Adam Sweid and Hussien El Achkar react to being split up in AFL draft night drama
Adam Sweid and Hussien El Achkar went into the 2025 draft with a dream of playing for the Bombers together. But when Essendon didn’t match a bid on one of the best mates, everything changed.
Best mates Adam Sweid and Hussien El Achkar had been trying to mentally prepare themselves to land at different clubs in the lead up to last week’s AFL national draft.
As much as the dream was to become Bombers together — having both been part of Essendon’s James Hird Academy — no guarantees were given ahead of an unpredictable draft.
When Sweid received a bid from Fremantle at pick 25, Essendon made the tough decision not to match it.
El Achkar — who was watching the first night of the draft at Sweid’s family home — quickly became emotional as the reality sunk in that his closest mate would be moving west.
“Honestly, I cried when it happened,” El Achkar said.
“The first couple of minutes it just hit me when I realised he’s going to go over to Perth. But I know he’s going to do well there and the purple already suits him, as much as I hate to say it.
“He’ll be all right there and I’ll be calling him nearly every day. It’s a bit sad, but it’s what we want.”
Sweid, a 176cm midfielder-forward, had spoken at length with the Dockers in the lead up to the draft, with the club expressing that it was “very interested”.
The bid was therefore not a surprise, but whether or not the Bombers would match it was unknown until the moment came last Wednesday.
“It wasn’t on my mind,” Sweid said.
“I just wanted to be on an AFL list and to hear my name get called out was unbelievable.
“I was preparing myself to land wherever.”
The first-round bid from Fremantle — coupled with Essendon’s absense of any second-round picks after a trade with Carlton to move up the board — left the Bombers unable to match the bid on Sweid without significantly impacting the club’s draft hand in 2026.
El Achkar, a 171cm small forward, went on to receive a bid of his own from Richmond at pick 53 during the second night of the draft, which Essendon was more easily able to match.
It means the pair will both live their AFL dreams — only on different sides of the country.
“We were having a laugh, saying that at least Hussey has a place to stay in Perth now if he ever wants to go on a holiday,” Sweid said.
could watch this all night ðŸ˜#AFLDraft#foreverfreopic.twitter.com/i8NFrORCBB
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) November 19, 2025
“I trained with the Bombers and they’ve looked after me. I’m grateful for the support they’ve shown over the last few years. It was a tough decision to make, but there’s no hard feelings.”
Both Sweid and El Achkar’s fathers were born in Lebanon, qualifying them for Essendon’s Next Generation Academy.
It is the same program that produced Isaac Kako (who is of Iraqi decent) and Jayden Nguyen (who has Vietnamese heritage).
That pair were both drafted by the Bombers last year as the club works to grow the game in Melbourne’s multicultural northwest corridor.
El Achkar has reunited with Kako — another good mate — at Tullamarine, after proudly wearing Kako’s old No. 2 jumper for the Calder Cannons in the Coates Talent League this year.
“We played with each other for three or four years and now hopefully we’ll play together at the Bombers,” El Achkar said of Kako.
“I’m just so excited for that.”
Sweid is looking forward to some new experiences in Perth, but is already eyeing some return trips to Melbourne to catch up with El Achkar, who he describes as “like a brother”.
“There’s a few Melbourne games for Fremantle next year … I’ve already checked the fixture,” Sweid said.
“But how can we not be happy? We’re growing up and as you mature you know that we all have different lives and we have different situations.
“Whenever there is time, we’re still going to see each other.
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Originally published as Adam Sweid and Hussien El Achkar react to being split up in AFL draft night drama
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