For the first time in two years, Essendon will benefit from a first round pick at the National Draft.

The AFL handed down strict sanctions as part of the Club’s governance failings.

The sanctions prohibited the Club from exercising its round one and two selections at the 2013 and 2014 drafts.

This severely restricted the pool that the recruiting staff were able to choose from and meant that they had to focus on finding talent later in the draft.

However, with the sanctions now lifted, Essendon will head into this year’s draft with pick number four and an early second round pick.

Speaking with AFL.com.au, List Manager Adrian Dodoro believes that the return to the draft is important for a number of reasons and has put a ‘spring in the step’ of the entire recruiting team.

“You’ve got to remember that Gold Coast and GWS came in, and then we had sanctions for two years so this is a really, really exciting draft for our club,” Dodoro said.

“It gives you something to aim for.

“You know you’ve got your pick four and you’ve got your early second round pick, so you can get off to a good start in the draft and you get your confidence up. It’s just like a footballer, if you’re confident you perform well.”

Given the circumstances of the last few years, the Club has fared reasonably well and was able to find players such as Zach Merrett, Orazio Fantasia, Jayden Laverde and Kyle Langford.

“Our form at drafts has been pretty good because we’ve only had the two picks the last two years,” said Dodoro.

“All four have shown that they can be very good AFL players.

“We’re looking forward to getting stuck into it.”

Dodoro and his team will continue to assess their options and compile their research before heading to the National Draft in Adelaide on the 24^th of November.