Essendon AGM: List manager Adrian Dodoro says Tex Wanganeen’s move to Melbourne may give Bombers the edge
Tex Wanganeen is a part of both Essendon and Port Adelaide academies. But even though he supports the Power, the Bombers believe they may now have the edge.
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Adrian Dodoro says Tex Wanganeen going to school in Melbourne may give Essendon the advantage in the race for the son of Bombers and Port Adelaide legend Gavin.
Tex moved to Melbourne from Adelaide in February after receiving an Indigenous scholarship at Xavier College.
He was part of the Bombers’ 2020 father-son academy induction that month, having been in the Power’s equivalent academy since 2018.
Gavin played 173 games with the Power and 127 at the Bombers, meaning both clubs have priority access to Tex as a father-son selection next year.
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He was going to line up for both Xavier and NAB League team Oakleigh Chargers in 2020 before they were abandoned because of the COVID-19 situation in Melbourne.
In a fan question and answer session at the Bombers Annual General Meeting Essendon list manager Dodoro said Tex going to school in Melbourne may give his club the edge.
“We’ve got a few boys (father-son prospects) coming through in the next couple of years,” he said.
“Tex Wanganeen relocated to Melbourne to go to Xavier College so he will be under the JHA (James Hird Academy).
“He is in Melbourne so that’s a start.”
A small-forward, Tex can kick just as well on his left foot as he can on his right foot after being taught by Gavin when he was young.
The Brownlow Medal winner and Port Adelaide’s inaugural AFL captain, said in August Tex’s move to Melbourne was nothing to do with footy.
“If he was here (in SA) he’d be doing the Port academy stuff, which he loved and he enjoyed the Sturt program,” Gavin said.
“I always try to encourage Tex to concentrate on his education because that’s long-term, whereas football is short-term.
“There’s no pressure on him whatsoever and it doesn’t bother me if he chooses to do something else.”
Tex does barrack for Port, but has said he has a soft spot for the Bombers.
“After the (2004) premiership, he was there (on the MCG), so he obviously loves Port,” Gavin said.
“It’s probably fair to say he likes both teams but he’s more heavily sided with Port – I played 10 years with the Power and a smaller amount of time at Essendon – but that’s entirely up to him.”
Port Adelaide also has access to Jase Burgoyne, son of club great Peter, as a father-son prospect in 2021.
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Bombers’ firm stance on Merrett, final call on drugs saga
Essendon list manager Adrian Dordoro says the Bombers are “doing everything possible” to get gun midfielder Zach Merrett to commit his future to the club with contract discussions opening with their star amid interest from Melbourne rivals.
Out of contract at the end of 2021, Merrett will be one of the most sought-after players in the game after next season after eight years at the Bombers.
Carlton and Collingwood are monitoring the situation of the prolific ball-winning midfielder, amid a sense he could be a gettable free agent next year.
But Dodoro said the Bombers would not let their midfield gun leave without a fight, telling a virtual Essendon Annual General Meeting he was hopeful there could be “some good news” on the fight to retain Merrett.
“I can assure every Essendon fan that we are doing everything possible to make sure we are getting his signature as soon as possible,” he said.
“We are working with him and his management at the present time and discussions have opened up.
“Hopefully in the new year we can get some good news on that front.
“There’s no way we want to lose Zach Merrett.”
The Bombers were understood to be set to offer Merrett a five-year deal on significant money during the trade period to try and keep him at the club.
The 25-year-old was dumped from Essendon’s leadership group at the start of the 2020 season, despite his stellar form on the field for the Bombers.
In the AGM Ben Rutten, who will have his first year as the Bombers senior coach in 2021 after taking the reigns from John Worsfold, hinted Merrett could return to a prominent leadership role at Essendon.
Rutten said he expected Dyson Heppell to be captain again, but said the Bombers skipper was just focusing on getting back onto the field after just three games in 2020.
“Dys has not been able to play the footy that he would like to over the past couple of years because of injuries,” he said.
“I can’t see any reason why Dys would not be our captain next year … but I know his drive, he just wants to be out there.
“I think with the depth of our leadership, we’ve seen some great growth from guys like (Andrew) McGrath, (Jordan) Ridley, (Darcy) Parish, (Kyle) Langford as well as significant growth in Zach Merrett who we kind of take for granted his type of leadership.”
Rutten also said the Bombers needed to improve their forward cohesion and connection after a poor second half of the 2020 season.
“It is something we didn’t do well with,” he said.
“I think we played 24 players in our forward line which isn’t a great recipe for a cohesive functioning forward line.”
Dons have moved on from drugs saga
New Essendon president Paul Brasher says the club won’t try and clear the names of players and staff who were caught up in the supplement saga, saying it would be “a distraction from our work on the field”.
Brasher has succeeded Lindsay Tanner as the Bombers president and in response to a question from a fan at Essendon’s virtual Annual General Meeting this week he said trying to change the outcome of the ASADA (now Sport Integrity Australia) investigation would not be in the club’s best interests.
“Members have heard me say before that our absolute focus is on winning games of football and putting this club in the best position to have on field success and not to have anything get in the way of that,” he said.
“We believe to revisit the ASADA decision to get involved in that again would be a distraction, it would be a distraction from our work on field and it’s something that we don’t intend to do.”
After it went all the way to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, 34 Essendon players were ultimately suspended for two years after it was ruled they used Thymosin beta-4.
The club was fined $2 million and booted out of the 2013 finals series while James Hird and Danny Corcoran were suspended for two months.
Former Bombers captain Brendon Goddard last month said the supplement saga “destroyed” and “scarred for life” a number of Essendon players.
Brasher said the club needed to look forward, not backwards.
“I know there are people who won’t be happy about that and all I can say is I speak to a lot of members and many of the players both present and the past and the overwhelmingly majority agree that we won’t be going back into the past we will be going into the future,” he said.
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Originally published as Essendon AGM: List manager Adrian Dodoro says Tex Wanganeen’s move to Melbourne may give Bombers the edge
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