Essendon have announced Cameron Joyce as its new senior VFL coach just weeks out from the new campaign.
Joyce comes with 26 years of experience across many different facets of the AFL landscape and most recently served as the senior coach for the Gold Coast Suns AFLW program.
During this time, the Suns had 15 wins, 23 losses and three draws for an overall win rate of 37%. Despite this seemingly uninspired tenure, Joyce did however lead the Queensland-based team to its highest-ever finish (fifth) and only its second-ever finals appearance.
In his debut season he also became the first Gold Coast coach to secure back-to-back AFLW wins.
The 44-year-old was however recently sacked following a disappointing one-win season in 2024 that saw the Suns finish 17th.
Prior to his coaching career, Joyce had also spent 11 years as List Manager and General Manager of Football at North Melbourne (2008-2019) and as such is no stranger to working alongside Essendon senior AFL coach Brad Scott.ย
Speaking on his next career move, Joyce expressed his delight in joining the Bombers program for 2025.
โI'm excited to be at the Club with a really strong direction,โ Joyce said in a club statement.ย
โWhen you walk through the door today and meet the staff and players, I couldn't be happier with my choice.โ
โI'm very much a strengths-based coach. (There's) the alignment with Brad Scott in terms of his philosophy and strategy of the game, it's important to have a really good relationship with AFL and VFL. That's something I'll be pressing with the players is to make sure we're on the same page with that".
Essendon GM of Football Daniel McPherson echoed Joyce's excitement on what he can bring to the role and believes the club environment can aid the Western Australian in making a seamless transition.
"Cameron's acquired a vast amount of football experience over the years and we're excited to have him on board with the program in this crucial role of VFL Senior Coach/AFL Development Coach,โ McPherson said.
โCameron's already worked closely with a number of key people at the Club such as Brad Scott, Ben Robbins and Ben Jacobs, which will no doubt help his integration into the role."
The appointment of Joyce follows the tragic passing of former head VFL coach Dale Tapping earlier this month. Tapping was set to take the reins as the Bombers reserve coach for the first time in 2025 but sadly lost his two-year battle with cancer.ย
