Essendon coach Brad Scott says it will take an "extraordinary offer" for the Bombers to trade away pick No.4 at Monday's NAB AFL Draft as several clubs circle for the selection.
Scott confirmed numerous clubs have been in touch with the Bombers about a trade, although – as reported by AFL.com.au – they are still weighing up their options, but appear unlikely to part with the prized fourth pick.
AFL.com.au revealed last week that Melbourne had grouped its two future first-round picks (tied to the Demons and Fremantle) as part of a package of picks to grab the Bombers' pick four. The Demons also approached North Melbourne (for pick three) and Gold Coast (for pick five) without success.
The potential for the fourth pick to change hands would have significant implications on the make-up of selections in the first round.
"It would have to be an extraordinary offer for us to give that up," Scott told AFL.com.au's NAB AFL Draft Countdown show on Sunday.
"The honest answer is we don't know yet. It's the night before the draft and we're still discussing it, mainly because there are a lot of clubs really interested in that pick. There's been a lot of offers come our way… I can't think of too many clubs that have been able to trade into the top five over a long period of time."
"They're valuable for a reason, that's where a lot of the superstars and great players come from."
Scott added that it was likely they would still be considering offers up until the time the pick comes up on Monday night.
The Bombers coach was reluctant to pinpoint a specific type of player that the club would target at the draft, having been pleasantly surprised by the list after returning to pre-season training this week.
"As part of my presentation to the panel, I'd talked about potential gaps and areas to improve in terms of our list build, but only after one week of the players being back I've changed my view slightly on that, because some players have surprised me on the upside," Scott said.
"If you reach for needs early, in 12 months' time those needs may be different again."
Two players the Bombers have their sights on are 186cm Oakleigh Chargers midfielder Elijah Tsatas and 190cm Woodville-West Torrens midfielder Mattaes Phillipou, who both visited the club recently and met with Scott.
"They're both really, really talented, capable players," Scott said. "Mattaes is a very confident young a man. He likes the big moment. I think all coaches love players like that who can step up in the big moments. They want the ball when the game is on the line.
"Elijah's the same. His footy in limited games at NAB League level were just elite. To win the best and fairest in just six games is testament to that."
Scott said he hoped 29-year-old small forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, who earlier this month came out of retirement, would play early in 2023 in a positive update.
"It will be a process," Scott said. "'Walla' hasn't lost his ability with ball in hand. But clearly he's got a lot of work to do to get himself back into AFL condition and he knows that, but most importantly he's up for it.
"He knows it's going to take time but we're going to push him out into the football stuff. While he's got some conditioning stuff to do, he's quite resilient. He'll do all our football sessions and provided he gets a good run at it, I think we're a chance at seeing him early in the year."
