Kane Cornes is forecasting some “coaching carnage” at the conclusion of the current season.
GWS is the first club in 2022 to make a key coaching change with Leon Cameron opting to step down after nine years with Mark McVeigh to act as caretaker.
But that will not be the only significant movement in the coaching ranks in 2022, according to Cornes.
“I get the feeling there’s going to be coaching carnage at the end of the season,” Cornes said on SEN SA Breakfast.
“We’ve already had one fall and I think there may be five to six changes from head coaching ranks.
“We haven’t seen that in a number of years. I think the dominoes will start to fall.”
Essendon has endured a disappointing opening nine rounds, which have yielded just two wins, and Cornes feels that will only place plenty of pressure on Ben Rutten.
“I’d be a little bit nervous if I were Ben Rutten having witnessed what I saw on Saturday night from his Essendon team where they laid only 30 tackles which is about as low as you’re going to get in a game of AFL football,” he added.
“I just think they’re a really nice group. They just don’t care what happens when the opposition have got the ball. They’re all for it when they’ve got it, they run, their midfielders get massive numbers, but as soon as the opposition get it, they sort of switch off.
“Defensively they’re awful.”
It won’t only be the Bombers though.
Cornes named a further four clubs who could consider major personnel alterations later in the year.
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“North Melbourne are in that category,” he said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they changed their coach at the end of the season.
“They’re going only one way.
“West Coast, I wouldn’t be surprised if they move on from Adam Simpson at the end of the year.
“Port Adelaide, I wouldn’t be surprised if they move on from Ken Hinkley at the end of the year.
“That’s already five and who knows what happens with Stuey Dew at Gold Coast, albeit they were really good on the weekend and have been for the last fortnight.
“It could be a very busy merry-go-round in the coaching ranks at the end of the year.
“Who would want to be an AFL coach?”