Harvey gives us his thoughts on each of the new recruits and number one draft pick Kepler Bradley.
MATTHEW ALLAN
Matthew was All Australian a couple of years ago and it would be great if he could get back to that level. We need a lending hand in the ruck area after losing Alessio, Barnes and Salmon in recent years. If he can combine with David Hille and the younger guys coming through the ranks - Tristan Cartledge and Jason Laycock - if these four can nail that area for us it will go a long way to us finishing in the top four.
As far as his training has gone, Allan hasn't put a foot wrong. He had a slight hamstring before Christmas but other than that there have been no hiccups and he has really gone about his business and proved himself to the group.
JUSTIN MURPHY
For all the innuendo that people have said about Justin. I have not seen one bit of that. He has been one of the standouts of pre-season. He has not missed one session and has done every little bit of skill work, running and weights work that we have done.
You don't like to categorise players but he is a link up player but we also want him to work hard in close. I think we missed Caracella in that way. He is really smart around stoppages and once again very cunning with his marking attributes and has a good skill level and that is the sort of player we needed in the midfield.
Murphy and Allan are both on a one year contract, so they will be both on the edge and wanting to play well. I hope they really add to the group and I think they will.
MARK ALVEY
Mark has very good foot skills. He has been on a limited program because he is coming back from a knee reconstruction. It is only two years ago that he got 400 plus possessions in a season for the Bulldogs. Normally if he gets it something happens out of it. Hopefully by the end of March he is playing in games and pushing for senior selection. He is deadly by foot and hopefully we can teach him a few more tricks into his game and that will help his all round game.
KEPLER BRADLEY
Sheedy's belief is that 6ft 3 players are worth their weight in gold and there wasn't too many of those in the draft. Kepler is actually 6ft 5 and is not scared to throw his body in and can play in multiple positions. Sheedy's belief right through his coaching career is that you have an abundance of those players in your side so you can rely on them and put them in any position. Kepler has actually played on the wing on occasions. He has already put on a few kilograms and is certainly getting his body ready for AFL. I wouldn't be surprised if he popped up in a Wizard Cup game.
In his body attributes he looks a lot like Dustin but he doesn't have the same take off speed. Nothing will surprise me as Kepler's career goes on. If you want to see Kepler and the three new recruits in action this season make sure you purchase an Essendon membership. Click here for more information about how to renew or join up.
