Jake Long to join Essendon in rookie draft as son of Michael earns chance with Bombers
THE famous Long name — and number — is back at Essendon with the Bombers to select Michael Long’s son Jake as a rookie on Wednesday.
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THE famous Long name — and number — is back at Essendon with the Bombers to select Michael Long’s son Jake as a rookie on Wednesday.
Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney tweeted he would don Long’s No. 13 guernsey after crossing from the Western Bulldogs.
Long Sr’s injury-riddled nephew Anthony Long was given the number but he was delisted in 2012 without playing a senior game.
Jake Long, 18, will join as a father-son rookie selection after being overlooked in the national draft, while the Bombers will re-list former Giant Kurt Aylett and plan to use their live pick on a ruckman, with 210cm Angus Milham and 206cm Sam Tagliabue chances.
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Adelaide also holds interest in Tagliabue, who is 23 but has only played footy for a handful of seasons and carries a notebook around to record information to help his development.
Bombers recruiter Adrian Dodoro said: “We’re as confident with Jake as we are with our first two picks in the national draft.”
Essendon snared tall utilities Kyle Langford (pick 17) and Jayden Laverde (20), players Dodoro rated as the 12th and eighth-best talents respectively.
Bombers coach James Hird said the only pressure to be heaped on Long, who will be picked up by Essendon using its last rookie draft selection (pick 47), to emulate his dad would come externally.
“We want Jake to enjoy his footy, enjoy his development and learn from the challenges along the way,” Hird said.
Long kicked a goal and laid five tackles in a one-off Essendon VFL appearance this year.
“He just stepped straight up to the mark,” Dodoro said.
“It was enough for us to say, ‘I think we’ve got a player here’.
“When he debuted for St Mary’s at 16 years of age in the NTFL ... he showed he had a lot of attributes like his father, his run, his speed, the agility, the game awareness.”
Long finished his schooling at Scotch College this year — where cousin Cyril Rioli graduated in 2007 — and has been developed through the James Hird academy after relocating to Melbourne five years ago.
The rangy youngster has spent the past few weeks training with the Bombers.
“I know I’ve got plenty of work to do on my development but I’m ready to put in the hard yards,” Long said.
Long Sr said it was a “proud moment for our family”.
“(Jake) always tells me he’s quicker than me but I’m not too sure about that,” he joked.
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