Coaching Staff Women's Coaches 2022 - Deadly Bentley paints boots for Dreamtime

[Lore]

Senior Coach: Natalie Wood (thread)

Assistant Coaches:
Kirby Bentley (Forwards)
Brett Gourley (Midfield)
Natasha Hardy (Defence)

Development Coaches:
Jacara Egan
Gavin Urquhart

Gavin Urquhart

Age

35

Ht

181cm

Wt

81kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.4

4star

K

8.8

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

No current season stats available

D

17.8

5star

K

10.2

4star

HB

7.6

5star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.0

4star

VFLW Head Coach: Brendan Major (thread)

VFLW Assistant Coaches:
Brett Pollard (Midfield)

VFLW Development Coach:
Gavin Urquhart

Gavin Urquhart

Age

35

Ht

181cm

Wt

81kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.4

4star

K

8.8

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

No current season stats available

D

17.8

5star

K

10.2

4star

HB

7.6

5star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.0

4star

Matt Dea
Jarrad Campbell
Chloe Laan

Coach Development Manager: Peta Searle

Player Development Manager: Lauren Spark

 

[Lore]

Coaching panel announcement yay! I suspect we don't need a separate thread for assistants just yet so will put this here.

So we have three women and two men joining the panel, and two of the women are Indigenous as well which is pretty awesome.

I think Jacara Egan is the one I'm most happy about, she's got a really strong background working with the U18s and should be a huge asset not only as a coach but for our recruiting as well (she should know plenty about them).

Hardy was our VFLW vice-captain in 2018 so it's great to see her back at Essendon Urquhart also from our VFLW program - he's an assistant coach. I suspect that might be useful if we are expecting to implement a similar game plan

Bentley is highly credentialed as well, she comes across from the Bulldogs, which is probably the Nat Wood influence haha.

The one I don't know much about is Gourley but like Egan he has a background with U18s so hopefully that's useful for recruiting as well as coaching.

Natasha Hardy: Assistant Coach

Returning to the club to fulfil the role of backline coach, Hardy will bring with her experience as both a player and coach.

Hardy was the 2018 Essendon inaugural Essendon VFLW vice-captain before moving into coaching as a stoppage coach within the VFLW program.

Most recently, Hardy has worked as an AFLW development coach at North Melbourne and a line coach at the NAB League club Calder Cannons.

Kirby Bentley: Assistant Coach

Joining Hardy is Bentley, a proud Noongar woman who was the first Indigenous woman to coach at VFLW level when she took the reins of the Western Bulldogs’ VFLW side this year.

Bentley also worked as a development coach for the Bulldogs’ AFLW team and will take charge of the Bombers’ forward line.

Utilising her experience as a coach and professional athlete to guide Essendon’s newest team, the former dual-sport athlete played professional netball for Perth Orioles for five years before switching to football.

Bentley went on to play 10 AFLW games for Carlton and Fremantle across the first three seasons of the competition before retiring and taking up coaching.

Brett Gourley: Assistant Coach

Gourley joins the Bombers with a strong teaching and education background, as well as extensive coaching experience across Vic Metro and Calder Cannons and most recently with North Melbourne’s AFLW team.

Jacara Egan: Development Coach

Essendon’s Indigenous player manager Egan will step up as AFLW development coach, bringing a range of coaching experiences with her.

Egan was the assistant coach for the 2022 NAB AFLW Academy and NAB League’s Calder Cannons’ boys’ side as well as head coach of the Vic Metro under-18s girls’ side.

A proud Muthi Muthi/Gunditjmara woman, Egan was the first Indigenous woman to coach NAB League programs across both boys and girls.

Gavin Urquhart

Gavin Urquhart

Age

35

Ht

181cm

Wt

81kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.4

4star

K

8.8

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

No current season stats available

D

17.8

5star

K

10.2

4star

HB

7.6

5star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.0

4star

: Development Coach

Urquhart, a 41-game player for North Melbourne, has been a respected member of the Bombers’ VFLW coaching panel and will support the AFLW coaching panel in a development role.

