The run home ladder: Your team’s road ahead ranked from hardest to easiest

Essendon have the toughest fixture of all 18 clubs for the remainder of the season, leaving interim coach Dean Solomon with an uphill battle to display his credentials if he decides to apply for the job.

According to Champion Data, which assesses the difficulty of each club’s run home by assigning a weighting to the opposition based on both teams’ percentage, the Bombers have the most arduous fixture in the second half of the season, while Hawthorn and Carlton have the easiest run home.

Solomon’s opening match as interim coach on Sunday night did not result in a Carlton-like bump; the banged-up Bombers lost by five goals to the West Coast Eagles in Perth and have just one win from their past 25 games.

The Bombers play the Blues, who have three straight wins under interim coach Josh Fraser since parting ways with Michael Voss, at the MCG on King’s Birthday eve, followed by the bye, before playing North Melbourne, St Kilda, Brisbane at the ’Gabba, the Giants and Hawthorn before the end of July.

Nine of Essendon’s last 10 games are against teams firmly in the premiership or finals hunt under the new top-10 model. Gold Coast, Port Adelaide, Greater Western Sydney and Fremantle complete the top five of teams facing the toughest run to September.

Essendon great Matthew Lloyd said he did not expect Solomon, his former premiership teammate, to replace Brad Scott, who was sacked last Tuesday with 18 months left on his contract.

“It’s rare that the interim coach gets the job, I know we have seen it before if they can get on a run, so he would need to get on a real roll to get that job, otherwise I think it goes somewhere else,” Lloyd told the AFL website.

“He is the perfect man for this time because he is very selfless, very much an Essendon man. He is just doing what is right for the club right now. If he gets the job, I am sure he would be rapt, for sure, but I am sure that is not front of mind for him at the moment.”

Hours after Scott’s departure Hird put his hand up to return to Essendon as coach, 11 years after he left the club.

An industry source with knowledge of events at Tullamarine, speaking anonymously because the process has not been finalised, say Hird would endorse Solomon as a prospective Essendon senior coach, not only for his coaching but ability to unify the club.

The same industry sources said if Hird was unsuccessful, he could be open to being an assistant coach to Solomon.

Solomon has yet to declare whether he will pursue the top job. After Sunday night’s loss he attempted to brush off questions about the potential return of Hird.

“I honestly have shut down with all my social media … I’ve sort of had to control what I can control, focus on what I can focus on, and that’s leading this club, and these staff members, and the players in the short term,” Solomon said.

“So I don’t think it’s going to have any impact on me. And I can’t really speak on behalf of the players, but I’m sure we’re all locked into what we need to do right now.”

While some potential candidates are holding fire until the Bombers declare whether Hird is a candidate, former Sydney premiership coach John Longmire looms as a man of interest.

Longmire is also likely to be sounded out by the Blues, who last week announced a subcommittee to find Voss’ replacement.

Lloyd said it was important the Bombers ran an open process involving all interested candidates.

“You just hope the others they want to interview as well are willing to be interviewed. That’s what you hope for, that’s what the process is of the board. It’s going to be a big couple of weeks for them,” he said.

Hird is a friend and premiership teammate of Solomon, and has long respected his coaching and development abilities.

Welsh and chief executive Tim Roberts are working towards assembling a coaching sub-committee, with the job criteria to follow.

Hird was not asked about his coaching aspirations by co-host Jimmy Bartel on Footy Furnace on Nine, owned by this masthead, after the Bombers lost to the Eagles. But he backed Solomon to leave an “imprint” come Sunday’s clash against the Blues.

“I think it was tough going, interstate, obviously Dean got the job, what, four days ago. Pretty difficult to change too much, he had two assistant coaches leave on him, losing five of your most experienced players [to injuries], it was some ridiculous amount of games going out,” Hird said.

Assistant coach Ben Jacobs and psychologist Ben Robbins quit on Friday out of loyalty to Scott.

“So, not their best performance, but, hopefully, Dean with a whole week ahead of him now to prepare for the Carlton game, can put some things together, a game plan in place, imprint his name on the team, and good luck to him next week,” Hird said.

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