In the end, Mason Redman\u2019s decision about where to play his football going forward came down to a simple pros and cons list. In fact, it was as much about the off field as it was the on field considerations.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me it probably came down to lifestyle and where I wanted to spend the last half of my career,\u201d Redman told SEN Breakfast\u2019s Garry Lyon and Tim Watson last week. \u201cMe and my partner will settle down soon and start a family at some stage, so (it was about) where we wanted to do that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got down to the crux of it, wrote it all out, the pros and the cons and ended up settling back here.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt came down to what we really want out of the next part of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is the second time last month that Redman has shattered the hopes and dreams of Crows fans.<\/p>\n
He launched one of his trademark long running goals in the first minute of the July 9 clash with the Crows, which the Bombers dominated, and now he has turned down the club\u2019s overtures, rubbing salt into the wounds by suggesting if the conversations about the move had happened last year he may have been lured back to his home State.<\/p>\n
But as it is Redman has signed a five-year contract to remain at The Hangar until at least 2028.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been pretty honest with people and I know people would find this a surprise, but if I was going through the process last year I probably wouldn\u2019t have hung around,\u201d Redman told SEN Breakfast.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel as though there were too many people pulling in different directions.”<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely towards the back-end of last year I felt that. Probably at the start of your career as a young guy you\u2019re just in and trying to play football, you\u2019re trying to break in and you don\u2019t realise that the inner or outer workings of the club actually affect the team\u2019s performance.
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t know what you don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Redman said the arrival of head coach Brad Scott ultimately turned his head to seeing a future as a Bomber, believing Scott will be the club\u2019s next premiership coach. He has also formed a close bond with CEO Craig Vozzo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel as though Brad is the best senior coach I\u2019ve had, albeit for 10 months,\u201d Redman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to working with him long-term. That\u2019s something that\u2019s really exciting for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis might come as a surprise to people but I do think he will be the next Essendon premiership coach. Hopefully we can provide that to him as a playing group.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really exciting to get to work with him. He\u2019s very important to the decision for me because ultimately what I want as a player is to win a premiership.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne if the big riders behind my decision making is that\u2019s what I want get out of my career and I think Brad is the right man for the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very happy with the decision and hopefully I can see some success around the corner at the Bombers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Redman grew up playing footy with and against Adelaide skipper Jordan Dawson, and talks with Adelaide did happen but, in the end, the club that drafted him at Pick 30 in the 2015 national draft, won the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been widely covered that Adelaide was an option for myself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was definitely looking into that and being SA-born there is a bit of a pull back there. I\u2019m not going to sit here and lie to you and say that there wasn\u2019t ever a pull there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI honestly think they\u2019re going down the right path. They\u2019re going to be a successful team for a long period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, he believes that and more about Essendon, where last year, he had a fourth-place finish in the Crichton Medal, taking home the Bruce Heymanson Best Clubman Award and Most Improved Player honours at the club\u2019s best and fairest count.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the end, Mason Redman\u2019s decision about where to play his football going forward came down to a simple pros and cons list. In fact, it was as much about the off field as it was the on field considerations. \u201cFor me it probably came down to lifestyle and where I wanted to spend the […]<\/p>\n