The two past players who epitomise what Essendon must do to change

Essendon needs change and improved commitment in order to succeed.

That is according to two-time premiership player Paul Weston who has nominated for a position on the Board as a director.

Weston has had enough of mediocrity and is determined to bring change at The Hangar.

He feels the club lacks the commitment to truly succeed.

“Like a lot of Essendon supporters I’m a bit frustrated and disappointed to see where we are,” Weston said on SEN Breakfast.

“You either stand up and be counted or you don’t do anything. So I’ve decided that enough’s enough.

“As I’ve said, my agenda is looking at our culture, our leadership and our development of our players.”

Weston made it clear that he is not gunning for the position of president which is currently held by Dave Barham.

“No, not at all,” Weston replied.

“David is up for re-election. So I’m certainly not after his position as president.”

He believes that things off-field are in good order but is intent on helping change the mindset of the playing group and Brad Scott’s coaching staff.

“The Board has a number of good people on it which cover finance, the integrity of the club, the business side of it. But we haven’t got, I don’t believe, the football area covered,” he continued.

“You don’t know what you don’t know. The commitment required to be a premiership contender is far greater than just to be middle of the road.

“Words are very cheap, we’ve had plenty of spin over the years from our club.”

The 1984 and 1985 premiership defender, who spent three successful seasons with the Dons, highlighted two players across the last four decades who epitomise what he wants to see in the present day.

Terry Daniher joined the club from South Melbourne in 1978 and would go on to become a premiership captain, while Jobe Watson was almost traded before turning himself into an elite midfielder who also skippered the club.

“We don’t how good we are until we’re fully committed,” Weston said further.

“We have two perfect examples over 40 years of players who recommitted and became elite players. They are Terry Daniher and Jobe Watson.

“Terry was discarded from South Melbourne, Jobe was looking to be traded. They both looked in the mirror and said, ‘Right, we’ve got to get fair dinkum’.

“So they recommitted to be the best player they could be. They both became elite players, they both became leaders of the club and of course Terry was a premiership captain.

“Until you are 100 per cent committed, you don’t know how good you can be, the team doesn’t know how good it can be.

“This is my agenda.”

Listen to the full chat with Weston below: