Despite the losses of Zach Merrett and Jordan Ridley, Essendon’s emphasis on attacking the draft is serving them well as the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period ramps up.

The Bombers have acquired multiple first and second-round picks spanning through to 2028 as a result of their work in the first few days of player movement, with reliable Geelong midfielder Jack Bowes also set to take his talents to Tullamarine.

GM of List and Recruiting Matt Rosa says the Dons will remain an active player over the next week, weighing up whether to utilise their picks at the trade table or continue to stock up their draft hand. 

Rosa also spoke to Trade Radio about the atmosphere at the NEC Hangar since the appointments of Mark McVeigh and John Longmire, as well as addressing reports of potential wantaway players at other clubs. 

Rosa on… Bowes’ inclusion, Bombers’ experience

We’re pumped to be able to bring in ‘Bowesy’. He provides real flexibility and versatility, he’s obviously reasonably experienced with over 150 games, playing in big finals at a good club, we’re stoked to bring him in.

He can play on all three lines, he’ll give us good depth through the midfield. We’ve also had Nic Martin miss last year and Brayden Fiorini who unfortunately got injured at the start of the year, they’re a couple of guys in that right age bracket who also have that flexibility to play anywhere. 

We are a young list but we’re excited about that. We feel like we’ve got a lot of emerging players in the younger age group but plenty of players in that mid-to-older bracket that have got a heap of improvement left in them. 

One of the positives out of this year was the exposure we got into our young fellas, in particular Robey, Farrow and Sharp, who got a really good look at it and exposure to the level.

We feel like we’re getting good gains into that high-end talent and we’re excited about those boys coming through together. 

We’ll continue to look at options in the mature space and roles that can come in and help us.

With the rookie spots, we’ll look closely at delisted free agents and state leagues for mature players, that’s the aim with these two extra spots and that’s great assistance given we have had Zach and ‘Rids’ leave. 

Rosa on… the Merrett trade

Again, we discussed as a team the best course of action (with trading Zach).

If there was a fair deal we’d look at it early, and I’d had really good discussions with him throughout the year – he was open to waiting it out until the end of the year and having discussions with the new coach once they came on board. He was very open-minded.

We were able to work through it in a really respectful way with Hawthorn and hopefully it’s a win-win for both clubs.

Rosa on… reports of Nick Blakey seeking a move 

We have discussed (Nick) internally. There is a really strong relationship there with ‘Spike’ and John, those discussions will continue over the next few days.

We haven’t had an indication off Nick’s management that he’s looking to leave Sydney, but certainly we’ll continue (to have discussions internally). 

We haven’t met with him but there’s no doubt he’s an exceptional player. He’s a real talent, we love the way he goes about playing the game and he’s pretty rare in terms of speed and the way he can take the game forward.

Rosa on… Essendon’s strategy 

(Strategy) is something you always weigh up, especially when A-grade talent is available. You’ve always got to assess with where we’re at, we’re attacking the draft and have been for the last three years. 

If A-grade talent becomes available, they’re the right age and they’ve still got a lot of footy left, we’ll always have those discussions.

Decisions around bringing in A-graders, it’s a collaborative approach. We have a football governance committee in place, a lot of experience on there who’ll throw around ideas and hopefully work out the best outcome.

It’s highly unlikely (we’d be open to trading pick one) at this stage. The names on the top of our whiteboard, we’re really excited about – but as always, you’re open to listen. 

No one’s come hard for it yet but we’ll listen to what other clubs have to say. We’re really confident we’re going to get a good player with that early pick. 

Being able to get a couple of our deals done early certainly helps us moving forward to hopefully capitalise on opportunities. 

Rosa on… Longmire and McVeigh 

There’s been some real positive change with Mark coming on board, obviously John in more recent times as well. 

John has (made his presence felt), he’s got some presence. We’re stoked to have him on board, I’m personally looking forward to learning from him. 

He’s got so much knowledge and plenty of wisdom, he’s a great get for the club. He’ll be a calming influence and really valuable for ‘Spike’.