Former North Melbourne Premiership player and Norm Smith Medalist, Shannon Grant, has been appointed coach of the Bendigo Bombers for 2010.
The 32-year-old played over 300 AFL games before retiring at end of the 2008 season. He spent the past year as coach of the Frankston VFL side.
Essendon's general manager of football operations, Paul Hamilton, said there were a number of quality candidates and the club is very pleased with the appointment.
""Shannon has boundless enthusiasm and energy for the Bendigo job which will be important,"" Hamilton said.
""He has a good football brain, is a hard worker and enjoyed a successful AFL career so we think he is a good fit for Bendigo.
""One of the big attractions with Shannon is that he is fresh out of playing AFL football which will help him relate well with the players.
""His role will be to assist with the development of Essendon's younger players and work closely with the Bendigo staff and playing list.
""Shannon has demonstrated to us that he will be good at developing players and we see him as a young development coach. He will be a good fit with the rest of the Essendon coaching group.
""We want to get him started immediately to prepare for the 2010 season and he will work closely with Matthew Knights to establish the Bendigo framework which will undergo some changes.""
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Grant said he has been given a great opportunity to work with Bendigo and Essendon players.
""It's a pretty important role for both clubs and I will work closely with both groups,"" he said.
""In the last 12-24 months at Frankston and the Kangaroos I really enjoyed working with the kids and seeing their development was satisfying.
""Essendon has a young, developing list that could become a great list and the opportunity to be a part of that is an opportunity worth chasing up. Hopefully I can assist the other coaches and be a good support.""
Grant replaces Adrian Hickmott who has accepted a full-time development role with Essendon.
Media Note: Grant will be in Bendigo on Wednesday (21st October) and will be available to speak to media. Contact Peter Lodewijks on 0419 137 303.
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