""Our philosophy is that we will always trade if it is a fair and reasonable trade, and it doesn’t disadvantage our football club. We certainly won’t trade just for the hell of it, and I think our trade record over the last few years has been pretty good,"" Dodoro said.
Another component of Dodoro’s job is looking after the welfare of the players. He helps the younger players with the transition into AFL ranks, and thinks of himself as a friend and mentor to the playing group. This is a part of the job Dodoro gets a lot of enjoyment from. ""It is very rewarding to see the way the young players grow into the organisation and the way the senior guys embrace our younger players – there is no division in our list.""
As for the most satisfaction, Dodoro admits it was drafting Damien Peverill. Dodoro used to watch Peverill run past his house every night and he watched him play a number of times when he was on the supplementary list at Melbourne.
""What is satisfying is that a lot of people told me he was a waste of time – there were flaws in his kicking, and things like that. We invited him to train with us and eventually rookied him. Every challenge that was thrown at him he always accepted – he has got a huge heart. He is a real Essendon boy and he brings so much to this football club. He has done it hard and he has never whinged once. He missed out that many times on being drafted, but he just kept going and going. In the end his actions spoke louder than his words,"" he said.
Dodoro is the first to admit he is a football junkie and can’t get enough of it. ""I am forever watching football. If you don’t enjoy watching football, then you can’t do the job. You want to be part of something, even though it is only a small part it – knowing you are contributing to a great club and that the culture is about being successful is a great feeling.""
DODORO’S CALENDAR
JANUARY - FEBRUARY – period where Dodoro settles in the new recruits – helps them with employment, education and housing. He will start to look at the talent pool from the previous year – the guys that didn’t get drafted. It is a period where Dodoro can evaluate what was done in the previous year and set plans in motion for the coming season.
MARCH - JUNE – Dodoro has eight spotters Australia-wide, and with their help, he starts to build a talent pool. ""I have really good, experienced spotters who know what they are doing, and I have confidence in them. We meet fortnightly and start building a pool,"" Dodoro said. By the end of June there will be 500 names on the board. Dodoro has a weekly meeting with Sheedy to discuss the clubs recruiting strategy.
JULY - SEPTEMBER – Dodoro and spotters start to cut the list down, putting players in exact positions – ruck, key position players, midfield – before ranking them. The list is condensed and he gets into a period that is what he calls ""specific recruiting"". He targets individuals, so he gets a really good understanding of an individual’s strengths and weaknesses.
OCTOBER – Kevin Sheedy, Dodoro and two other coaches go to the draft camp, extracting further information on the players while interviewing them. Further data is collected via speed tests, strength tests and other fitness tests. By this period, the club basically knows who they are looking at drafting.
NOVEMBER – Sheedy has more time on his hands, so Dodoro and he travel extensively, talking to a lot of players. From that, and all the other research done throughout the year, the coaching staff formulate a ranking and head to the National Draft.
ESSENDON’S DRAFT RECORD
1998:
Draft selection 9 - Mark McVeigh
Draft selection 12- Adam Ramanauskas
Draft selection 23 - Chris Ladhams
Draft selection 25 - Aaron Henneman
Draft selection 36 - Danny Jacobs
Draft selection 56 - Ilija Grgic
Rookie elevation - Mark Johnson
1999:
Draft selection 40 - David Hille
Draft selection 45 - Marcus Pickett
Draft selection 59 - John Barnes
Draft selection 72 - Robert Forster-Knight
Rookie elevation - Dean Rioli
2000:
Draft selection 17 - James Davies
Draft selection 27 - Ted Richards
Draft selection 32 - Sam Hunt
Draft selection 47 - Jordan Bannister
Draft selection 63 - Marc Bullen
Draft selection 74 - Michael Davis
Rookie elevation - Cory McGrath
Rookie elevation - Adam Switala
2001:
Draft selection 18 - Shane Harvey
Draft selection 31 - Joel Reynolds
Draft selection 34 - Simon O’Keefe
Draft selection 47 - Andrew Welsh
Draft selection 50 - Paul Salmon
Draft selection 64 - Daniel McAlister
Rookie elevation - Damien Peverill
2002:
Draft selection 10 - Jason Laycock
Draft selection 11 - Jason Winderlich
Draft selection 27 - Darren Walsh
Draft selection 28 - Tristan Cartledge
Draft selection 40 - Jobe Watson
Draft selection 67 - Steve Alessio
2003:
Draft selection 6 - Kepler Bradley
Draft selection 13 - Brent Stanton
Draft selection 28 - Jay Nash
Draft selection 44 - Ricky Dyson
Rookie elevation - Ben Haynes
Rookie elevation - Courtney Johns
Click here to read part one of ""Planning for success.""
Click here to read part two of ""Planning for success.""