Bombers bolster AFLW coaching panel

The official AFL website of the Essendon Football Club

www.essendonfc.com.au

 

[RedmanWasHere]

Gavin Urquhart

Gavin Urquhart

Age

35

Ht

181cm

Wt

81kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.4

4star

K

8.8

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

No current season stats available

D

17.8

5star

K

10.2

4star

HB

7.6

5star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.0

4star

.

WTH!?
WOW!

I knew he was involved in the VFLW side but the AFLW side?

Welcome on board all of you.

 

[foj1]

it Is a shame we couldn’t get daisy pearce or Alicia Eva involved
clearly the two best female coaching candidates in the caper and both extremely knowledgable regardless of gender
i don’t think any could convince me that anyone on this panel is better qualified than Paul groves who coached the bulldogs aflw side to a premiership and is coaching locally in the ammo’s
good luck to all involved

 

[Lore]

it Is a shame we couldn’t get daisy pearce or Alicia Eva involved
clearly the two best female coaching candidates in the caper and both extremely knowledgable regardless of gender
i don’t think any could convince me that anyone on this panel is better qualified than Paul groves who coached the bulldogs aflw side to a premiership and is coaching locally in the ammo’s
good luck to all involved

Eva and Pearce are still playing and neither is currently coaching an AFLW team so it might be a bit early in their careers for a coaching gig.

We’d have to bring them across as players (with limited Tier 1/2 spots on the playing list) and then set up some sort of playing assistant coach role.

I think Pearce has a coaching gig with Geelong’s mens team though.

As for Groves, I think he stepped away from AFLW to take up a more sustainable career?

It’s a tough gig to do it year after year when you’re not getting paid well enough to afford a mortgage.

Although Goddard has finally come back to coaching now that Hawthorn gave her a full time gig, so maybe we could get him doing something else in the off-season so he’s financially secure.

 

[eth-dog]

Eva and Pearce are still playing and neither is currently coaching an AFLW team so it might be a bit early in their careers for a coaching gig.

We’d have to bring them across as players (with limited Tier 1/2 spots on the playing list) and then set up some sort of playing assistant coach role.

I think Pearce has a coaching gig with Geelong’s mens team though.

As for Groves, I think he stepped away from AFLW to take up a more sustainable career?

It’s a tough gig to do it year after year when you’re not getting paid well enough to afford a mortgage.

Although Goddard has finally come back to coaching now that Hawthorn gave her a full time gig, so maybe we could get him doing something else in the off-season so he’s financially secure.

He'd be getting more at St. Bernards than he would at AFLW. The money for coaches in A and B Grade amateurs is insane.

 

[Lore]

He'd be getting more at St. Bernards than he would at AFLW. The money for coaches in A and B Grade amateurs is insane.

I think the entire football department spend for AFLW is about half a million dollars (not counting the player salaries). Hence they’re all either part-time or dual-role staff.

 

[foj1]

I think the entire football department spend for AFLW is about half a million dollars (not counting the player salaries). Hence they’re all either part-time or dual-role staff.

In the article it intimates that wood will work with our senior mens- am I right?
that would make the role full time
i have heard Egan and gourley coach a lot and they are very ordinary
egan especially is near embarrassing to listen to when you wander to a Calder huddle

 

[Lore]

In the article it intimates that wood will work with our senior mens- am I right?
that would make the role full time
i have heard Egan and gourley coach a lot and they are very ordinary
egan especially is near embarrassing to listen to when you wander to a Calder huddle

Yeah Wood is dual-role and full-time

 

[foj1]

Yeah Wood is dual-role and full-time

There you go

 

[Lore]

In the article it intimates that wood will work with our senior mens- am I right?
that would make the role full time
i have heard Egan and gourley coach a lot and they are very ordinary
egan especially is near embarrassing to listen to when you wander to a Calder huddle

Yeah she’s dual role so part of her salary would be in the AFLW budget and half in the AFL part (I’m not sure if the AFL actually distinguishes between the two programs or if they just make the cap slightly larger and tell the clubs to figure it out).

