Despite being a deep and innovative thinker about Australian Rules football, Mark “Bomber” Thomson has as much passion for the people as he does for the game – perhaps more. In terms of personality, philosophy and achievement, he’s been one of modern football’s most important figures, yet remains a reluctant celebrity. A key member of three Premiership sides during Essendon’s golden era under Kevin Sheedy, Thompson found himself coaching a floundering Geelong after a relatively short apprenticeship. Seven years later, in 2007, they were Premiers, and a club to be envied. He coached them to another win in 2009. After he wearily resigned in 2011, Chris Scott took over his side and immediately won a third. Thompson took a pay cut to mentor Essendon’s new senior coach, James Hird, but two years later, scandal erupted when Essendon confessed to a supplements regime. There followed three years of protracted troubles, including Hird’s suspension and eventual sacking, resignations of the president and CEO, a hefty fine for Thompson and others for “bringing the game into disrepute” and the eventual suspension of 34 past and present Essendon players for 2016. To this day, no-one has proved any player took a banned substance. In 2014, Thompson took a bridging role as Essendon coach until Hird’s return at the end of that year, then left the AFL behind forever. Bomber holds nothing back in his new autobiography, Bomber – the whole story. He talks to Robert Drane.  

Football’s been the source of most things – good and bad – in your life. Now you’re completely out. Is it like staring into the void?

Yeah – I’m trying to fill in the gaps and not to want that hectic, chaotic life you’re trying to get away from, but pulls you back in, because that’s what you’re used to. Fill the diary with things that feed the passion. After 33 years, I’m not passionate about much else. That’s the challenge. Been doing a lot of reading, trying to find what I want. Still haven’t found it.

Has the process of reflecting changed things?

It’s confirmed that I want to get back into that busyness where life goes by without you touching too much of it. At the same time I want to do something fulfilling and meaningful. When I’m resting, my heart and my mind go to footy. And I know I won’t go back to the AFL, so I’m going to have to do something either to help coaches, help local footy teams, help individuals live their dreams. Somehow. I knew it was coming and I was looking forward to it, but it was never going to be easy.

How do you want to be remembered? 

If I’d kept coaching I’d have done OK. Winning two Premierships with Geelong, I’ll be remembered as that, but it won’t be anything like a Kevin Sheedy or anyone super-fantastic, a legend of the game, and I’m happy with that. I never wanted to be a legend. I just want to be me. Always have. I don’t want to be remembered as someone special, really. I don’t like living with that title. I just like doing it then walking away.

What’s made you angry? 

As a player, not much. As a coach, I get angry when people get intimidated or overawed and stop being who they are, because they don’t want to make mistakes or don’t think they’re capable. Having too much respect for the opposition. If my players tried things that never worked it was OK with me. They were allowed to make mistakes; allowed to not be great at what they were doing. But the moment they had too much respect for the opposition and played safe, that’s when I’d get angry. You’re never going to go forward. You’re either going to stay still or more likely go backwards.

You often say you’re not a member of anyone’s boy’s club. It seems one big theme of your life has been the individual versus the collective. When the collective – the AFL – came along and nicked Gary Ablett Jr so they could establish Gold Coast Suns, that seemed to get you mad.

That did. I felt decisions they were making impacted on the game. Not just Geelong. The game. At the end of last season, 42 players changed clubs. The strength of our game has been its tradition and loyalty. Players give up their lives to play football and that needs the support of the people on the watch. You can’t just be a fan of the game. Clubs and heroes matter. Want some of that? (Offers me some of his ham, cheese and tomato flat-bread).

It’s easy to see you’re not a sportsman anymore!

They’re really good mate. Actually, at Geelong we hired a chef. $150 grand a year. They ate good-tasting food that was – somewhat healthy. Not excessively healthy. Didn’t hurt them. We didn’t go over the top with nutrition. I think players get treated well now. Workflows are managed a lot better. Sports science boys come in and departments grow bigger and they’re real assets, as long as they don’t go too far and their KPIs don’t become the most important thing in the world.

You’re non-political in footy. Does that extend to other areas, like the way you vote?

I’m a swinger. I vote for whatever I think will be better for our country. I’ve voted Liberal, I’ve voted Labor. Voted for the Greens once. That was a big mistake. They ended up having the balance of power!

Sheedy was a pioneer. No-one will ever again see the same cycles of failure and success and survive them. What did you learn, playing under him and since.

He’ll be anything to anybody, but never go away from who he is. He cares about people. People see him the way they see me now: Quirky, bit crazy. But I know him. I was with him yesterday. He’s always had my back. He’s had Mark Harvey’s back. His boys – he’s always looked after them. The way he recruits, the way he manages lists, the way he coaches, there’s nothing quirky about all of that. It’s rock-solid. He actually gets serious, but again, the serious elements of his life, he doesn’t focus on that stuff.

Support for coaches is conditional, and there’s little tolerance anymore for those cycles. Is that a failing?

