James Hird will not ‘heal’ my beloved Essendon. Appoint him and I’m done Kate Halfpenny Regular columnist July 31, 2026 — 9:00amJuly 31, 2026 — 9:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Good times: James Hird as Essendon coach in 2015 celebrates a win with his players. AdvertisementIt drives me nuts that we keep hearing Essendon need an “Essendon person” to “heal” the club. Kate Halfpenny is an author and the founder of Bad Mother Media.