Paul Corrigan will take over from Matthew Egan as Essendon’s senior VFL coach in 2017 and he’s certainly well prepared to do so – he’s already fulfilled the role at times over his four-year stint at the club.
The 39-year-old essentially shared senior coaching duties with Hayden Skipworth in 2015 while Skipworth helped out with the AFL Bombers and also stepped in for Egan when required this year.
Egan has moved into a role as Melbourne’s head of player development after his one season in charge of the VFL Bombers – who reached a semi final following an eighth-placed finish to the home-and-away season – and five seasons at the club in total.
Corrigan – who played 53 games for Geelong from 1997-2001 – came to Essendon for the 2013 season and worked with the VFL team’s back line for three years before working with the midfield group in 2016. He said his familiarity with the club’s system would mean it’d be business as usual under his reign in 2017.
“I’ll probably take a lot of similarities from what Hayden and Matthew did; the group’s very similar to what we’ve had in the past four years,” Corrigan said.
“I’d just like to be a coach that’s very sociable and builds really strong relationships with the playing group to make sure I get a really good understanding of what they want to get out of their football and how they want to develop.
“If I really understand that and help build the culture that we’re trying to build within the AFL group and keep it really similar within the VFL, I think it makes it easier for guys who don’t get an AFL game to fit into a side that’s got a similar culture and similar game style.
“Also, for the guys who are on the VFL list, I want to create the opportunity for some of them to put their hand up and hopefully be drafted down the track.”
Corrigan said he’d worked with almost all of Essendon’s AFL-listed players as well as current VFL-listed stars such as captain Dan Coghlan, 2016 best-and-fairest winner Aaron Heppell and Ben McNiece. He also helped develop the likes of Patrick Ambrose and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti into AFL rookie draftees.
The game style that carried the VFL group to a record of 11-9 this year – including a memorable comeback victory over Geelong in an elimination final – won’t change too much under Corrigan with John Worsfold again coaching the AFL group.
“It’ll be the same kind of game style as how we want to play in the AFL, to make it easier for when players are transitioning from the VFL to the AFL,” Corrigan said.
“I’m all about them taking the game on but when it’s our turn to defend, we’ll defend really hard. I just want a really competitive side across the board, really – guys who can step out there and just give real good effort for four quarters. I think if we can get that on a week-to-week basis, I’ll be really happy with the side.”
Corrigan has a background of success in his coaching career.
After finishing at Geelong, he won a premiership as a playing-coach at local club Rythdale-Officer-Cardinia in 2002 before spending four seasons as an assistant coach at Old Haileybury in the VAFA. He was then part of a golden era at South Barwon in the Geelong Football League from 2007-12, when the club won four premierships while Corrigan fulfilled roles as a playing-coach and then coaching director in 2011-12.
Last Modified on 21/10/2016 09:59