It is. That’s a reason I don’t want to get back into it. That’s an environment you’re going to walk into most of the time. The way Sheeds was able to manipulate his message and keep his job was pretty amazing. He was a very good politician. He only did enough to keep his job. He knew who was voting against him, but he’d get them over the line. He made himself valuable and that’s why they couldn’t get rid of him. They wanted to. They couldn’t afford to. But remember, he won them Premierships and made the club huge. But I’d love to see that maturity. It’ll be a real test for Carlton because Brendon Bolton is a good coach. They’ll criticise him really quickly. It’ll be a good test to see if Carlton have changed.

Were Essendon dysfunctional when you went back?

Absolutely. I didn’t think about the environment I was walking into. I was still thinking about leaving the one I was at. Big blue. Emotional decision. I see them being a long way from getting back.

You created an environment at Geelong of feedback and openness to an extent, then you walked into…what?

They didn’t like feedback and openness. They employed me but wanted me to act the way they wanted me to act. They needed to change more than I did.

You like the idea of empowering – of self-managing teams, don’t you?

People like to feel they own something. That’s when they become accountable. At Geelong, after three or four years of encouraging them to make decisions, they started doing it and that’s when we became a great side. In 2004, I spoke to the board and told them 2007 would be the year.

You decided the team would start crashing through to counter flooding, zoning etc. – it must have been a thrill when it suddenly began to work in 2007.

I still wanted them to win the premiership, but the fact that they were playing football I loved to watch, as coach…I thought “wow! This is great!” I just enjoyed the 2007 Grand Final. We had it won very quickly and it was great to watch. You can see the self-managing teams, like Sydney. You can see they pick things up themselves. The communication. How consistent they are in the way they do things. Hawthorn are the same. Their leaders are enormous. Sometimes the achievement makes the man. In 2007, Jake Niall (the journo) said to me, “the problem with you guys is that you haven’t got enough ‘A’ grade players.” That was at the start of the year. No-one thinks that now. You’ve got to have people who see the ability beforehand.

Who’s the greatest waste in your time?

Nathan Ablett. Big regret. He never felt comfortable. He got to a point where he really enjoyed being at Geelong. He was in that circle and he was okay. He was an awesome player. You watch his 2007 highlights, and you see this kid beating seasoned defenders after not much AFL football…left foot, right foot, awareness, ball handling, sense of goals, body work – can’t teach that stuff. He was going to be a superstar. Played in a Premiership, centre-half-forward, three goals, then walked away. Turning point was the 35,000 people next day wanting photos, autographs or just to say hello. It spooked him. And he’s lost to football. We should have sent him on holidays. He could have played up front with Hawkins and probably kicked 600 goals by now. He’d have got better and better.

Essendon. Underpinning all the accusations, there seemed to be this clash of organisations – Essendon, ASADA, the AFL – whose main purpose was arse covering. 

Perfect storm. A lot of people responsible. We all made mistakes and they tried to pin it on certain individuals. Based on what they think happened, other people should have been charged. Based on the plot they gave it, (High-Performance coach) Dean Robinson should have been charged, if I was.

Was Stephen Dank hung out to dry? 

He’s not a silly man. It was his job. He wouldn’t have deliberately cheated, thinking he could get away with it. And I’m not stupid. I didn’t like what happened, but I didn’t think we were breaking any rules. The CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) want us to believe we did.

When you took over as coach after Hird’s suspension, were you already fed-up with Essendon?

A couple of people didn’t want me. I didn’t want them. I felt I couldn’t help them anymore and didn’t like what they were doing. But I got a lot out of that year. I jumped back into the seat. I knew what was coming. I coached well. There were a few rules or parameters we had and one was it wasn’t going to be a gap year. The players wanted to be educated, wanted to win, wanted to play finals and get something out of the year. It was hard and I still made it enjoyable and never talked about ASADA. The supporters were awesome and they deserved it too. We opened up the club. Training was opened up. We did tours of the facilities. They deserved it. It was a good year. I liked it a lot. I was a bit sad when it finished. But I was always going to walk away.

But Hirdy needed convincing of that? He felt you were trying to usurp his position.  

Yeah but I didn’t want it. Hirdy feels alone. I’ve spoken to him twice since. No-one knows where he is. He’s not picking up the phone. He needs help. He needs the AFL’s support. Long way to fall. But he’s tough. He was tough for a while there and then he emerged and said, “Oh wow. Where am I?”   

Anything you feel you should have put in your book and didn’t?

There are people I didn’t get the chance to speak about. Players at Geelong might think “Bomber wrote a book and didn’t mention me.” I’m very proud of those boys. So many are still going aren’t they? When we asked them to stay together and accept less and not worry about money from other clubs, and they did, I felt like we had to give them something back. Let them have that extra year when the club may not think they deserve it. They’re entitled to be looked after well because they looked after us.

Players watch things. We’ve seen Joel Corey get forced out, Chappy, Kelly, Stokes play at Essendon, Stevie Johnson at GWS – after what they’ve done and they’ve just let them go. Hawthorn had Suckling and others leave, but they want to go and that’s fine. Stop talking about Geelong’s age! Hawthorn’s blokes are ageing and its fine with list management. They’re superstars mate!

• Bomber – the whole story is published by Penguin/Michael Joseph. RRP $45.00

Published in Inside Sport, August 2016