Why Pratt left Dogs for Dons

Daniel Pratt recently joined Essendon as an assistant to new senior coach Mark McVeigh.

After spending the last three years at the Western Bulldogs, Pratt has landed at The Hangar to bring his defensive strategy and team defence mindset to a young Bombers group.

Pratt, who was interested in both the Carlton and Essendon vacancies before they were filled, has explained his decision to leave the Bulldogs for a new experience.

“It was a tough decision to leave a place with a really strong environment and great people there,” Pratt said on SEN Breakfast.

“They’re very close to having the ultimate success with some of the players they’ve brought in.

“But the opportunity arose at Essendon to continue my growth as a coach and as a person. It was something that suited me right now.”

So, what was McVeigh’s sell? Will Pratt continue down the defensive strategy path?

“That will be part of the brief,” he replied.

“But chatting with Spike (McVeigh) and Tim Roberts (CEO), and Craig Vozzo I worked with at West Coast, and through my connections I have a connection with Horse (John Longmire) as well as a past North Melbourne player.

“There are a number of people there, and bringing them together to understand where things are at and what needs to be done was something that inspired me to make that decision.”

The former Kangaroos and Lions defender, who spent time at West Coast as an assistant and development coach, says bringing on the leaders to guide an emerging group will be paramount.

“The leadership is going to be critical. There’s a lot of young players on the list, and then there’s a lot of experienced players who haven’t played a lot of footy together due to injury,” he said further.

“So there’s going to be a lot of work to be done in the leadership space.

“Where the list and the club currently is at, setting a really good foundation and being fundamentally sound to compete at AFL level is the other piece.

“That will be the predominant focus of pre-season. We’re under no illusion that we have to get our hands dirty and get to work in that space, then we can roll along with leadership development, particularly with some of the young talent.

“Bringing the next group of leaders through is going to be really important for the future.”

The Dons added rebounding defender Keidean Coleman from Brisbane in the trade period and Pratt feels that will help unlock some ball movement issues.

“Especially the system he has come from and how aggressive they are with their offence,” he said of ‘Kiddy’.

“How he can attack the game off intercept, and he’s a defender who can defend as well one-on-one. They are highly valuable (players).

“I’m sure he’s eager to get into it especially after the injury hiccups he’s had over the last few years.”

Listen to the full Pratt chat below: