Essendon legend Tim Watson has denied claims that he campaigned against James Hird’s bid to be Bombers coach due to his role in the club’s supplements saga.
Watson responded to a report on the 10-year anniversary of Essendon self-reporting to the AFL with regards to its supplements program which suggested that the two club icons’ relationship had been damaged beyond repair.
While admitting that he and Hird currently “don’t have a relationship”, Watson revealed he’d reached out to his 1993 premiership teammate following recent reports.
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“We’re not best friends and we were friendlier back in the day, but this whole thing happened and I’ve reached out to him, I’ve reached out to ‘Bomber’ (then-Essendon assistant coach Mark Thompson) and I understand people are moving through this emotionally and mentally in their own time and in their own way and I respect that,” he told SEN.
“I’d be only too happy to sit down and have a conversation with him. In fact, the 1993 premiership reunion will be this year. There will be a function, we’ll cross paths, I hold no ill-will towards James.”
Watson’s family was particularly impacted by the fallout from the supplements saga which happened on Hird’s watch, with his son, then-Essendon skipper Jobe Watson, being forced to give up his 2012 Brownlow Medal.
Hird’s tenure as coach of Essendon ended in 2015, and he threw his hat in the ring late last year after the club sacked Ben Rutten with a year to run on his deal, but was ultimately unsuccessful as Brad Scott was appointed as the next Bombers coach.
Watson denied that he’d actively told Essendon powerbrokers not to hire Hird.
“I just didn’t think he was the right person for this time and the club needed to move forward and it was as simple as that,” he said.
“I didn’t ring anybody and voice my opinion about (the coaching search). I didn’t ring David Barham, who is the chairman, I didn’t say to him, ‘David you can’t appoint James Hird’.
“I had other people ringing me trying to campaign on James’ behalf and I said to them that I didn’t think it was the right thing and that they needed to run a process and find the best candidate – which they did, which I thought was the right thing to do.
“I mean, when you read that story about the fact that James and Kevin Sheedy and others were running this as a fait accompli and that that’s what they wanted to do, they wanted to insert James as the coach, to me as an Essendon person, the fans and the players deserve the best person and the best candidate they can possibly find.”
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