Peter Banfield couldn't be happier today when he received the phone call from Bendigo Bombers chairman – Geoff Bowyer that he had been appointed the new coach. ""It is a fantastic opportunity and I am looking forward to building a strong alliance between Essendon Football Club and the Bendigo Bombers,"" Banfield said. The former Essendon player will start immediately in the full-time coaching role.

Banfield comes to the Bendigo Bombers from Melbourne Football Club, where he has spent the past two seasons as assistant coach. Previous to Melbourne, he spent three years at St. Kilda Football Club as development coach. ""I want to get back into hands on coaching, so this is a fantastic move from that point of view. I am looking forward to building up a good working relationship with the Essendon coaching panel and players,"" said the 1984 and 1985 EFC reserves best and fairest winner.

Banfield is likely to visit Essendon this week and meet his work colleges. Assistant coach Robert Shaw said Banfield is an outstanding candidate for the job and him being an ex-Essendon player is a bonus. ""Peter's results in developing players at St.Kilda and Melbourne speak for themselves and we consider it fantastic for our club to add an outstanding development coach to our team. In the coming weeks, he will meet with the full Essendon Football Club match committee - where his specific role with the development of our players will be discussed at length,"" Shaw said.