“He is a very exciting ruckman or key position player. He is 198cm but he has also played on the wing. It is not often you see someone of his height get as much of the football as he does,’ Dodoro said. “If he can put in a big pre-season I really believe Essendon supporters will see him play some senior football in 2004.”
“He played senior football for West Perth and I think that is always a good sign. He will take confidence from the fact he has played against mature bodies.”
Following the selection of Bradley, the Bombers turned their attention to the midfield. The next three selections all yielded midfielders. The first was Brent Stanton (selection 13).
“He is a smooth mover and very athletic – just a very classy footballer. We pencilled him in two years ago as exactly the type of midfielder we needed – he will give us a lot of run and carry. He is just 17-year-old but I think he has the football brains to play senior football even though his body is still developing,” Dodoro said.
Jay Nash was the next cab of the rank for the Bombers. The Central Districts reserves premiership played was picked up at number 28.
“Jay is around 185cm, a smart footballer and he has very good endurance. He is very much in the Justin Blumfield / Blake Caracella category. We had him pencilled in as a first round pick so to get him as a first round selection was an absolute bonus,’” Dodoro said.
Essendon rounded off the 2003 draft by picking up Ricky Dyson – a Northern Knights teammate of Brent Stanton.
“Some clubs had Ricky as high as 10 or 15 so to get him at 44 is fantastic. I see him as a Peter Riccardi-type player – he is a magnificent kick. He will start out as a back pocket / half back and eventually move into the midfield. His body will need some work but to get him where we did was the icing on the cake,’ Dodoro said.
