Essendon Chairman Paul Little has addressed the club’s members at this evening’s Annual General Meeting at The Clocktower Centre in Moonee Ponds.
Little provided an update on the AFL Tribunal Hearing and also provided further insight into the club’s structural and procedural changes in the wake of the ASADA investigation.
“The AFL anti-doping tribunal began and it will sit again on Thursday and Friday before breaking for Christmas. It will resume on Monday 12 January and could run until late January,” Little said.
“We hope this is the last step before our players names can be cleared once and for all and we can all move forward, putting this major distraction behind us.”
“The ASADA process continues to place pressure on our players, our Board, the club’s administration and our members and stakeholders.”
“Make no mistake, we, like everyone in this room want this matter finalised as quickly as possible. But I am sure you will agree that we cannot and will not compromise the position of our players for the sake of a quick resolution simply to satisfy the broader public.”
“From a financial perspective, net legal and other associated costs of the investigation amounted to $1.1m during the 2014 year to date.”
“Importantly, the club’s Directors and Officers Insurance cover positively contributed to this result.”
“The club has been actively working with the AFLPA, representing our past and present 2012 players, to bring this matter to a conclusion and to put an end to the stress and disruption being endured by our club and supporters.”
“As a result of the events of the past two years, we have conducted a major review of governance and integrity policies and procedures, across all facets of the club.”
Key areas covered in this review include:
- A new protocol covering all medical treatments
- A revised Organisational Structure – including management responsibilities and staff reporting lines
- Minimum standards of governance impacting all areas from Directors down to volunteers
- Reporting and Compliance across all key areas
- Risk management and planning
- Culture standards, including values and behavioural framework
“In relation to football operations, we now believe our football department and coaching panel are well structured and contain appropriately credentialed and experienced staff, enhancing our pursuit of finals success.”
“During the 2014 season, both Rob Kerr and Neil Craig continued to oversee the effective management of football performance and operations.”
“Sharing duties between ‘operations and compliance’ and ‘on field performance’, proved an effective strategy and structure during the year.”
“I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome new members of our coaching panel for the 2015 season.”
“It’s fantastic to have Mark Harvey and Matthew Lloyd return to the club as assistant coach and goal kicking coach, respectively. We also look forward to seeing the fruits of Mark Neeld’s work as development coach.”
