Essendon’s new recruits got their first taste of AFL football this morning as they joined in the warm-up at skills training at Keilor Park.

The club took five players in last Thursday’s AFL Draft – Dyson Heppell, Ariel Steinberg, Michael Ross, Alex Browne and Luke Davis – which included a mix of midfield and key position players.

“We are certainly very pleased with who we got, we think we got some good midfield depth,” Coach James Hird said.

 “The players that we got can play a number of roles, whether it’s midfield, down back or up forward, it will give us some versatility for our team.”

Hird said despite the high expectations that are often placed on new recruits, he would not expect the Club’s first draft pick, Heppell, to make an immediate impact in his first year of AFL football.

“We are not putting any pressure on Dyson at all. It would be great if he plays senior footy, if not it is all about developing for a long AFL career rather than aiming for a significant impact in year one,” Hird said.

“All of our new recruits will be treated very slowly and integrated into the training program at a very slow rate.