Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Olympics
Football
Netball
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Full Noise by SN
Aligned Essendon? Watson’s response to “make or break” Scott notion
SEN • May 19th, 2026 12:20 pm
The future of Essendon coach Brad Scott may be defined by results over the coming weeks, according to reports.
The struggling Bombers, with a 1-9 record, take on bottom-placed Richmond, West Coast in 15th and Carlton in 16th across the next three weeks.
SEN’s Tom Morris suggests things aren’t as aligned as they may seem given that Dons president Andrew Welsh recently told The Age that he has “absolute belief” Scott will be the club’s next premiership coach.
Morris is hearing things quite differently.
“It’s make or break over the next two or three weeks for Brad Scott,” he said on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters.
“There’s two people on the board, aside from the president, who are really crucial here. One is Anthony Di Pietro, the other is Ted Richards. Neither is afraid to make a hard call.
“I’ve spoken to several people close to Andrew Welsh in the business world and they believe he is categorically a ruthless leader as well who would also make the hard call if required.
“The next three games are Richmond, West Coast and Carlton - we will know a lot more potentially after that three-game block.”
Asked by Craig Hutchison if he believes Scott is coaching for his future across the next few weeks, Morris replied: “Absolutely, categorically.”
It was suggested by Nick Riewoldt that notion is at odds with what we keep hearing from the club regarding stability.
Morris added: “To be fair, Brad Scott wouldn’t know. The club will back him until they don't back him.
“The second point to that is if you actually read the quotes it’s, ‘We want Brad Scott to be our next premiership coach’, which they do providing he hits those metrics we've spoken about on the Agenda Setters a few times.”
Kane Cornes asked: “Do you know more than what Brad knows?”
Morris replied: “Yeah, I believe I do.”
On Monday night on Fox Footy’s AFL 360, Brad Scott told Garry Lyon and Gerard Whateley that he believes the club is aligned and on the same page.
On Tuesday morning, SEN Breakfast’s Lyon quizzed Bombers great Tim Watson on the situation.
Lyon: “Tom Morris says he knows more. Brad Scott sits up on our show last night and says, ‘No, I'm telling you, we are an aligned football club, we are all on the same page. We know exactly where we're going, this is the path’.
“And Tom Morris says, ‘Well, I know more than that.”
Watson: “Well, Tom Morris knows more than I do too, if that's the case. If he's talking to people who are at the pointy end of the Essendon Football Club and that they are in positions of power and decision-making and they are saying that to Tom…”
Lyon: “Well, you’ve got a problem then.”
Watson: “Of course you have. If that's the case then you've got a problem.”
Lyon: “Do you think you've got a problem?”
Watson: “If that's the case and he is talking to people who are in a position of power and are going to be people that make a decision whether or not Brad Scott stays or goes, and that's what they're telling him, then there is a problem there because that can lead to suspicion, that can lead to instability, and that will be a difficult position for Brad Scott to navigate.”
Lyon: “Would you be disappointed if that's the case? Disappointed in your football club who are trying to put out a united front…”
Watson: “I would be. If this is coming from Andrew Walsh or it's coming from the CEO, then I would be really disappointed if they're saying one thing on one hand to Brad Scott about the path that they want to take and then they're backgrounding a journo about another position that they're going to take.
“I don't believe that that's the case. I really don't believe that that's happening at the moment.”
Regarding Essendon’s strategy, Scott said on 360 that is everyone is on board.
He also said that there have not been KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) outlined to him, as Morris is reporting.
Scott said: “The fortunate thing for us is our president was on the board when this strategy was put together. And our CEO was on the board when the strategy was put together. So they are all in on it.
“But I don't think like that because it's just unhelpful. My job is to lead this strategy through, and I just do my job. I don't worry too much about what might happen in the future. In my 15 or so odd years of being a head coach, I always present a set of KPIs to the board to measure progress, and so we have that, but no KPIs have been issued to me.”
Those quotes provided Lyon with more questions for former club captain Watson.
Lyon: “So, do you understand what Brad Scott's trying to do and do you support him?”
Watson: “100%, I understand. 100%, I believe there is an alignment there and I believe that is the strategy and the plan that has been put together in consultation with the board which includes Andrew Welsh who's the current chairman of the football club. I believe exactly what it is that Brad Scott said there. 100% do I believe that that's the strategy and the path they went down. I've heard the same words come out of Andrew Welsh's mouth and I've heard the same words come out of the CEO's mouth.
“I’m supporting exactly what it is that he said there. Yes, 100%. I'm saying to you that that's exactly what I've been advised of from the football club, the most powerful people at the football club. And that's not in recent times. That's sort of back six months ago, 12 months ago.”
Watson feels that perhaps Scott is being lined up by the media now that Michael Voss has departed his role at Carlton.
“There was two big stories that were bubbling around in football,” Watson added.
“One was how long was Michael Voss going to stay there as the head coach of Carlton. Now that he's gone, what's the next big story in the game that's bubbling around?
“Everybody's turned their attention to Brad Scott now. So how long is he going to be able to stay in the seat? I heard it last night, on every show, what happens if Essendon lose to Richmond this week? Will he be gone?
“Tom Morris said on the Agenda Setters there's a possibility if Essendon lost this weekend that he'd be gone by the next round. He would no longer be the coach of Essendon. So I think there's another story brewing out there that people want, I think that people want to bring to a head.”
Listen to the full chat below:
