“I love the Essendon Football Club”: Why premiership hero Dean Solomon is seeking Board election at the Bombers

Essendon premiership player Dean Solomon is putting his hand up to be on the club’s Board as the club seeks to end a 20-year finals drought.

Solomon played 156 of his 209 AFL games for the Bombers from 1998 to 2006 and was a member of the 2000 Grand Final-winning team.

He has outlined the reasons why he wants to help return the Bombers to former glories.

“I love the Essendon football club; it gave me so much as a person, most importantly, but also as a player for nine years; it set me up for life,” Solomon told SEN Breakfast.

“It gave me an opportunity in life, and I’ve been forever grateful for that opportunity.”

Boasting over 20 years of experience in the AFL industry as a player and coach, Solomon feels his experience and skillset can pull the Bombers back in the right direction.

“I feel like I probably have a skillset that can complement the current board to help us get back to where we want to be as a football club,” he said.

Solomon stresses that he supports the current board and the message of “no sugar hit” being driven by senior Essendon board members.

“I’m a cultural person with high values and standards, and I’m a believer you have to have a great club before you can have a great team,” he said.

He feels that greater levels of transparency must be displayed towards their members to really understand where the club is currently at.

“I would just love more transparency around where we are and where we’re currently at,” he said.

“If you win or lose but you know where you are as a club or as a business, you kind of understand it a bit more, and you’re not as emotional about it.”

The Dons currently hold the longest finals win drought in the AFL, something that Solomon understands is frustrating supporters.

“We’ve got to really plan strategically, take our time so when we do enter the finals, we’re not just going there to win that one final everyone talks about,” he concluded.

“We go there to really have a presence in the finals and really strike at a premiership.”

The Essendon Football Club holds their Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, December 18.