Former North Melbourne chairman James Brayshaw has blasted the “toxicity” of AFL clubs that is forcing “smart” people out the door.
Brayshaw (who finished up at the Kangaroos in 2016) became good friends with Brad Scott who was coach of the club from 2010-2019.
And after Scott was sacked by Essendon this week — following some public support from club leaders — an exasperated Brayshaw has made a passionate appeal to the industry.
“Where do I bloody start?” Brayshaw said on Triple M’s The Rush Hour with JB & Billy.
“My worry with this, I have three very good friends of mine — Don Pyke, Adam Simpson, and now Brad Scott — all very good, smart AFL men. All have exited out of AFL clubs in the last decade.
“I don’t know (former Carlton coach) Michael Voss as well, but everyone says he’s in the exact same category.
“We have to make sure this industry stays appealing for men of that quality because right now, if I’m in that category, I’m thinking, ‘Why am I jumping into this?’…”
Former coaches Ken Hinkley (Port Adelaide) and John Longmire (Sydney), who are both considering jumping back into the hot seat, were also on Brayshaw’s mind.
“They’re all smart, very smart, they’re going to think to themselves why am I putting my reputation into the path of a flaky board and administrators who swing with the breeze, past players who should shut up because they haven’t been involved for 100 years, but they can’t help themselves, coterie groups who wouldn’t know a Sherrin if it hit him in the bloody head?” Brayshaw said.
“So, if you’re smart blokes like them, like Horse and Ken, why would you do it?
“You wouldn’t … this is the problem we’ve got.
“We’re creating this toxicity around senior coaching at a lot of these places that would stop me, if I was those blokes, from putting my hand up.”
On Tuesday night, Scott also told Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters that he had been disappointed by the constant leaking of information from within Essendon that put him in an “untenable position” to speak to his players after the decision was made to move him on.
“It was surprising (to be sacked), but in a way, I’ve been in this industry for a long time, it’s not surprising because pressure does strange things,” Scott told The Agenda Setters.
“The frustrating thing about this was that, I spoke to (club president Andrew Welsh) last night. We were going to catch up at 7.30 this morning. We were going to hold it tight.
“There are only eight people who knew, plus the media manager. And then (the plan was) I’d get the opportunity to speak to the players … but at 7.30 in the morning the players already knew because everyone knew.
“So it meant it made it untenable to go to the club and speak to the players, so that’ll have to come a bit later.”
