2008 AFL Draft Review – Essendon Bombers

Essendon went into the 2008 National Draft with their eyes on young Northern Knights key position player Michael Hurley. After the retirement of Mal Michael and impending retirement of Dustin Fletcher it was expected that the Bombers would pick Hurley up with their first pick at 5. However with star midfielder Daniel Rich still on the board there was an outside chance they may go for him. The Bombers also had picks 23, 55, 67 and 79. They didn’t use pick 79 as they wanted a pick in the Pre-Season Draft in December.

Pick No. 5 – Michael Hurley

In the end it was a no brainer pick for the Bombers with a clear void in key defenders in the coming years. I’m sure Essendon will try and get as much senior footy as possible into Hurley throughout the 2009 season using the retiring Dustin Fletcher in a mentoring role. Hurley has a very mature head on his shoulders and looks to be a 200 game player in the making for Essendon. He has shown the ability to play up forward in the Under 18 competition so he does have the versatility that is vital in the modern game.

Pick No. 23 – David Zaharakis

 

 
Zaharakis is a quick midfielder from the Northern Knights who earned All-Australian selection after a strong Under 18 Championships. He has a long penetrating right foot kick on him and has great leadership qualities which saw him captain the Vic Metro under 18 team. An area of Zaharakis game that needs work is his skills on the left side of his body. He is currently very one sided which can get him into trouble when he is under pressure.

Pick No. 55 – Michael Still

Michael Still is a key forward also from the Northern Knights who is a very strong contested mark. Still is a bottom age draft pick and has plenty of scope for improvement in him. He finished second in the goal kicking in Under 18 TAC Cup competition. His kicking for goal can be a bit wayward at times so this is an area of his game that he will need to work hard on. Expect to see plenty of Still in the VFL next year as the Bombers look to develop him into a future key forward.

Pick No. 67 – Tyson Slattery

Tyson Slattery is a hard running defender from South Australia who can run and carry the ball and break the lines. Slattery is very good in a contested situation and has been successful at shutting down his opponent on a number of occasions. He is also very hard at the ball and will never shirk the task at hand. Expect to see Slattery given a job down back initially before being moved into the midfield to play a run with role.

Essendon’s Recruiting Manager Adrian Dodoro had the following to say after the Draft:

We predicted it pretty tightly actually, it was amazing that the numbers fell the way we thought they would a lot closer than they did in previous years. Along the way we just picked the best player available. We’re really happy with the balance of positions, not forgetting that we picked up Brent Prismall during trade week.

The Bombers will be happy with the draft as they have filled an area that was of high importance with Hurley. They have also added to their young midfield stocks with Zaharakis. The Bombers were also able to get Brent Prismall with pick 39 in trade week. Still will give them an exciting key forward prospect and Slattery will give them some hardness and run off half back.

The Bombers can add this group of picks to the past two or three years draftees and they have a nice group of youngsters which should see them begin climbing the ladder and back towards the Finals.

How do you think Essendon fared at the draft? Do you think Hurley was the right pick for them at 5? Leave us with your thoughts.