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Essendon\u2019s coaching exodus has continued with another assistant coach about to leave the club, while Bombers great Tim Watson has taken aim at his former club for \u201cdobbing\u201d in Leigh Matthews for his comments about the club\u2019s coaching process.<\/p>\n
The Bombers confirmed on Tuesday that forwards coach Cam Roberts would leave the club at the end of the 2026 season, just like football department general manager Dan McPherson, whose departure was announced five days earlier.<\/p>\n
They join senior coach Brad Scott, assistant Ben Jacobs and head of psychology Ben Robbins among those departing the club this year.<\/p>\n
It was Matthews\u2019 comments about the Bombers\u2019 search for Scott\u2019s replacement that lit a fuse on Saturday. The four-time premiership coach \u2013 one of the AFL\u2019s most respected voices \u2013 told 3AW he would have \u201cno confidence\u201d to coach the Bombers under the current administration, adding: \u201cIf I was a coach, I wouldn\u2019t be going to Essendon\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Bombers were privately upset with Matthews\u2019 comments on Saturday when contacted by this masthead, given the Australian Football Hall of Fame Legend is a Brisbane Lions club director, but they went a step further on Sunday when chief executive Tim Roberts sent a transcript of Matthews\u2019 comments to the AFL, as reported by Seven\u2019s Agenda Setters.<\/p>\n
Bombers president Andrew Welsh also contacted Lions chairman Andrew Wellington for an explanation of Matthews\u2019 comments.<\/p>\n
Three-time premiership great Watson, speaking on SEN on Tuesday, said Matthews, the former Hawks hard nut who clashed against the Bombers in three grand finals in the 1980s, was within his rights to comment.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeigh is very considered and has powerful conversations from time to time, and he\u2019s very direct in what he has to say,\u201d Watson, the former Bombers skipper, told SEN.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not somebody that goes out there looking for clickbait, he\u2019s not a hot-taker. There\u2019s enough evidence around to suggest that what he\u2019s saying not completely untrue, either.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know whether I would have gone to that degree, had I been at Essendon, that I thought, \u2018OK, I need to go to the AFL and get some sort of comment from them\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
The AFL will not take action against Matthews, insisting it\u2019s a club-based issue.<\/p>\n
When asked if there was an insecurity at the bottom-placed Bombers, Watson said: \u201cI think there\u2019s a lot going on at the club at the moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re staring down the wooden spoon, they haven\u2019t got a coach. I would have thought you\u2019ve got much bigger things to worry about than dobbing someone in about what they\u2019ve said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would think the best thing you can do in this business is point at the scorecard. At the moment, their scorecard looks miserable, but when it looks better you can point at it and say this is where we\u2019re at. But they\u2019ve got a long way to go before they are at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n