News

Essendon list taking good shape

Monday, 1 December 2008
for essendonfc.com.au
Page 1 of 1

Essendon list manager Adrian Dodoro thinks the Bombers have got the list balancing act about right following Saturday’s NAB AFL Draft. Speaking exclusively to essendonfc.com.au today, Dodoro said that when you add the Brent Prismall trade into the equation, Essendon’s list is in good shape heading into 2009.

“It is a pleasing result. We traded our third round selection for Brent Prismall who we believe was the best player traded for in the trade week. We complimented that with David Zaharakis to bolster the midfield and continued our succession planning of key tall players by drafting Michael Hurley as a backman and Michael Still as a forward. Then you have Tyson Slattery who can play as a swingman which gives us some flexibility,” Dodoro said today.

Dodoro believes Hurley is ready to play senior football at some stage this season.

“He could play next year – physically he’s up to it. He is a natural football who will be very motivated by being part of an AFL environment. He has been an All Australian the past two years – he would have been picked up last year but was too young – he was ready last year,” Dodoro said.

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Dodoro was on the phone to David Zaharakis immediately after the completion of the second round. Having grown up as an Essendon supporter, he was at The Dome in a flash- leaving at home friends and family who had gathered with him to listen to the draft.

“When we had a break after the second round I called David straight away and told him to get him down. We had targeted him as the midfielder we wanted. He was a mad Essendon supporter dying to get to the Club,” Dodoro said.

“He was All Australian – we looked at him closely last year as a 17-year-old. We kept a close eye on him this year and he really developed. He uses the ball really well, is a goal-kicking midfielder and has great leadership skills. When we spoke to David Dickson – the Vic. metro under 18 coach - he said we should be taking him at pick 5.”

It was the continual improvement of Michael Still – particularly in the second half of the season - that really caught the eye of Dodoro and his team of recruiters.

“He is a bottom age recruit (17-years-old) and a genuine key position player. He kept improving as the year went on. One of the strategies we had going into the draft was to identify a player that would have been a first round selection next year and he fitted from that perspective,” Dodoro said.

“He is a forward – he kicked a lot of goals late in the year – bags of goals and that is a good sign. He presents well and can take difficult marks. He keeps his eye on the ball.”

Essendon’s final selection at the draft provides the list with some added flexibility.

“Brenton Phillips - former Essendon player and coach of the S.A. under 18s - liked his hardness at the football. He described him as a ‘see ball, get ball’ type of player. He also has great endurance and at 191cm can play back and midfield,” Dodoro said.

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“Has played senior football this year for West Adelaide where he was coached by Andy Collins and he gave us a really good reference for him. He has played against men and that is an advantage – he turns 18 on his first day here at the club on Wednesday. His father Wayne Slattery played at St Kilda and also trained here at Essendon.”

Following the draft, the Essendon coaching team took the Melbourne contingent of their draft picks out to lunch at Docklands. Some pizza was allowed on the menu as part of the day’s celebrations but it might be the last these young men see of it for a while as the hard work begins for season 2009.

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I think we may have drafted a few good men this year. As things stand now I'd like to think we had enough flexibility in our list to draft Cousins i think Essendon is a strong enough club to assist him in staying clean and fulfulling his still very marketable skills.

- Helen Scully (posted 1/12/2008 1:14:01 PM)

List is now taking shape.However list is still lacking a back-up mobile ruckman(Kepler Badley would have been ideal)and a strong inside midfielder to help Watson,etc with clearance work(Tom Hislop would have been ideal).Both were given away for nothing!!

- Alan Betts (posted 1/12/2008 1:20:06 PM)

Nice to see we picked up an Essendon supporter (more heart than money can buy) Good luck to all our new recruits. And yes that includes Ben Cousins. We need him. Bring on '09. Mikey.

- Michael Parker (posted 1/12/2008 4:03:08 PM)

Congrats to all the boys! Looking forward to seeing them develop and put the pressure on out there. GO DONS 09.

