AFL: The 15 young Essendon players who will form the nucleus of the Bombers’ next flag tilt
Top pick Archie Perkins has shown his class but could a first-year tall be the surprise of 2021? Dons football boss Josh Mahoney has been impressed.
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Essendon hasn’t won a final for more than 6000 days, but the crop of young guns coming through the Bombers’ ranks are seeking to change that.
Football boss Josh Mahoney has detailed the progress of the 15 kids who the club believes will provide the nucleus of their next flag tilt.
HARRISON JONES
– First year as a key forward was wiped out because of foot issues after being taken at No. 30 in the 2019 national draft
“Harrison Jones was drafted last year but missed a full year of footy which would have been playing in a real VFL development role. We have already seen this pre-season that’s he’s really athletic and is developing really well. He has put on weight and he will give himself every chance to take the opportunities that are in front of him. I think that’s true of all our young players. There will be opportunities for young players to play this year. That if they are training well and doing the right things, the coaches will pick them and give them every chance.”
NIK COX
– 199cm No. 8 draft selection who can play both ends and has superb disposal but is lightly-built at 82kg
“We have trained him a majority of the time on the wing and also at half back. He’s one of our exciting draftees. He’s quite athletic, he has such an ability to run. He won our first time trial. When we drafted him we knew he was an elite runner, but the pleasing thing is that he took on the players in his first time trial and he was really pushing the rest of the group.
“His athleticism is a real standout, but with his skills he’s able to use both sides and he’s been able to do quite a bit of training already. Physically both him and Zach Reid are a fair way from being the key position players they will grow into, but their athletic profile will allow them to play before that.”
ARCHIE PERKINS
– X-factor forward-mid taken at pick nine in the national draft
“Archie is a bit more physically developed than some of the other draftees we took this year. He can play through the midfield or forward, but he’s training mostly as a forward and he’s already shown the class that he has got as that type of player. He has that ability to move through traffic, to take on and draw an opponent and create space quite clearly already.”
ZACH REID
– 200cm key defensive prospect from the Gippsland Power who also has great running power
“He’s a tall prospect over 200cm and he’s very athletic, he’s got great skills and he’s going to be a very exciting prospect. It is a bit of an unknown about what position he will ultimately play at AFL level. He played both ends at under 18 level, but can also play ruck. Along with Nik Cox they are such exciting players for Ben Rutten to be able to experiment with and bring through with their development.”
JYE CALDWELL
– Third-year AFL midfielder and former No. 11 selection secured from GWS along with picks 44 and 74 in exchange for Essendon’s No. 29 and a future second-rounder
“The main thing with Jye is he has been able to be consistent with his training. He has had an interrupted career so far in his first couple of years. So, he’s doing a lot of training and he adds another player to the midfield depth. What we have already seen is he is very good at the stoppages with his handball and creativity and bringing others into the game, which is why we targeted him. And he is also improving his outside running from the stoppages.
It’s what we are trying to build through the midfield – a high number of players who can go through there. We think it’s even more important with the lowering of (interchange) rotations through the year (to 75) and we think it can be a real strength for Essendon. We think we have eight or 10 who could play through the midfield or in different roles and that’s really important.”
SAM DRAPER
– Was a revelation as an aggressive ruckman in his first year of senior AFL football coming off a knee reconstruction
“I think what he showed in his first eight games of AFL football was that he was super competitive and athletic and he’s going to be a really important player for the club. The ruck division with himself and Andrew Phillips, and Nick Bryan and Peter Wright is well balanced. Tom Bellchambers is coaching them this year, so we are looking forward to seeing his development along with the other guys in the ruck. His competitiveness is a standout and although he’s only young in his AFL career he’s developing in different areas, how to push forward and take a mark and impact the scoreboard and also push back into defence. He has been able to do the majority of the pre-season and he’s well placed to play in the pre-season games.”
TOM HIRD
– Category B rookie and the son of club legend James Hird, who missed most of 2020 with a navicular injury
“He missed most of last season, but what we have already seen from him is his work ethic and his ability to learn about the game. He is continually with the coaches, continually wanting to be educated and they are good characteristics for what we are trying to build. We want players who want to get better and we want to set up an environment for improvement and he has those key attributes.”
JORDAN RIDLEY
– Won the club’s best-and-fairest last year in a breakout season as a brilliant marking defender
“Jordan had a standout year last season and the next challenge for him will be the attention of players in opposition clubs. We know he is already aware of that and he is working on different strengths to make sure he has the impact he had last year. He plays an important role in our back six and he will be well-supported by a group of players.
“We think with the way we want to play defensively, we want to put high pressure on the ball carrier so that should allow for guys to be intercept players, whether it’s Jordan or whether it’s a guy like Aaron Francis.”
PETER WRIGHT
– 24-year-old former top-10 draft pick from Gold Coast whose career had stagnated before the Bombers pounced
“I think Peter is at a stage now where said he wants to take ownership of his career.
He has done every session in pre-season, he wants to be coached hard and he is giving himself every chance to play a key role in the forward line.”
MASON REDMAN
– Has played 33 games in the past two seasons as a mid-sized defender who can intercept mark and provide valuable bounce off half back
“We have got a lot of players on our list in the age bracket of Mason who have so much improvement in them and just like we saw with Jordan Ridley, who made such big improvements in the past season, there are no limits with that group.
“Mason has done the majority of the pre-season and his run and ball use off half back is really important for us. We have seen him do it and we are looking forward to him getting back to playing high level footy with real consistency this year.”
JAYDEN LAVERDE
– Now 24 but being locked into a defensive role after six years as a small marking forward and half forward
“Jayden has an injury interrupted career so far in the AFL and it’s about settling him down in one position. It’s about him being able to join in training and settling him down in defence at the moment. It’s important to get him some consistency and trying to string some training sessions and games together so he can maximise the talent that he’s got.”
JOSH EYRE
– 198cm Next Generation Academy tall taken at pick 39 in last year’s national draft
“Josh Eyre can play at both ends, but he has played the majority of his football down back. He is very skilful on both sides and he is part of that group with Cody Brand, who are tall players, where we have to be ultra-cautious with their loads so we build them up slowly. The club made the decision in the draft period to really stockpile a number of talls for medium to long term to rejuvenate our key position stocks. We need to make sure we set them up for success, but also don’t limit them if they are creating their own opportunities.”
CODY BRAND
– The club’s No. 53 pick last year as a 195cm shutdown defender who competes strongly in the air
“He is probably more of a defender at this stage. He is very good at the fundamentals and knows how to play defence very well and he has already shown us the ability to execute the simple brilliance in the training that he has done.”
NICK BRYAN
– 202cm ruckman taken at pick 38 in the 2019 national draft from the Oakleigh Chargers and has impressed this summer to add depth to the club’s ruck stocks
“Nick is a developing ruckman and tall who is very athletic and has good follow-up when the ball hits the ground. He adds to our ruck depth along with Sam Draper, Andrew Phillips and Peter Wright.”
NED CAHILL
– The 56th pick in the 2019 national draft who is being trialled in defence after kicking 30 and 22 goals in his two top-age NAB League seasons with the Dandenong Stringrays
“We are training him in defence. He has really good agility, he is a good decision maker and we are excited to see him learning the defensive craft.”
Originally published as AFL: The 15 young Essendon players who will form the nucleus of the Bombers’ next flag tilt
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