Although there’s some sort of coaching development program she’s part of that the AFL is funding or something that’s contingent on being mentored by a current AFL senior coach, so possibly the cost is offset there as well.

Egan and Urquhart also obviously have other roles at the club and within the AFL. Wouldn’t be surprised if the same is true for most of them, including the players. Most of them seem to be employed either by the clubs or the AFL or by other informal connections through the club (such as other players’ families).

 

[Lore]

Peta Searle in a part time coaching development manager role

Peta Searle to join Dons

The Essendon Football Club are pleased to appoint Peta Searle as Coach Development Manager in their AFLW program.

www.essendonfc.com.au

 

[RedmanWasHere]

Peta Searle in a part time coaching development manager role

Peta Searle to join Dons

The Essendon Football Club are pleased to appoint Peta Searle as Coach Development Manager in their AFLW program.

www.essendonfc.com.au

Massive get.

Wanted her as the ladies' coach but this is next best.

HUUUUUUUUUGE!

 

[VelvetSledge]

Peta Searle in a part time coaching development manager role

Peta Searle to join Dons

The Essendon Football Club are pleased to appoint Peta Searle as Coach Development Manager in their AFLW program.

www.essendonfc.com.au

Huge!

 

[Lore]

 

[Lore]

This podcast with Neroli Meadows and Kirby Bentley is really good, it’s from before Bentley started at Essendon but not that long before it was announced in April.

It’s quite a confronting one to listen to though, as she tells about her life experiences growing up, about her family, and her career and how those experiences have shaped her outlook on life.

She seems very well-adjusted, I didn’t know who she was before but she’s actually kind of amazing and I think that her presence adds a lot to our program and to our club.

Trigger warning for domestic violence and graphic descriptions of violence though. Maybe don’t listen right before bed or if you’re under 15…

 

[Lore]

Jacara Egan was on Yokayi tonight

 

[Lore]

Kirby Bentley, Assistant Coach (forwards) was interviewed on the W show the other day, and mentioned she'd been painting all the players boots for Dreamtime.

She's also a guest on the podcast this week

LISTEN: Yarns with Deadly Bentley (feat. Kirby Bentley)

Bonnie & Maddy sit down and chat with current Essendon AFLW assistant coach & proud Noongar woman Kirby Bentley.

www.essendonfc.com.au

The club website now has a write up about the boots, from the pod:

This Sunday marks a significant occasion for the Essendon’s AFLW program, with the side taking part in their first ever Dreamtime clash.

Assistant coach Kirby Bentley, A proud Noongar woman, is leading the charge in the preparation for the clash vs Richmond.

Whilst her coaching expertise is invaluable, it’s Bentley’s special talent as an artist that will be prominently on display this weekend.

She is currently nearing the end of a lengthy process of painting a pair of every player’s boots for them to wear out on-field. Each pair boasts its own individual Indigenous design.

Speaking on the Bonnie T and Maddy P podcast, Kirby explained her passion for painting boots.

“It’s a lengthy process, my goal is to paint the whole team’s boots with the symbols of the people.” Bentley said.

“Each boot has 16 arches, these represent their teammates, which when the boots are paired together makes 32.”

“They’re all on this journey together, paving the way and weekend they’ll be playing for each other.”

For Bentley, painting shoes/boots wasn’t always a past time, in fact it was only recently that she started designing again.

“At a young age my dad showed be how to do the landscape art for Aboriginal story telling.” Bentley said.

“It wasn’t until recently as an adult that I started again. It started when I bought an iPad for the development role at the Western Bulldogs because I wanted to film the girls kicking in slow motion.”

“I then found an art app, so I just began drawing and then ended up creating the design for the Western Bulldogs.”

It will be a sight to behold when the team run out in their special boots accompanied with the incredible Indigenous guernsey designed by Momo Willcox and Jackie Sinclair.

The Bombers take on the Tigers at 2:10pm at ETU Stadium on Sunday.

Playing for each other: Dreamtime boots by Kirby Bentley

Each pair boasts its own individual Indigenous design.

www.essendonfc.com.au