Hundreds of youngsters will nervously watch the live telecast of the drafton Channel Seven, desperately hoping they will be given the chance to maketheir mark at the elite level.
The draft has become a most important part of AFL football since itsimplementation in 1986. With the salary cap ensuring clubs are playing on alevel playing field financially, selections in the draft can make or breaka club.
So recruiting managers and their teams of spotters are under enormouspressure to get things right. Wrong selections can determine a side'sfortunes in the seasons to come. Essendon Football Club recruiting managerAdrian Dodoro knows all too well the pressure associated with the draftingprocess.
"There is no doubt the pressure is there to get things right and everyoneinvolved in the process understands that," Dodoro said.
"But while it is a high-pressure business it is also very rewarding foreveryone to see a young kid come through the ranks and really improve. Itis satisfying to get a result from all the work that is done.
"All clubs devote a lot of time and plenty of resources into recruitingnowadays. Everyone is looking for the next Wayne Carey or Matthew Lloyd sothe competition is hot."
Like all clubs, Essendon has "spotters" throughout Victoria and the rest ofAustralia - all hoping to pick up something that might give the Bombersthat edge when they sit down to make their selections.
This year's draft has changed in complexion with clubs given umlimitedaccess to 17-year-olds. This change has ensured there is plenty of depth inthis year's draft.
"This is the best bunch of young kids we have seen come through for anumber of years so sorting them out has been a major task in itself,"Dodoro said.
"Looking through the names I think the major strength of the draft is inthe number of quality tall players that are available, unfortunately manyof them will be gone by the time our first selection comes around."
Essendon will have selections 40, 46, 62 and 78 in this year's nationaldraft after being banned from the first two rounds by the AFL because ofsalary cap breaches.
"It's certainly not the ideal situation but we are hopeful that with thedepth in this year's draft we won't be too disadvantaged," Dodoro said.
Essendon has been extremely successful at the draft in recent years with anumber of the success stories presently making their mark at senior level.
"I suppose the performance of Dean Rioli after he was promoted to thesenior list last season was the success story of last year. Other playerswho have come straight from the draft and had an impact in recent timesinclude Matthew Lloyd, Scott Lucas, Mark Johnson, Dean Solomon and ChrisHeffernan."
