Essendon’s 2023 Trade Period went down to the wire, with their last deal decided in the final minute before the deadline.
The Bombers’ late trade acquisition of Xavier Duursma from Port Adelaide capped off a busy fortnight which saw Todd Goldstein, Ben McKay and Jade Gresham also commit to the club via free agency.
For GM of List and Recruiting, Adrian Dodoro, the combination of new recruits and having maintained a strong hand in the upcoming national draft has been the most pleasing result from the past two weeks.
“(It’s been) extremely challenging, but really rewarding for the club,” Dodoro said.
"We’ve worked really hard over the last two weeks but it’s a phenomenal outcome.
“We’ve improved our list, brought four quality players in the door, and improved our draft position, so I don’t think we could’ve done much more in this trade period. I’m really happy for the club and our supporters.”
After 73 games at Port Adelaide, Duursma’s switch to the Dons will provide important depth on the wings, as well as some x-factor going forward.
Dodoro’s feelings over the deadline deal were clear to see, with Duursma set to bring an exciting blend of inside and outside play to the Dons’ lineup.
“Relief. (Xavier is) a player that we certainly think can really help us for a number of years, he’s only (23) years of age,” Dodoro said.
“We think he’s going to be fabulous for us, he gives us another taller winger who can play inside a bit and go forward, so we’re looking for the ‘bow-and-arrow’ (celebration) to come out next year.”
Landing McKay was a key focus in the Bombers’ trade period, with the 202cm defender set to add a big one-on-one presence to the team’s defensive unit.
The 25-year-old is due to reunite with former Senior Coach Brad Scott, with both parties keen on the prospect of bolstering the Dons’ back six.
“We obviously targeted Ben (McKay) early in the piece. It was always something that Brad (Scott) was really keen to address with tall defenders, so we were lucky to get him,” Dodoro said.
“It seems like it was a long time ago, but it was only last week that we got him, he’s got his best footy ahead of him and he’s going to be a great acquisition for us.”
McKay’s former teammate Todd Goldstein provides the Bombers with vital experience and versatility to their ruck stocks.
The 35-year-old will enter his 18th AFL season in 2024, and the opportunity to add a wealth of knowledge for the Dons’ younger core wasn’t lost on the club.
“Todd (Goldstein) is a champion of the game,” Dodoro said.
“He’ll add not only a lot of valuable experience around the club, but his ruckwork is first-class, his leadership will be great amongst the group, and to have that mature person along with Nick Bryan and Sam Draper is going to be really beneficial to our ruck combination.”
Gresham’s inclusion as a forward-midfielder adds even more versatility to the Bombers’ mix, with the 26-year-old set to play an important role in 2024 and beyond.
Having kept tabs on Gresham as far back as his initial draft year in 2015, Dodoro believes that he’ll fit in well to the club’s system under Scott.
“Going back to (Gresham’s) draft year, we held him in high regard, we had him as a top 10 pick so we’ve always followed him and I thought he finished the year off really well,” Dodoro said.
“The thing that really attracted us to ‘Gresh’ is that the way he plays is very similar to the way Brad likes his players to play. There’s going to be a real good synergy there, he’ll free him up, and you’ll see a really exciting player for us.”
Having retained a strong hand in the draft (particularly with picks nine, 31 and 35), Dodoro is confident that the Bombers have positioned themselves well heading into another pre-season.
“We’ve done really well, we’ve kept our hand which is really important, and kept our early picks for 2024 as well,” Dodoro said.
“That’s the exciting thing by having some draft capital, that we can take a deep breath, sit back and assess the draft. We’d like to make some moves up the draft order, but we’ll assess that in the next couple of weeks.”
