James Hird is now Essendon coach by title alone. That is the only conclusion to be drawn from the latest remarkable instalment in a saga now well into its second year.
Yes, Essendon’s board will meet again in the next few days and yes, nothing is probably set in stone.
Yet.
But take another look at what happened through Wednesday afternoon and into the night.
First Essendon reveal that they will not appeal against last month’s devastating Federal Court verdict.
A few minutes later, Hird makes it clear he will.
So club and coach are directly at odds, demolishing their united front over the sprawling, complex, ongoing circus that is the Essendon supplements scandal.
Next, Hird is a no-show at the club’s Crichton Medal best and fairest function.
Chairman Paul Little starts his speech by saying he will discuss the elephant in the room.
Little discussed an elephant – confirming their court action against ASADA was over – but not the No.1 elephant.
He did not mention Hird or even refer to him once in a speech that lasted nearly 20 minutes.
Little mentioned the players – lauding many of them by name – as well as caretaker coach Mark Thompson.
He thanked the members and key sponsors, praised Essendon’s new Tullarmarine headquarters, acknowledged their powerful coterie groups and referred to new chief executive Xavier Campbell.
But Hird? Nup.
Then Thompson spoke and, like Little, was passionate and even more rousing.
Again, Thompson did not mention Hird.
The closest the caretaker coach came to mentioning Essendon’s current coach was discussing his own future.
Thompson is in the box seat for the Gold Coast job and everyone knows it.
The shouts and cheers in the room on Wednesday night also demonstrated that everyone at Essendon want him to stay there.
But Thompson made it clear he will not go back to being a senior assistant.
He has enjoyed his second taste of life as a senior coach. That is all he wants.
At some point in the next few days, unless something extraordinary is brewing behind closed doors, the Bombers will surely offer him the job on a permanent basis.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
Tom Hawkins returns to familiar surroundings of Geelong - but is it the tonic he needs to regain some of his confidence back after a goalless four games.
Jeremy Finlayson should be a welcome addition to the Port Adelaide forward line after kicking four goals in the SANFL last week.
What is the worry in players having some harmless fun from time to time – does everything need to be taken seriously all the time?
As teammate Jake Waterman was lining up for goal, Cripps gave away a free kick by pushing an Essendon player as the Eagles lost…
Essendon coach Brad Scott says ruckman Sam Draper still has plenty of scope to express his personality and be funny - just not at…
Former great Jimmy Bartel is 'incredibly uncomfortable' at the prospect of Tarryn Thomas being given a second chance at an AFL career, as the…
