Essendon Football Club is excited to announce its 2023 VFLW coaching panel, who will support senior coach Travis Cloke.
Kirby Bentley, Jacara Egan and Brett Pollard will be assistant coaches, while Jarrad Campbell will work as a development coach.
Taking charge of the Bombers’ forward line is Bentley, who had the same role in the AFLW program, and has experience coaching at AFLW and VFLW level as well as a player, playing 10 AFLW games for Carlton and Fremantle.
Before moving to the NEC Hangar, Bentley was involved at the Western Bulldogs as the VFLW senior coach and AFLW development coach.
Bentley is 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 last season.
Joining Bentley is Egan, who also coached at AFLW level this season as a development coach and works at the Bombers as the Indigenous Player Development Manager across the men’s AFL program.
Egan will oversee the backline, using her experience at AFLW level and junior talent pathways to guide the Bombers’ defenders.
At NAB League level, Egan coached across both girls' and boys’ programs at Calder Cannons before being appointed the Vic Metro under-18 girls’ coach this year.
A proud Muthi Muthi/Gunditjmara woman, Egan was the first Indigenous person to coach the Vic Metro under-18 girls’ team.
A part of the Bombers’ 2022 VFLW Premiership coaching panel, Pollard returns for his fifth season at the club, overseeing the midfield group.
Pollard joined the Bombers ahead of the 2019 season after stints at Carlton’s AFLW team, the Calder Cannons and West Preston Lakeside in the NFNL.
Another VFLW Premiership coach will also return with Campbell continuing his role as a development coach.
Head of VFLW Georgia Harvey said the club was excited by the calibre of coaches on the panel.
“We are thrilled to have Brett, Kirby, Jacara and Jarrad commit for the 2023 season. They are all great quality coaches who have unique skillsets,” Harvey said.
“With Travis as senior coach, we have a well-balanced coaching panel who are all experienced and driven to get the best out of our playing group.
“The coaching group has a key focus on setting high standards and investing in the development of our squad, which combined with the motivation of the players and wider staff, will set us up for a competitive 2023 season.”
The VFLW playing group returned to training on November 14 with the AFL to confirm a season starting date in the coming weeks.
