The Club will be looking outside the top picks to find the hidden gems in this year’s National Draft.

Essendon has great experience when it comes to scouring the later rounds of the draft and the rookie draft to find the players that other Clubs may overlook.

An ability to explore all the potential options is something that has been particularly important over the last few years, given the restrictions placed on the Club since 2012.

List Manager Adrian Dodoro, has worked with his recruitment team throughout the entire season traveling the country watching as many games of local football in an attempt to discover the next big thing to ‘Don the Sash’.

“The good clubs make a name for themselves at the back-end of drafts,” said Dodoro.

“The top end talent is there for everyone to see…the trick to being a good recruiting department is absolutely nailing those back-end ones and putting more time into them than you probably would your first rounders.”

Players such as Michael Hibberd, Mark Baguley and Orazio Fantasia are just a few talented players that featured in the closing rounds of the draft.

The most notable of recent times, however, is 2015 Crichton Medalist and 2014 All-Australian defender Cale Hooker.

Hooker was a fourth round selection in the 2007 AFL Draft, eventually taken by the Club with pick number 54.

“If you do your homework (players) don’t necessarily have to be out of the TAC Cup Competition or have played in the under 18 championships,” said Dodoro.

“You’ve got all of Australia to look at.

“There are a number of boys that we like that we think will be there at the back-end of the draft.”

Essendon is in a strong position entering this year’s draft, securing pick number four as well as an early second round pick.

Late Round Bombers:

Nick Kommer – 2012 NAB AFL Draft, 4th Round selection, No.73 Overall (19 games)

Nick O’Brien – 2011 NAB AFL Draft, 3rd Round selection, No.59 Overall (14 Games)

Cale Hooker – 2007 NAB AFL Draft, 4th Round selection, No.54 Overall (133 games)

Martin Gleeson – 2012 NAB AFL Draft, 3rd Round selection, No.53 Overall (31 Games)

Orazio Fantasia – 2013 NAB AFL Draft, 3rd Round selection, No.55 Overall (8 Games)

Alex Browne – 2012 NAB AFL Draft, 3rd Round selection, No.48 Overall (11 Games)

Rookie Draft Bombers:

Conor McKenna – 2015 International Rookie Draft, No.62 (2 Games)

Jake Long – 2015 Rookie Draft, No.47 (0 Games)

Mark Baguley – 2012 Rookie Draft, No.47 (72 Games)

Patrick Ambrose – 2014 Rookie Draft, No.26 (32 Games)

Heath Hocking – 2006 Rookie Draft, No.20 (124 Games)

Shaun McKernan – 2015 Rookie Draft, No.12 (9 Games)

Michael Hibberd – 2011 Rookie Draft, No.4 (84 Games)