Marcus Adams was on Essendon, Fremantle recruiters’ radar

ESSENDON tried to recruit mature-age revelation Marcus Adams 12 months ago but was knocked back by the AFL. LATEST TRADE WHISPERS IN NEW PODCAST

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 27: Marcus Adams of the Bulldogs high fives fans after winning the round one AFL match between the Western Bulldogs and the Fremantle Dockers at Etihad Stadium on March 27, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

WESTERN Bulldogs revelation Marcus Adams could have wound up at Essendon if the Bombers’ attempt to recruit him last year was successful.

But the AFL’s rigid rules regarding top-up players last preseason prevented the Bombers from signing him in February last year.

Adams, 22, has enjoyed a remarkable start to his AFL career at the kennel, helping restrict Fremantle and St Kilda to only five goals each in the Dogs’ first two games.

He has been so impressive, Dogs’ coach Luke Beveridge questioned last weekend whether there had been another rookie key defender start his career as well as Adams had.

Adams has won an incredible 19 intercept possessions in the first two rounds, equalling the record for a key defender in his first two AFL games, set by Gold Coast’s Jeremy Taylor in 2011.

But SuperFooty’s new trade talk podcast The Big Deal has revealed Essendon tried to snap up Adams as the start of last season as part of their 2015 NAB Challenge top-up players.

The Bombers listed a bunch of former AFL players such as Mitch Brown, James Magner, Clint Jones and Jared Petrenko, but also asked the AFL for special permission to recruit Adams, who was playing WAFL at the time.

The 196cm powerhouse defender has been nicknamed The Specimen, due to his hulking frame and strength in the marking contest.

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At the time, the Bombers were seeking replacements for the players who had been served infraction notices as part of the supplement scandal.

But the AFL ruled the Bombers could only sign players who had previously been on an AFL list. Adams had not been drafted previously, meaning he was out of the club’s reach.

The Bombers asked for special permission to sign the ready-made stopper regardless, but were knocked back.

Adams continued to flourish in the WAFL last season and Fremantle and Essendon’s list chief Adrian Dodoro and his talent scouts remained keen on the strong-bodied defender.

The Dockers also wanted Adams as a replacement for retired great Luke McPharlin.

But the Western Bulldogs’ eagle-eyed recruiting team, led by list chief Jason McCartney and Simon Dalrymple, had also been keeping a close eye on him.

Marcus Adams marks over the top of the pack.

When the Michael Talia fiasco blew up, the Dogs had a need for another mature-age key defender, and Luke Beveridge’s men jumped at Adams with pick 35 in last year’s national draft.

Forced to look elsewhere, Essendon picked up Brown to fill its key defender void with pick No. 54.

Beveridge lauded Adams’ immediate impact after the win over the Saints on Saturday night.

“He has been enormous. I’m not sure over history not too many key defenders played two games like that upfront,” Beveridge said.

“They don’t often kick goals key defenders but the amount of saves that the aerials and the ground ball wins (from him) has just been outstanding.

“He has worked extremely hard with his teammates and (defensive coach) Rohan Smith and everyone on what is expected down there we did ask him to change.

“He wasn’t this kind of defender when he came to the club. His first two performances have been nothing short of magnificent so he has set a pretty high benchmark.”

The Bulldogs have been lauded for their recruiting in recent years. They have only seven currently-listed players taken in the top-20 of the national drafts, ranked third-last.

In comparison, Richmond has 18 top-20 draft picks. The Tigers are ranked second, behind Greater Western Sydney, with 23.