Essendon recruiting manager Adrian Dodoro says fans should be pleased the Bombers have bolstered their midfield.
 
Draft summary
"I think our supporters will be happy we got a class midfielder in Dyson Heppell. Alex Browne and Michael Ross are also potential midfielders for us so we've addressed that area of the ground, which was a need coming into tonight. We've also added a forward in Ariel Steinberg and a defender in Luke Davis and we think they could both be very exciting players for us."
 
Selection No.8: Dyson Heppell (Gippsland Power)
Player profile
"The late mail was that Dyson was going to slip through to us, so it was a no-brainer to pick him. He's a classy midfielder and he's got all the characteristics and attributes that we're looking for to support our current midfield. We were really happy to get him and if anyone saw him play in the preliminary final of the TAC Cup they would realise just what a classy player he is."
 
Selection No.31: Ariel Steinberg (Bendigo Pioneers)
Player profile
"We thought the draft was starting to thin out a bit around pick No.30 and we'd always had Ariel pencilled in around there. We wanted to find a player with a lot of X-factor and Ariel has a lot of exciting attributes. He can take a good mark and he's aerobic. He also tested fairly quick for a guy of his size. We also believe he may be able to play a midfield role for us at some stage. He's untapped ... he was playing gridiron 12 months ago, so we were really happy to get him on board."
 
Selection No.48: Alex Browne (Oakleigh Chargers)
Player profile
"Browne is a hard-working midfielder with a powerful sort of physique, so he'll help in our midfield."
 
Selection No.64: Luke Davis (West Adelaide)
Player profile
"We wanted to identify a third tall defender that could play both on talls and smalls and Davis came highly recommended from West Adelaide."
 
Selection No.80: Michael Ross (Gippsland Power)
"Michael is the brother of North Melbourne's Ben. He had a fantastic grand final for Gippsland Power playing off half-back ... he was probably their best player. He had a few injuries, but seems to have got over them. We think we've got a bit of a gem there late."
 
Selection No.95: Pass
"We've left ourselves a pick in the pre-season draft. Jay Neagle is training with us and training well, so we'll see how he goes over the next few weeks before making a final decision on that pick."