- Samantha Kisielis (posted 1/12/2008 5:08:04 PM)

Looks like very good selections its all an educated guess at this stage when you look at the number of early picks that have not stepped up over the years & also the late pick that have turned into champions like our Jim & Heady both over the 60 pick,as for Ben Cousins I believe him to still be in the best 5 players & would look awesome in Rama's No. But by the time we are competitive in 2-3 yrs(hope)Ben will be nearly finished, If we got him I would support the decision, if not the player we get might just be another JAMES HIRD, what will be will be..

- Mark McLachlan (posted 1/12/2008 5:12:38 PM)

Alan, Totally agree about Kepler, Knighter took him from a ruck/defender to a ruck/forward in his last year he played about 3/4season with Bendigo and either won or close to both b&f & goal kicking, THEN delists him WHY to show everyone that he will rule the club, not sure but Freo says thanks as he gets better every game..

- Mark McLachlan (posted 1/12/2008 5:29:04 PM)

I agree with the positive comments about our list and definitely think that Cousins would provide the X factor which would see us playing finals sooner rather than later.

- Garry Munn (posted 1/12/2008 7:08:34 PM)

i still cant work out why wd didnt take ben cousins at pick 79. He is one of the hardest working players in the afl ,if would have a good 2 to 4 years in him. I hope knights takes him in the psd. Give him a chance sheddy would of

- john curliss (posted 1/12/2008 7:39:57 PM)

I'd love to see Ben Cousins in the Red and Black!

- Sam Lane (posted 1/12/2008 7:41:12 PM)

I'm down for getting Ben Cousins. The leadership and experience he would provide on the field would be off the charts! Then there's the guy's skill and ability to use the ball! Off the field, It's hard to make a mistake as big as his was twice. And with the amount of restrictions the League has on him, I think any club not even considering picking him up is out of its mind!

- Andrew Fisher (posted 1/12/2008 7:57:45 PM)

GET COUSINS !!!

- Matthew Holloway (posted 1/12/2008 8:03:08 PM)

Hislop, Cole, Zantuck, Cupido...... need I go on. Why would we want to risk Cousins. Wake up!! We have a good young list and we need them to be led in the right direction. I do wish Cousins well but the risk is too great for him to be drafted to OUR club.

- Mike Eising (posted 1/12/2008 8:17:09 PM)

Why on earth are people reminiscing about still having Kepler Bradley on the list. No comment.

- Dianne Neilson (posted 1/12/2008 8:26:20 PM)

There is one more name we can add for 2009 and beyond.........COUSINS!!!!! Here is your chance Boys! It's gonna be great for the club and the game!!!

- Joe Yammouni (posted 2/12/2008 12:33:40 AM)

Well done to the recruiting team. Wouldn't it be now worth a punt on Ben Cousins in the pre season draft. If it didn't work out at least we tried, but the upside is if it did work out we have an already made star! and he would lift our current crop of midfielders.

- Gavin Morrow (posted 2/12/2008 7:32:58 AM)

Decent players, but all other clubs adopted the"pick the best player available policy" at least with their 1st pick (if not all). wher as we went for what type of player do we most need. In doing so I think we may have missed out on 2 superstars (rich and yarran) for a solid defender. but not much can be done now but support these new players

- Ben Lee (posted 2/12/2008 9:03:56 AM)

Good future players added to an already good list. One name that hasn't really been mentioned, Atkinson, I am looking forward to him being available every week and I think he will prove to be a great addition. Not too keen on picking Cuz, I don't think he suits Essendon. A bloke called Peverill does though :)

- Kevin Jackson (posted 2/12/2008 9:06:24 AM)

WOW, look at all the talk about Cuz! I like the look of our squad and I like the youth policy, but seriously, with age comes experience and you can't expect to win finals without the right mix of the two. Since the loss of Hird, Solly, Johnno and more recently Rama, Pev, JJ etc., experience is something we appear to be lacking. I believe we can afford Cuzzie to be put on a one year contract, not only afford, but his experience is REQUIRED for our club and our young fellas to taste success and yearn for it.

