Essendon will once again be in a position to secure elite draft talent after a very productive Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period.
The heavy lifting from the Club’s list and recruiting team in the past week has broadened an already strong draft hand, with the Bombers now wielding picks No.17 and 25, in addition to the coveted No.1 pick for just the second time in their history.
Jack Bowes’ acquisition from Geelong and a last-minute deal for Keidean Coleman also added integral experience to the list and capped off a fruitful week for the Club.
GM of List and Recruiting Matt Rosa reiterated the Dons' long-term strategy and focus on attacking the draft heavily in the next few years.
“We’re really excited to get some great outcomes for the footy club. We came into this period to hopefully bring in one-to-two players. We've been able to do that, and then enhance our draft hand, which we feel like we've got a good result from,” Rosa said.
“We're pumped about the picks that we've got leading into the draft, and we've also been able to enhance the next couple of years as well.”
“It was a priority for us to maintain our early picks in the draft. We’re excited about the names up the top of our board, right at the pointy end. But we also think there's some real depth through the draft.”
Even with their emphasis of building through the draft considered, the Dons still found avenues to surround McVeigh’s young list with solid mature talent after the departures of Zach Merrett and Jordan Ridley.
The Ridley trade to Geelong saw Essendon bring in former top 10 pick and 150-gamer Bowes.
A key cog of the Cats’ run to a Grand Final in 2025, Bowes possesses big-game experience and will complement the Dons’ youngsters with necessary poise and leadership.
The 189cm midfielder has performed capably across all three lines for Geelong - pushing forward to good effect for 35 goals in his past 52 games - and was well on track for a career-high in disposals per game this year despite limited senior opportunity.
“Jack was another one that was really keen to join the football club. He's got real versatility in where he can play on the ground,” Rosa said.
“I think it’s really important with some of these high-end draft picks that we're bringing into the club, that they've got the right leaders and people around them, and we certainly think Jack is one of those.
“He'll bring a lot and he's really excited about the opportunity to wear the red and black.
“There was real alignment if fair deals were there (for Ridley and Merrett), then we'd ideally like to work through them early because that meant that we could get to work on additional opportunities, like we've been able to do with Jack and ‘Kiddy'.
In the final moments of deadline day, classy half back Coleman’s wish for a trade to the Dons was finally granted.
The Katherine-born Lion has endured multiple injury setbacks in his last few seasons but is already established as one of the silkiest players in the competition when he’s up and running.
In just his fourth AFL season, Coleman was vital in Brisbane’s run to the 2023 Grand Final. Named the Club’s Best Finals Player, a stunning 22-disposal first half in the big dance was good for second place in the Norm Smith Medal voting and put him on the map as a big-game performer.
Despite just 13 games this year, Brisbane’s ball movement still looked as crisp as ever with Coleman distributing - his brilliant running goal against the Saints was a highlight and he gave the Bombers a glimpse in round eight with a season-high 24 touches and 11 marks.
"Firstly, after meeting Kiddy and his his partner Rylie, they're fantastic people," Rosa said.
"He's a damaging ball user off half back. He's also shown the ability to play at half forward as well, so he's got a bit of flexibility. But we believe the fans will love the way that he uses the footy and the way that he applies pressure as well, and he's got speed.
"We're excited to get him into the footy club. It was reasonably tense (towards the deadline) but we were well prepared. We were all aligned that we really wanted to get Kiddy into the football club, and we thought we were able to work out a fair deal in the end.
"(The opportunity to represent Essendon) really excited Kiddy. We do have a proud history of Indigenous players at the footy club, and we're really keen for that to continue.
"He's certainly an exciting player, we've seen what he can do on Grand Final Day, and I think that really excited him playing in front of the big crowds - he really wants that opportunity."
With still over a month remaining until the Telstra AFL Draft, clubs have ample time to weigh up their decision-making on the night, with opportunities for pick swapping and moving up the order only available live on the draft floor.
Rosa says the Bombers will keep exploring their options on draft night, but for now the focus will quickly turn to backing in the growth of the playing list and its newest acquisitions.
“We'll still continue to do a lot of work to see if there are opportunities to maximise our draft hand this year. But we feel like even if we hold, we're in a really good spot,” Rosa said.
“We’ll continue to work really hard to get to know the players and their families, and the good thing is we've still got some time, so we'll work through our final order, and everyone will sort of get away for a little bit, do their independent rankings, and then we'll come back together and really get set leading into an exciting draft night.”
See below for the final haul from our Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period. The Telstra AFL Draft commences on Thursday, November 19.
IN:
Keidean Coleman, Jack Bowes, pick No.17, pick No.25, Geelong’s 2027 first-round pick, Hawthorn’s 2028 second-round pick
OUT:
Zach Merrett, Jordan Ridley, pick No.21, pick No.27 (acquired from Hawthorn), pick No.60, 2028 fourth-round pick
2026 DRAFT HAND:
Picks No.1, 17, 25, 80
