AFL Draft: Essendon excited by trade play, strengthening of double defense

After a hectic trade and free agency period, Essendon left the 2023 AFL Draft with high expectations and a small number of draft picks.
The Bombers acquired Nate Cady with the 10th overall pick in a trade with Geelong.
Nate Cady is a prospect known for his vertical jump ability, marking, acceleration, and overall athleticism.
Caddy is the nephew of Josh Caddy, who played in the Richmond Premiership twice and is a centre-forward for the Northern Knights.
Despite breaking his leg early on, he had a strong draft campaign representing the Knights, Parade College, Vic Metro, AFL Academy and Carlton’s VFL team.
He is a talent, scoring his 25.
19 points in his nine games in the league, including an outstanding performance of his 6.
4 points and his 25 points in the 11th round.
He was named to the Talent League’s Team of the Year.
Essendon’s selection of Caddy, particularly their move to secure him in a trade, shows they have high expectations for his contribution to the team.
His physicality and ability in the key forward position make him a valuable addition to Essendon’s line-up.

On the second night, Essendon named Ruamon Rual for the second time before being considered for a bid to the Western Bulldogs’ Next Generation Academy.
Rual, who is 182 cm tall and weighs 72 kg, is a player for GWV Rebels and South He Warrnambool and is known for his ability to break the line in defence.
He played in 14 games for GWV, averaging 17.
9 disposals in under 50 seconds, 3.
6 tackles for loss and 2.
9 rebounds per game, earning him a spot on the Talent League Team of the Year.
His versatility allows him to be effective in midfield or on the wing, and is capable in both attack and defence.
Essendon’s national recruitment manager Rob Forsternight spoke to the media after night two of the 2023 AFL Draft and expressed his keenness to further strengthen his speedy defence.
“He’s an exciting playmaker at centre-back and we’ve been keeping a close eye on him all year,” Forster-Knight said.
“He was a young guy with outstanding character who had a great year with the Rebels and then went on to play in the National Championship with Vic Country, so yeah, we were very fortunate to have him as a pick.

“He’s late to football as well, late starter, so had a soccer background originally and then he’s just grown and grown throughout the year and he’s got speed, agility and takes the game on which we like and also competes strongly as well.”

The Bombers also traded up to select Victorian defender Archie Roberts, indicating their high regard for his abilities and potential. Forster-Knight highlighted Roberts’ unexpected availability at pick No.54 as a fortunate opportunity for the club, praising his versatility and potential for growth.

Forster-Knight was asked if he expected Roberts to be available that late in the draft.

”Probably not, to be honest,” he said.

“He’s an all-Australian calibre player, so he had a great year obviously this year for Sandringham Dragons and played in the premiership and also had a great year at Hailebury as well.

“Two good football programs and again probably weren’t expecting him to be there at 54, but we are very happy to select him.

“He’s a left-footer, footy IQ is pretty high as well, so he can play half back wing.

“Pretty versatile sort of player as well, so, yeah, I think he’d come in and hopefully push for a selection in the coming years.”

Fortser-Knight was asked if half-back playmakers were something that they were targeting in the draft.

“Yeah, definitely looking at totality of the trading and free agency period as well,” said the recruitment manager.

“Got a mix of players in, it’s probably an area we wanted to address the half-back line and get boxed to that up with a couple of players and they’re both players that can come in and build around the players that we’ve already got in our team.”

The Bombers added to their National Draft crop with the selection of Sandringham ruckman Vigo Visentini at Wednesday’s Rookie Draft.