AFL mid-season draft: Seymour’s Sam Durham joins Essendon

An apprentice tradie from Seymour is getting off the tools as he prepares to chase his AFL dream. Here’s how he got there.

Former Murray Bushranger Sam Durham was selected by Essendon.

Sam Durham isn’t going to make the cut as an apprentice tradie in the construction industry.

But it’s not because he bombed.

Instead, the 19-year-old is about to build his dream future after being picked up by Essendon at Wednesday’s mid-season AFL draft.

The 19-year-old Seymour product’s rise to the top has been a rapid one having only made his VFL debut with Richmond earlier this season.

Predominantly used on a wing by the Tigers, Durham averaged almost 13 disposals across six games.

His most impressive performance came against Sandringham in round one when he racked up 23 disposals, in a match where Seymour teammate Dylan Cook also made his first appearance at state level.

Seymour president Gerard O’Sullivan said Durham was “a great kid who always had a passion to make it” to the top level.

“We’re extremely proud of what Sam has achieved in his career so far and we’re excited to watch his journey unfold,” he said.

“He was a standout player throughout his junior career at St Mary’s and those local clubs have been an outstanding place for our footballers and netballers to learn the skills of the game.”

Durham was the only selection the Bombers made on the night despite having two list spots available.

Essendon’s national recruiting manager Rob Forster-Knight said Durham was someone the club had been keeping an eye on since he was draft eligible back in 2019.

“We were really excited to call out Sam’s name. We’ve tracked him closely the last couple of years,” he said.

“He originally came from Murray Bushrangers and played well there, and then obviously the Covid year struck. This year we thought he really developed his game playing for Richmond in the VFL.

“He’s had really nice attributes all along, but especially this year in a wing and halfback role.

“What we really like about Sam are his skills. He’s a two-sided player, versatile and agile. He can play halfback, a lockdown role and on the wing.”

Durham is now the third Lion to be on a current AFL list joining David Mundy at Fremantle and Josh Schache at the Western Bulldogs.

“We’re really proud of how many players have gone onto play in the big leagues given the size of our community,” O’Sullivan said.