Essendon Football Club today confirmed it will pick up Jobe Watson - son of former champion Tim Watson - via the father/son rule. Under the rule, the Bombers will use their third round selection at the 2002 National Draft to select Watson. Tim Watson played 307 games for Essendon between 1977 and 1994. The decision to draft Watson will be made official at a press conference being held at Windy Hill this afternoon. Both Watson's will be in attendance along with Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy and CEO Peter Jackson.

Jobe Watson has played his recent football with Xavier College and the Sandringham Dragons. He was a member of the Victorian Metro Under 18 side and many believe that only injury stopped him being named in the All Australian Under 18 side. ""He is about 190cm tall, strong in close and hard at it. He reads the play well and really is an excellent talent,"" Essendon recruiting manager Adrain Dodoro said.

With Jobe Watson at Essendon, it will be one of the few times in the history of the game that a coach has coached both a father and their son. Kevin Sheedy coached Tim for much of his career and will now oversee the formative years of his son. Another example came during Jock McHale's reign at Victoria Park. McHale coached Bill Twomey (snr) and two of his three sons Patrick and Bill (jnr).

A full transcript of the press conference will be available on the website later this afternoon.