ESSENDON will land Joe Daniher as a father-son selection in the 2012 NAB AFL Draft with the highly-rated youngster deciding to pursue a career with the club.

Daniher was also eligible to join the Sydney Swans, with whom his father Anthony played 115 games before joining Essendon for a further 118.

As part of Greater Western Sydney's concessions, he could have even nominated to be one of four 17-year-old players selected by the new franchise outside of next year's draft, with the knowledge he would then be on-traded to another club.

A ruck prospect who can also play forward, Daniher was Vic Metro's captain in this year's NAB AFL Under-16 Championships. He is aligned to Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup competition.

General manager of football operations Paul Hamilton said Daniher's commitment to Essendon showed a lot of faith in the club, its coaches and development programs.

"We believe Joe is a very talented and mature young man and we're excited about his future and working closely with him to help his development over the next few years," he told essendonfc.com.au.

Manager of player personnel Adrian Dodoro was just as thrilled to sign Daniher, given his ability and potential.

"He is a prodigious talent and this is a major coup for Essendon given that if there was a national draft for 16-year-olds, he would be number one or two at the moment," he said.

Daniher will continue his family's strong links with Essendon. Brother Darcy has spent the last three years at Windy Hill, while uncles Terry (294 games), Neale (82) and Chris (124), together with Anthony, enjoyed careers of varying success between the late '70s and mid '90s.