Caroline Wilson has labelled the Essendon Football Club administration as a “ticking time bomb”.
The veteran journalist believes the tensions and dramas around the football department are continuing to fester away in the background despite the 59-point Round 1 win over Hawthorn.
It centres around list and recruiting manager Adrian Dodoro and football manager Josh Mahoney who are reportedly not on speaking terms.
Prior to the Hawks clash on Sunday, Bombers coach Brad Scott joined 3AW to address the situation, saying “there are wounds that haven’t completely healed” at the club.
He said stability is the number one priority for the Dons right now.
In response to that interview and another in The Age regarding the problems Scott was confronted with when he joined the club, Wilson spoke of the unrest at Tullamarine.
“I would dispute that Adrian Dodoro and Josh Mahoney are not on speaking terms, they got together and re-signed Peter wright last week,” Wilson said on Footy Classified.
“But there is no doubt in my mind that the administration at Essendon is like a ticking time bomb. And I’m not exaggerating here.
“I think people are angry, they’re upset, they’re emotional, they’re frustrated and the bosses at the football club have done nothing to alleviate the situation.
“From little things like James Jarvis, the opposition analyst, who was removed from Adrian Dodoro’s list management department a few weeks ago and put into footy because there was some acrimony there.
“Bigger things like the revelation last week by Sam McClure that Josh Mahoney in effect has been sidelined and Adrian Dodoro is no longer reporting to him but reporting to the CEO, Craig Vozzo.”
Wilson believes new CEO Craig Vozzo, who was appointed in December, has done little to improve the situation.
“Craig Vozzo was brought in to be a tough football CEO and in my view he’s shirked the biggest issue facing the club and he’s done so too late,” Wilson added.
“Brad Scott came to this club in October and we were all led to believe the big changes were going to be made. For heaven’s sake, the Josh Mahoney review - agree with it or not - criticised the list management and the recruiting. The list manager and recruiter is still there, he was filthy and his supporters were filthy at the time about what was done.
“They’re all still there and my understanding is even things were said to Brad Scott that were going to happen that haven’t happened. That to me was very clear in that interview.”
Essendon great Matthew Lloyd asked Wilson who she believes to be upset at The Hangar.
“I think there is a level of frustration and nervousness and high emotion from most of the key (off-field) players at the football club at the moment,” she replied.
“I don’t think Adrian Dodoro is happy, he’s unhappy that we keep talking about him.
“You listen to that interview, unresolved issues, long-standing. He keeps talking about cultural fixing.”
Wilson continued: “This needs to be fixed and it needs to be fixed now.
“It’s crazy to me that we’re talking about it in March. You need to change your list management in December.”
So what happens when the “ticking time bomb” goes off?
Wilson sees a major personnel change occurring soon if things do not improve.
“There’s going to be a victim in this,” Wilson stated.
“In my historic experience, I find it hard to see both Dodoro and Mahoney keeping their roles. Certainly one of them has to go.”
Furthermore, Craig Hutchison is of the firm belief that the time is right for Dodoro to move on after 20-plus years at the Bombers.
“Adrian has been overtly involved in that footy program for too long,” Hutchison said.
Lloyd asked: “So you’re saying Adrian should go?”
Hutchison said: “Yep. I said that six months ago.
“I think he’s a great servant to footy and there would be a role somewhere else.”
Despite the apparent off-field woes, the Bombers will enter Round 2 sitting on top of the ladder with a healthy percentage of 190.8.
They will look to make it two from two when they host Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
"The administration at Essendon is like a ticking time bomb."
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) March 20, 2023
Essendon's big win on Sunday came despite tensions at the club approaching breaking point off the field.#9FootyClassified | @Channel9 pic.twitter.com/ZWyjWaQNXB