- Brendan Burnie (posted 2/12/2008 9:42:29 AM)

to Mike, Hislop, Cole, Zantuck, Cupido weren't proven champions like Ben Cousins is... Enough said.

- Andrew Fisher (posted 2/12/2008 11:32:24 AM)

to everyone who wants cousins. he is unreliable, has too many issues there he has not provin to be finished with. look at the young talent comming through our ranks, they do not need idols like ben cousins, they need idols like lloyd and hird - real essendon figures that have done nothing but work for this club thier whole lives. looking up to them and learning from them will get our club back up on top of the ladder, not a previous drug addict who has no regard for policy and procedure or how he is percieved by young footballers.

- Amanda Scott (posted 2/12/2008 1:41:45 PM)

For years Sheedy was criticised for recruiting rejects from other clubs. "Play the kids" you screamed. And now you all want Cousins recruited? All other clubs rejected him in the draft - and maybe for very good reasons. Lacking experience? Lloyd 252 games, Lucas 256 games, Fletcher 294 games, McVeigh 176 games. We don't need to recruit experience, we need to DEVELOP experience by recruiting and playing the kids. The Baby Bombers managed just fine with only Tim Watson as an 'experienced' player.

- Greg Hamilton (posted 2/12/2008 2:25:48 PM)

As a boy from the West, dont even think about it.

- Neville Brooker (posted 2/12/2008 3:26:05 PM)

I'm tired of all this talk about Cousins. & i can't beleive that real Essendon supporters want him. We don't need his experience, i with you Amanda Scott well said. ENOUGH SAID

- Jeff Skinner (posted 2/12/2008 6:57:05 PM)

at the end of the day what matters most winning premierships or raising kids in the right enviroment go ask bulldog and saints fans what they think the 40 year olds have lived half their lives and never seen a flag and richmond have been rebuilding for 20 years where has it got them and all the people bagging cousins get a life you losers what makes you so perfect. He is a Superstar and unless you know him personally stop listening to all the rubbish the media writes you know they are full of it.

- Brett Martin (posted 2/12/2008 7:41:52 PM)

Agree that the list looks promising for years to come;but also agree with Alan Betts;Richmond big winners with Hislop,must have read previous comments!!!.Cousins cannot even be considered if theclub is consistant with "off feild issues",(that would be hypocrisy at a new level).

- Andrew Bryce (posted 2/12/2008 9:04:42 PM)

I really think people are living in dreamland about Cousins. The bloke hasn't played the game for over 2 years for a start. He has personal issues that far & away outbalance his footy ability. His influence on an impressionable group concerns me. Plus I think it undermines the disciplined direction in which the club is heading. We wouldn't just be taking on a problem player - what of all the hysteria surrounding the bloke?! No No No for mine...

- Dennis Green (posted 3/12/2008 8:31:59 AM)

Cousins would be a liability with Hamstring Injuries....

- Shane Barnes (posted 3/12/2008 11:15:37 AM)

Jeff I can't believe you don't want cousins really weird

- Matthew Holloway (posted 3/12/2008 9:10:42 PM)

Agree with Dianne. Kepler Bradley had his chances and we all cringed everytime he got the ball as he would usually stuff it up. Would love to have Cousins as I think he would realize it would be his last chance and wouldnt want to stuff it up. Surround him with people like Rama and Hirdy

- Andrew Leung (posted 4/12/2008 8:09:21 PM)

We have a young promising list we dont need cousins i wish him all the best in getting his life sorted out other clubs ruled him out after extensive reserch must be for a good reason/s he is not John Coleman re-encarnated or a young Plugger so why take the unwaranted risks ??????

- Simon Mayo (posted 5/12/2008 11:09:55 PM)

Couldn't agree more Greg

- Michael Affleck (posted 7/12/2008 11:44:55 AM)

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