous part of that. I think Brad Scott has the potential to be another change agent for Essendon,” Dunn said.
A supporter of former president Paul Brasher, Dunn is also a strong backer of his successor David Barham but believes the Bombers need a stronger and more stable board behind him.
“I just felt like the board was not particularly strong. I have used the term flip-flop [about board members] and that has upset some people, but they have not covered themselves in glory over the last five, six, seven years and chopped and changed direction a few times,” Dunn said.
“As counter-intuitive as it sounds I think we need to get some stability in the club through change. I am well aware of the irony of saying that.
“When I was on the board with Graeme McMahon – and he was a great president – but he had the benefit of a really strong board. I really want David Barham to be successful, I absolutely support him. Unequivocally.”
Having returned from Singapore where he worked with JP Morgan before moving into venture capital and private equity, Dunn said he wanted to get back involved with Essendon, believing the club had surrendered its status as a league leader in a range of areas.
“You would be hard-pressed at the moment to think of something that we lead the AFL in and we have to change that,” he said.
“There were a couple of catalysts for me wanting to get back on the board and one was going out and watching the VFL play at Port Melbourne and I really felt like the VFL was under-resourced. We were sending players out and from afar it looked like we weren’t putting enough into development, and it is not fair on the players for a start but also the fans and members.
“I felt like board and Xavier [Campbell] have done a terrific job steering us through a tumultuous period, a very difficult period but the focus on footy had suffered.”
Dunn said it was important there was a contested election and members had a say after being frustrated at the lack of democracy and having new board members appointed without an election.
“I am not looking to be an agent of change, I am looking to be an agent of stability. I know what a successful Essendon football club looks like, and I have had some fantastic business experience overseas,” he said.
Craig Vozzo will be Essendon chief executive.Credit:Getty Images
Essendon last week appointed Craig Vozzo as the new chief executive. He will start in the new year.
Vozzo, a respected football person who worked as a lawyer for 11 years before moving into player management and then list and football management, is an impressive hire for the Bombers after the clumsiness of the short-lived appointment of former NAB boss Andrew Thorburn.
Voting in the Essendon board election closes on Monday afternoon with two positions available. Dunn supports the return of former player and successful businessman Andrew Welsh but wants to take the place of Andrew Muir, who is seeking re-election.
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