AFL great Mark “Bomber” Thompson is back involved in football at the grassroots.
Thompson will share his footballing knowledge at the Essendon Doutta Stars Football Club where he will assist the club’s Under 16 team.
The 58-year-old, a three-time Essendon premiership player and a dual premiership coach at Geelong, is getting his life back on track after he was convicted of drug possession in 2019.
Bombers premiership player and Doutta Stars senior coach, Paul Barnard, is delighted that Thompson will be part of the club’s junior program.
“Let’s be honest, we need to be forgiving of each other, we’ve seen what’s gone on over the last week or two of what can happen,” Barnard told SEN’s The Run Home.
“At the end of the day, he’s doing this for nothing. He’s coming to help, and he just wants to be involved. He’s slipped in quietly and I know the club is really appreciative.
“Who wouldn’t want them to be coached by a bloke who has been involved in five senior premierships?
“I think we just need to be a little bit more forgiving, and this is one way to help, and he can help us.
“I think it’s a really program that he’s involved in, and the club have been really supportive if it.”
Thompson captained Essendon and played 202 games in red and black before coaching the club in 2014.