WE ARE back here again, and so is new Essendon caretaker coach Dean Solomon.
For the second time in a fortnight, a club will play its first game under a caretaker coach after the head coach has been given the boot.
And for the second time in a fortnight, their opponents will be on high alert for the new coach bounce.
Essendon's game against West Coast on Sunday night, the Bombers' first since the sacking of Brad Scott, will come just two weeks after Carlton's interim coach Josh Fraser led the Blues to a drought-breaking win over the Western Bulldogs, ending a run of seven straight losses that had cost Michael Voss his job.
Fraser was the 14th caretaker coach in the past 10 seasons, with those coaches holding a 50 per cent win record - seven wins, seven losses - in their first game in charge.
Given most caretaker coaches are appointed after a long run of defeats, as is the case with Essendon this week, a win rate of 50 per cent represents a significant uplift in performance (Essendon's win rate in the past 12 months has been just 4.17 per cent).
And even the seven caretakers who have lost their first game in charge have often seen a positive shift of some kind.
Last year, Troy Chaplin's Melbourne lost to the Bulldogs by just 10 points in his first game in charge, 12 months after West Coast lost to eventual premier Brisbane by just 13 points in its first game under interim Jarrad Schofield following the departure of Adam Simpson.
But a new coach bounce is not always guaranteed, which brings us back to Solomon.
The Bombers premiership player has been in this position before, having taken over as a caretaker at Gold Coast in 2017 after Rodney Eade was sacked.
But Solomon didn't get the response from his players he was hoping for in his first game in charge, with the Suns thrashed by 58 points by Brisbane, who were bottom of the ladder at the time.
Solomon coached a further two games that season, losing them both, before he was replaced by Stuart Dew at the end of the season.
But if Solomon and the Bombers are going to break their losing streaks, history suggests the new coach bounce might just be the tonic they need.
New coach bounce?
How clubs have performed the week after a coach departs, 2017-2026*
2026
Josh Fraser replaced Michael Voss. Carlton (16th) beat the Western Bulldogs (ninth) by 12 points
2025
Troy Chaplin replaced Simon Goodwin. Melbourne (12th) lost to the Western Bulldogs (ninth) by six points
2024
Jarrad Schofield replaced Adam Simpson. West Coast (16th) lost to Brisbane (seventh) by 13 points
2023
Steven King replaced Stuart Dew. Gold Coast (13th) beat St Kilda (sixth) by 26 points
Brett Ratten replaced Alastair Clarkson. North Melbourne (16th) lost to Sydney (14th) by three points
Andrew McQualter replaced Damien Hardwick. Richmond lost (14th) to Port Adelaide (third) by 10 points
2022
Leigh Adams replaced David Noble. North Melbourne (18th) beat Richmond (eighth) by five points
Mark McVeigh replaced Leon Cameron. Greater Western Sydney (15th) beat West Coast (18th) by 52 points
2021
Robert Harvey replaced Nathan Buckley. Collingwood (15th) lost to Fremantle (11th) by 12 points
2019
Rhyce Shaw replaced Brad Scott. North Melbourne (14th) beat Richmond (fourth) by 37 points
David Teague replaced Brendon Bolton. Carlton (18th) beat Brisbane (fifth) by 15 points
Brett Ratten replaced Alan Richardson. St Kilda (15th) beat the Western Bulldogs (10th) by 27 points
David Hale replaced Ross Lyon. Fremantle (13th) lost to Port Adelaide (11th) by 43 points
2017
Dean Solomon replaced Rodney Eade. Gold Coast (15th) lost to Brisbane (18th) by 58 points
*Not including off-season coaching changes or one-game absences for illness etc