Age: 23
Games: 48
Goals: 3
Honours: 2015 Rising Star nominee
Career averages: 16 disposals, two tackles, three rebounds, two inside 50s, five contested possessions, 11 uncontested possessions.
Adam Saad on joining the Bombers:
"I’m just looking forward to coming in and getting the respect of my teammates, the coaches and everyone at the Club.
“I’m really just trying to improve everyday.
“It’s really exciting and humbling to finally be on Essendon’s list and I’m really grateful for the opportunity they’ve given me.”
Adam Saad and Conor McKenna (2017 averages)
8.8 Kicks 10.9
7.8 Handballs 6.0
3.6 Marks 3.6
2.3 Tackles 1.5
2.3 Inside 50s 2.0
4.6 Cont poss 4.8
12.0 Uncont poss 11.2
82.5% Disp Eff. 75.3
3.0 Rebound 50 2.9
4.2 Bounces 2.0
327.4 Metres gained 337.7
4.4 Intercepts 4.0
Adrian Dodoro on landing Adam Saad:
“I think we’ve got a really exciting player, he’s a local who came through the Calder Cannons – he slipped through our hands to be honest.
“He got on a rookie list and he exceeded everyone’s expectations.
“Gold Coast did a great job in developing him and this is one that we’re really fortunate to get back our way.
“He has the traits to be an elite rebounding defender and I think we’ve got ourselves a really good player.
“We wanted to find another rebounding half back so we could release Andrew McGrath into our midfield.
“Conor McKenna really developed last year so we’ve got two real bullets off our half back line which will be really exciting.
“We’ve still got some strong hopes that Ben McNiece will develop into a very good player as well so I think down back we’ve got some really good options.”
Adam Saad’s best games (2017):
Rd 1 v Brisbane: 15 disposals, four rebounds, five inside 50s, 12 running bounces, two goal assists
Rd 3 v Hawthorn: 23 disposals, 18 uncontested possessions
Rd 5 v Adelaide: 24 disposals, seven rebounds, ten contested possessions
Rd 8 v Port Adelaide: 20 disposals, four tackles, six rebounds
Rd 14 v St Kilda: 21 disposals, seven marks, one goal, five rebounds, 16 uncontested possessions
Rd 19 v Richmond: 19 disposals, three tackles, one goal, 15 uncontested possessions, two goal assists
John Worsfold on Adam Saad:
“He’s a rebounding small defender who can also defend a man tightly and beat his opponent one on one – that’s really why we’ve got him here, we know what his attributes are.
“We also believe he is a great fit for what we’re building as a Club, both in his age and his character and values as well.
“We’ve got some quality small defenders on the list already, Adam is a little bit different to some of the others.
“We’ve got some really good depth and balance now to have a look at the way we select the side.
“When the opposition do get the ball inside their forward line and we win it, we want to be able to get it down the other end and score.
“So guys who use the ball well, can break lines and get that metres gained for us, and make sure we get out of that dangerous area of the ground as quickly as possible will add a lot of value.”
