High praises for new coach

By Paul Pickering
A REFERENCE from Denis Pagan helped Essendon premiership player Alan Ezard secure the senior coaching role at Noble Park for 2009.
Ezard, 45, was appointed to the top job on Friday, ending the EFL Division One club’s protracted search for Kris Barlow’s replacement.
And as Noble Park president Kevin Wright revealed this week, Pagan – a dual premiership coach with North Melbourne – was among those who spoke highly of Ezard when approached by the club. Pagan coached Ezard while he was doing his apprenticeship under Kevin Sheedy at Windy Hill in the early nineties, and his recommendation was the icing on the cake for the Bulls administration.
Wright was delighted to have the deal done.
“We’re all a bit relieved actually, because we’ve been waiting for Alan to come back from overseas and it wasn’t until Wednesday that we spoke to him,” Wright said.
Ezard played 180 games as a rover/back-pocket with the Bombers between 1983 and 1993.
He played in the 1984 and 1985 flags and went on to win the club best-and-fairest in 1991.
His coaching resume includes stints with North Ballarat and Coburg in the VFL, and more recently Pascoe Vale in the Essendon and District Football League.
Twelve applicants were interviewed for the position, but Wright said Ezard “came through with flying colours”.
“Everyone we rang about him gave us really good reports, so we’re quite pleased that he chose our club,” he said.