'Lost its soul': Essendon great savages AFL 'imposters'
The Essendon Bombers have been under siege from former players after their capitulation to Geelong on the weekend, and yet another premiership hero has added fuel to the fire.
Likely to miss the finals despite a series of high profile trades and recruits in the last few years, the Bombers have come under heavy scrutiny from the likes of former club great Matthew Lloyd in recent weeks.
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Lloyd argued the club was going nowhere earlier in the week, and his 2000 premiership teammate Dean Wallis has joined the chorus.
The former defender called for a ‘review and investigation’ into the club, who he labelled ‘imposters’.
“If there was an Olympic Games for imposters in the AFL, Essendon would win gold, silver and bronze,” the 51-year-old told the Herald Sun.
“Some people will have a go at me for speaking out like this, but someone needs to stand up. The reality is, I’m just a past player who cares about his club.
“There needs to be a full review and investigation into the ongoings of the past and hopefully there are some passionate Essendon heavy hitters that can rally together to make drastic and necessary changes.”
Even worse was Wallis’ account of a conversation about the club with famous former president Graeme McMahon, who passed away in 2014.
As the Bombers were recovering from the supplements scandal of 2012, Wallis said McMahon had begged him to find a way to fix the ‘f***ed’ club.
That Dean Wallis yarn on Essendon behind the scenes, whew. Daming to say the least coming from a premiership great. There simply has to be a widespread review this summer.
— Chris De Silva (@cdesilva23) September 8, 2020
“All I know is that a bloke called Graeme McMahon would never, ever have let this happen and allowed the club to get to where it has and staff to get away with what they have,” Wallis said.
“I’ll never forget a couple of days before he passed away, I was sitting by his bedside at his house, he had a tear coming out of his eye and he said, ’Wally, whatever you do, fix this club. The club is f---ed’.”
Legends tear into woeful Essendon Bombers
Essendon great Matthew Lloyd says the Bombers have become a laughing stock of the competition, declaring the AFL club will continue to "wallow in mediocrity" until they front up to their issues.
The Bombers' finals hopes were all but extinguished in Sunday's 66-point loss to Geelong.
Essendon trailed 75-16 at half-time, and Lloyd was irked to see the player huddle laughing at a joke before coming off for the long break.
What angered Lloyd even more was Essendon's diabolical form, with the club legend openly questioning whether the Bombers still commanded any respect from their rivals.
"The Bombers have got no respect in this competition anymore, and that hurts me to say that ... from where my heart is as an Essendon person," AFL.com.au.
"Who are they? What's their brand? What do they stand for? They've become a bit of a laughing stock of this competition.
"They just don't beat anyone of note. And I think it's just becoming really tiring for Essendon people who have waited and been patient for a long time, and yet you hear John Worsfold yesterday say, 'we are three pre-seasons off Geelong'.
"No you're not John. Your team has been nowhere for so long. Why keep making those excuses? Put your hand up and say, 'we've got so far to get'."
Essendon haven't won a final since 2004.
With AAP
