Everythingfell into place quickly for Jackson Merrett last week.

OnSunday, Merrett was invited by Essendon to meet at the club's Windy Hillheadquarters. It made the Bombers the last of 12 clubs to interview theteenager from Cobden, a small town in Victoria's south.

 Fourdays later he became an Essendon player when the Bombers selected the18-year-old with pick 31 in Thursday's 2011 NAB AFL Draft.

""Thatwas the first time I'd spoken to them so there was a little bit of lateinterest, but it was definitely worth the trip down to Windy Hill for theinterview,"" Merrett told essendonfc.com.au.

""Butnow I'm just looking forward to meeting everyone, enjoying it all and workinghard.

""Itwill be good to learn from great people who are there to help me get the mostout of myself.""

At187cm, Merrett is a nicely sized player who is an excellent kick, has poise andcan see how the game's unfolding and where he needs to go to find the ball. In2011, he finished second in the Falcons' best and fairest and represented VicCountry in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.

Heviews himself as an outside midfielder – he weighs only 70kgs – but played someof his best football of 2011 in roles as a ball-winner rather than receiver.Adding to his height and mobility, he has speed. He ran 2.93 seconds for the 20metre sprint at the NAB AFL Draft Combine, and thinks he can go even faster. 

""I'vegot a bit of pace but I probably don’t use it enough out on the field so if Ican try develop that into my game a bit more it can really take my footy toanother level,"" Merrett said.

Afterthe draft, Essendon's list manager Adrian Dodoro compared Merrett to a youngBlake Caracella, someone who found space and was a reliable goalkicker. Merrettwas only seven years old when Caracella played in Essendon's 2000 premiershipteam, but agrees that having an appetite for a goal is a big part of his game.

""Iplayed a little bit up forward this year and kicked a few goals, so Idefinitely don't mind snagging a couple,"" said Merrett, who will berooming with Bomber teammate Heath Hocking in the early stages of his time atthe club.

Merrett'sfootball bloodlines are strong.

Hisgreat uncle was Collingwood champion Thorold Merrett, who played in twopremierships for the Magpies in the 1950s and was named on the wing in theclub's team of the century.

Jackson'sgrandmother is cousins with twins Alastair and Stewart Lord, who played forGeelong in the 1960s, and his father Greg is a second cousin of Essendon dualpremiership player Roger Merrett.

But,despite knowing he has a long way to go before reaching the heights of hisfootball relatives, Merrett will be approaching his AFL opportunity with afocus on the basics.

Hehas already had hundreds of text messages of congratulations and friendrequests on Facebook since being selected, but is more intent on gaining therespect of his teammates and coaches at Essendon than anything else. 

""I'mgoing to go down there and build my body up and work as hard as I can until Iget a game, whether that's soon or down the track,"" he said.

""WhenI get down there to meet the guys hopefully I'll be able to fit in with themand we can build a strong team in years to come.""