- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
History will remember Saturday night as the night North stormed from behind to defeat a brave Essendon and eliminate them from the 2014 finals series.
The one season reign of Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson at Essendon was over. His time at the helm there would become just another of football history’s footnotes, along with the likes of Brendan Bolton’s few weeks at the helm this year at Hawthorn.
He deserves far, far better than that.
At the press conference held post-game, Thompson was his usual self. Whereas as Geelong coach some years earlier he had been occasionally fiery, inclined not to suffer fools and sometimes even overwhelmed, tonight saw his finest performance.
It was a performance from a coach who, given the circumstances and obstacles he faced to come so far, would be a worthy recipient of Coach of the Year.
He was calm, measured and gently, though firmly, supportive of his players who have faced yet another traumatic off field year. There was humour and passion evident amidst the pain of the loss.
Questions were asked and answered without confusion, hesitation or deflection.
Thompson raised his mentor, Kevin Sheedy, at one point, explaining that though considered a hard taskmaster the players under him always knew they were genuinely loved and respected as players, club members and especially as people.
It was transparently obvious that he felt the same about his 2014 charges. When his obvious distress at the continuing drugs saga at Essendon and how it had affected his charges became part of the discussion, his voice betrayed his deep feeling.
Asked who was to blame for the ongoing saga – the AFL, the Club, James Hird, ASADA – he answered “us…all of us” and it was apparent to me that he himself accepted part blame for the events.
That’s what a coach does. More importantly, that is what a man does, and Essendon this year has been led by a coach who will be remembered as one of the true men of football, unafraid to profess his love for his players and his club, dignified, intelligent, witty and honest.
When Rudyard Kipling wrote his poem, “If…” which asks the reader if you can meet many standards and observes that, if you can, “…then you’ll be a man, my son”.
I believe he would have watched Mark Thompson this last year and nodded his approval.
Thompson does not know yet whether he has an ongoing role at Essendon. He has ruled out joint coaching with Hird and, with Neil Craig at the club, there seems no obvious other role he could fill.
It would be in character for him to walk away from the club and players before becoming a potential point of divisiveness, riding off into the sunset like the gunfighter in the movie Shane, his battle won but at the cost of the ultimate sacrifice to himself.
Bomber deserves better than that. I hope that someone, be it Essendon or another club, can convince him to continue in some suitable role. I’d love to see this year’s footnote become merely the opening lines of a new chapter of an ongoing history and I know so many journalists and supporters out there will agree.
I’ve never supported Essendon – or Geelong for that matter – but I have been impressed incredibly by the grace and poise of Mark Thompson over recent times.
I hope my beloved Sydney rolls out the red carpet for him. I don’t care what role we offered; no club can ever have too many good men in its ranks and, from what I have seen, Mark Thompson is up there with the very best our game has to offer.
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.