Essendon Football Club today confirmed the appointment of Brendan McCartney as an assistant coach at the Club.
General manager of football operations Paul Hamilton said Essendon was delighted to secure someone with McCartney’s coaching and development experience.
“Brendan will be a really important part of our coaching team going forward and we are really excited about the contribution we know he will be able to make,” Hamilton said.
“We have been clear in our ambition to put together the best possible coaching group to support our new senior coach James Hird and this is another step towards that. Brendan knows football back to front and more importantly, the underlying trends for where the game is going.
“He is also a great manager of people and players and comes highly regarded for his development of players and his ability to teach.
“While his role will primarily be working with our AFL side, we believe Brendan will be able to pass on some valuable knowledge to our development academy as well.”
McCartney comes to the Bombers having served 11 years at the Geelong Football Club where he assisted in the development of some of the best players in Geelong’s history and played a role in two Premiership campaigns (2007, 2009).
McCartney’s coaching experience also includes two seasons as Richmond Football Club’s reserve coach.
Having been a part of the coaching group for 235 games with Geelong and 43 games with Richmond, McCartney ranks as one of the league’s most experienced assistant coaches.
McCartney also comes highly respected by his peers, having been recently voted the AFL’s assistant coach of the year by the AFL Coaches Association.
In further changes to Essendon’s coaching panel, Hamilton today confirmed that Adrian Hickmott will look to pursue other opportunities next season.
“We wish Adrian all the best in his future endeavours and thank him for the strong contribution he has provided to our Club over the past three years.” Hamilton said.
