Assistant Principal (Secondary)

Confessions of an Essendon Supporter

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Essendon drugs saga. In 2012, the Essendon Football Club was riding high on the signing of their new coach - their returned superstar, James Hird. The club adopted the motto "whatever it takes", which spoke to their desire to be the best club. 

It had been 12 years since the club last won a premiership and hopes were high. The club was off to a winning start… but… the club was found guilty of using illegal performance enhancing substances. They were stripped of all their wins for the season, fined large amounts and had a number of other punishments. This started a ten-year decline for the club. 

At the end of 2021, the club again seemed to be emerging from the pain of the last ten years, their culture was building, their momentum was building, and the club finished the season (despite a terrible start) on a positive note. Many in the club were looking forward to 2022 as a season with potential.

However, this good fortune did not continue. The club looked great on paper (it had many notable players with huge potential); however, this season has continued to be disappointing. As we know, they fired the coach, and a number of influential board members resigned. We are now looking ahead (again) to the next season, hoping that we will have a coach and hoping that the team will make the finals. However, what I’m constantly amazed at, is the fans. Players come and go, as do coaches and board members. But the fans are different. It’s almost unheard of, for a fan to switch teams; loyalty is a must in the AFL. 

Loyalty and resilience are core values for me, and I believe in supporting a team through thick and thin. But I must admit, these were further tested when the team had sprinkles of brilliance, but by the end of the season, again, we struggled to win a game. As we are moving towards the end of the year for the Year 12 students, I believe loyalty and resilience do indeed hold a very important key towards their future. 

Resilience is the more obvious of the two. As the pressures of exams and SACs pile up, the ability to knuckle down and continue to do your best in the face of the stress and anxiety that study can create, is an important attribute. However, loyalty is more subtle. 

In referring to loyalty, I’m actually meaning loyalty towards yourself. You are the only you. You have been created with special gifts and abilities, the mix of which, no one else has. It is important that we remain true or loyal to the person we are created to be. There will be many voices competing to tell you how you should live, be and believe (even more so as you start your new season of life out of school). Increasingly, social media will bombard you with tripe, telling you how to look, what to believe, how you should measure success and what you should do in your life. It’s my hope and prayer that during your time at Aitken, you have developed a great sense of self, discovering, learning, and knowing who you are; the unique creature of ‘you’ and that you are able to be loyal to you. Just like an Essendon supporter, sticking with yourself through thick and thin.  

Mr Chris Graham

Assistant Principal (Secondary)