Essendon list manager Adrian Dodoro says the club is "refreshing" rather than rebuilding its playing stocks after its lowest finish on the ladder in nine seasons.

The Bombers slipped to 15th on the ladder in 2015 after making the finals last season, and are set for a busy off-season with Jake Carlisle and Jake Melksham requesting trades.

They hold pick No.4 at November's NAB AFL Draft – their earliest choice at a draft since 2006 – but Dodoro said there was plenty of reasons to suggest their poor season was an aberration.

"How can you go through a rebuild when you've got [Cale] Hooker and [Michael] Hurley in key spots? When you've got Joey Daniher and Tom Bellchambers … we've got some really good talls," Dodoro told AFL.com.au's Road to the Draft podcast.

"Then you've got [Dyson] Heppell, [David] Zaharakis, Zach Merrett and a number of kids coming through. I don't believe it's a rebuild at all. I think we're refreshing our list, I think that's the best way of putting it."

Carlisle and Melksham's impending departures will see at least seven players leave the Bombers this off-season, with about 10 still uncontracted.

But the Bombers could end up with as many as four top-30 draft picks in the draft if they can secure a second-round selection from Melbourne for Melksham, and an early pick for Carlisle.

After two years of draft penalties – which saw them stripped of three important picks as a result of the supplements saga – Dodoro said having a full complement of picks had put a "spring in the step" of the recruiting team.

"You've got to remember that Gold Coast and GWS came in, and then we had sanctions for two years so this is a really, really exciting draft for our club," Dodoro said.

"It gives you something to aim for."



South Australian prospect Aaron Francis, key forwards Charlie Curnow and Sam Weideman and midfielder Darcy Parish are among the group of prospects likely to be in the mix for the Bombers' first pick, but Dodoro said the club would stick with the best available player.

"Obviously there's a lot of people who think the No.1 thing [for us] is the midfield. And we need to improve our midfield, we make no apologies about that," Dodoro said.

"But if we think there's a player there that's an absolutely standout, we'll be picking him."



The three-year scandal that has plagued the Bombers has had a far-reaching impact, with key players quitting the club.

Dodoro admitted the ASADA investigation had "derailed" Essendon's long-set plans to push into premiership contention.

"'Sheeds' (former coach Kevin Sheedy) always taught me when I first started in recruiting was get your talls right, get your spine right because it's the hardest part of your recruiting," Dodoro said.

"When you get that right, build your midfield around it. That's exactly what we were doing. The two years we lost our selections were going to be anchored towards midfielders.

"But unfortunately we lost those picks and we changed tact."