The Essendon hierarchy has been pleasantly surprised by the quality of players it was able to secure at yesterday's AFL National Draft.
The recruiting staff were ecstatic that Xavier captain James Davies was still available when the club's first round selection came around.
Attached is a brief summary of each selection made by Essendon at yesterday's draft.Number 17: James Davies (Xavier College/ 189cm, 80kg, 18yo)James is a medium sized defender / midfielder who was football captain at Xavier College. His school commitments kept him out of the TAC Cup but he has shown great potential.Number 27: Ted Richards (Sandringham Dragons / 190cm, 86kg, 17yo)A key forward who juggled VCE, APS and TAC Cup commitments during the year. A mature player with a good football brain. Ted also has excellent spped and endurance and will probably be groomed as a key forward.Number 32: Sam Hunt (Geelong Falcons / 192cm, 84kg, 17yo)Tall defender who plays his best football when given a task. Sam improved dramatically during the course of the season to put his name up in draft discussions. He is capable of playing on ruckman and alternating midfielders.Number 47: Jordon Bannister (Calder Cannons / 186.5cm, 73kg, 17yo)Lively forward who is an excellent overhad mark. Could play key position at either end of the ground.Number 63: Marc Bullen (Eastern Rangers / 182cm, 82kg, 18yo)A well-balanced and skilfull midfielder or defender. Excellent skills and very hard at the contest.Michael Davis (Sandringham Dragons / 179cm, 74kg, 18yo)A hard-running and prolific ball-winning ruck rover who uses the ball well with both hand and foot. He represented Australia in Ireland in 1999. Michael had an excellent season with Sandringham finishing equal third in the best and fairest and making the TAC team of the year. He moved to Victoria to play in the TAC Cup after playing with Morningside in Qld. He represented Queensland in the AFL Under 18 Championships and was an All Australian.
