Essendon have rounded out an attempt to be transformative with their list in one off-season and traded up to secure a dynamic power forward with Jake Stringer attributes.
In his last draft at Essendon, outgoing list manager Adrian Dodoro, who will stay on to mentor his replacement Matt Rosa, completed a final cheeky trade to slip into the top 10.
Nate Caddy has joined the Bombers after a pick swap on the first night of the draft.Credit: Justin McManus
In doing so, he ensured the Bombers snared Nate Caddy, a powerful and dynamic forward who has played some time in the midfield this year.
After nine picks had been used and with Geelong poised to make a selection at 10, Essendon feared the Cats were about to select Caddy, the nephew of former Geelong, Gold Coast and dual premiership Tiger Josh.
Essendon had pick 11 so handed over that and their pick 31 in order to switch places with Geelong and take Caddy.
“We targeted him, we wanted him, so go for it that’s what we did,” Dodoro said.
Caddy celebrates with family and friends after being picked up by the Bombers.Credit: AFL Photos
“We knew the Cats were going to think about him or Connor O’Sullivan. We knew the ball was in their court so we gave them a sweetener.
“Nate is a boy who won’t die wondering, he is a big, solid young man, he is a big boy and he wants the moment. Just talking to him, he has that enthusiasm and desire to play straight away. He is a man’s man.
“We are confident he will put his hand up at some point next year but there’s no pressure, we have a pretty good front half with [Kyle] Langford, Peter Wright, Jake Stringer, and he is for the future.
“He has a lot to learn but we think he can do that Stringer role [as a midfielder] if needed.
That Caddy is likened to Stringer might not necessarily excite all Bombers fans, for the former Bulldog has frustrated at times with his fitness and form. But in terms of style of game, Caddy has a similar power and charisma as a forward who draws the ball.
Caddy is 193 centimetres and admits he is undersized for a key forward. But he thrives on the contest.
“We were looking for another big forward, an extroverted guy up there that can attract the ball and I think we have done that tonight,” Dodoro said.
“It’s funny, he is [a bit undersized] but he is good above his head, [has a] good tank. He will add pressure to our front half and you see the way the game is played with a Charlie Curnow – not to say he is Curnow – but these mobile forwards are important to have and he complements a guy like Peter Wright, Langford. So we thought it was important once we identified what we wanted to bring into the club to just be really aggressive.”
Interestingly, the Bombers’ move for Caddy completed an off-season of deliberate steps to address needs. Essendon have now brought in five players to satisfy concerns across the list.
Ex-North Melbourne defender Ben McKay is not a panacea player but does help with support in key defence, veteran ruckman Todd Goldstein, also from North, allows them to play a two-ruck system with Sam Draper, ex-Saint Jade Gresham at his best is dynamic in front of goal and needed a change to rediscover his best, while Xavier Duursma (Port Adelaide) adds run.
And then Caddy comes in as a player who can potentially play soon but is also a long-term power forward.
On paper, the moves round out the list. No, the players traded in are not superstars, and who knows what Caddy, still just a teenager albeit with a lot of promise, could be.
But clubs get few chances to change. The trade period and the drafts are not equal opportunity benefactors.
Essendon have managed to address multiple concerns in one off-season and prosecute changes they wanted. In contrast, St Kilda were eager for significant change to their list this year, but couldn’t make as profound moves because of the hand they held.
Last year West Coast turned one early elite pick into two slightly later picks to bring in volume of elite talent rather than one special player.
This year facing the same dilemma they could not be enticed to part with pick one and relinquish first dibs on Harley Reid, the player popularly regarded as the best of the draft pool.
In contrast other clubs had thoroughly transformative drafts. Gold Coast through their academy brought in four first-round draft picks. North had five.
That can change a club.
In Gold Coast’s case they were just lucky this year that a bunch arrived all at once out of their academy – and they had priority access to them.
North got an extra compensation pick from the AFL and a pick for losing McKay as a free agent. Five players in the first round should set a club up for a generation even allowing for the fact no club gets every pick right.
North already have a bunch of elite players from recent drafts but this will be the one that most fundamentally sets them up.
Melbourne again traded into the draft and had picks at seven and 13. List manager Jason Taylor said it was serendipitous that the players they regarded as the best available talents at that pick also happened to fit needs they had on their list.
Koltyn Tholstrup is 186cm tall, a powerful forward who can run, while Caleb Windsor is an elite ball-user and very quick.
If you asked what type of players Melbourne needed right now they would be close to being it.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.