Essendon is ready to capitalise on an unprecedented draft hand in the wash-up from a busy free agency and trade period.
The Bombers started the player exchange period with one top-10 pick, but finished with three after a fortnight that netted Jye Caldwell (GWS), Peter Wright (Gold Coast) and Nick Hind (St Kilda), and saw Joe Daniher (Brisbane), Adam Saad (Carlton) and Orazio Fantasia (Port Adelaide) find new homes.
TRADE WRAP: Ins, outs, draft hand, quotes
While picks can still be traded in the lead-up to December’s NAB AFL Draft, Essendon is poised to enter a draft with three top-10 selections for the first time in its history.
General manager of list and recruiting Adrian Dodoro said it was an attractive situation.
“The great news is we’ve secured three first-round draft picks,” Dodoro said on Thursday night.
“Not only does it give us a strong hand, but it also gives us a strong hand from here to the national draft where we could potentially trade picks and multiply those picks.
“(National recruiting manager) Rob Forster-Knight is ecstatic tonight because he gets a good hand at the draft, so from that end we’re really happy.
“It’s disappointing to lose the players that we’ve got, but when you’re getting top-10 draft picks in return – and we had to work really hard to get that – it gives us something to build on for the future.
“It’ll be interesting to see whether clubs come knocking on our door for trades. We’ve got some options up our sleeve and definitely a lot of work ahead, but it’s a really, really exciting hand to have this year.
“We’ll go for the best players available. That’s normally what we do with picks that are that early.”
While pleased to strengthen the club’s draft hand and secure two former first-round selections in Caldwell and Wright, Dodoro said it was disappointing a deal couldn’t be struck with the Western Bulldogs for star midfielder Josh Dunkley.
The 2016 premiership player requested a trade to Essendon, despite having two years left to run on his contract.
Dodoro revealed the Bombers’ final pitch to the Bulldogs.
“We offered pick seven and a future second-round pick. That’s fairly significant for Josh,” he said.
“To be fully transparent with all our fans, the Bulldogs wanted pick eight and also our first round for next year. We just couldn’t do that. We’ve got a responsibility to our club, our playing group and our strategic plans going forward. We just need our future first round for next year, so we couldn’t give it up.
“We think we offered a fair deal for him. He, his father and (manager) Liam Pickering have been fantastic throughout this whole period. We wish him all the best. He’s a great young man and a great player.”
The Bombers hold picks Nos. 6, 7, 8, 44, 77, 85 and 87 for the 2020 NAB AFL Draft, which is likely to revert to a one-night event on December 9.
This news is brought to you by Orchard HRO, the club's official recruitment and list management partner.
