Essendon eyeing Collingwood assistant

Essendon are looking to add another high-profile name to their football department to support new senior coach Mark McVeigh.

After the successful recruitment of Sydney premiership coach John Longmire as the club’s new General Manager of Team Performance, the Bombers have shifted their attention to a highly praised and tenured Collingwood senior assistant coach.

AFL Media’s Josh Gabelich has reported that Hayden Skipworth is in the sights of the Dons.

“(The Bombers) are chasing Hayden Skipworth to join Mark McVeigh’s coaching panel for 2027,” Gabelich said on AFL Trade Radio.

“They are chasing a lot of different figures for that inaugural coaching panel under Spike (McVeigh).

“You can add Hayden Skipworth to that list.”

Skipworth played a fundamental rule in the resurgence of the Magpies under Craig McRae and their 2023 premiership, consolidating success across several seasons as Fly's right-hand man.

He is a highly praised mind of the game, just narrowly missing the West Coast job in 2024, when he and Steven King were narrowly edged out by Andrew McQualter.

The catalyst of the links between McVeigh and Skipworth dates back to 2009 when the two were teammates at Essendon. Skipworth played 11 games in red and black after 44 at the Adelaide Crows.

The Bombers still have a range of roles to still fill but have already appointed Shane Mumford as a Development Coach, and Brent Prismall as Head of Development.