Injury ravaged Essendon plunged on key forwards and a ruckman in the mid-season rookie draft, taking the son of Dermott Breretonโs partner as well as Carltonโs VFL captain, who was once drafted to Collingwood, among their haul of tall reinforcements.
With 10 players 190cm or above on their injury list, the Bombers needed urgent back-up to get through the season, so they took 198cm tall forward Archer May with their first pick. Mayโs mother, Julie, is the long-term partner of Brereton, who through his storied career with Hawthorn was the long-term tormentor of their arch-rivals, the Bombers.
Archer May has landed at Essendon, a club his motherโs partner, Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton (inset), long tormented in the 1980s. Credit: X / Getty
The Bombers also took ready-to-play 203 cm tall ruckman Lachlan Blakiston, who has been playing for East Fremantle in the WAFL with their second pick. They took medium/tall forward Oskar Smartt from their VFL program and, with their last pick, selected Liam McMahon, who is co-captain of Carltonโs VFL team. He has kicked 24 goals for the Blues in the VFL this season.
McMahon was taken by Collingwood with pick 31 in the 2020 national draft and lasted two years on the Magpiesโ list. Given the injuries the Bombers are carrying, he could even now find himself playing against the Blues as soon as next round.
Blakiston, a mature-age recruit, is expected to fill the holes left by injuries to Sam Draper and Nick Bryan. He is almost certain to make his debut with the Bombers next month as they will need to give veteran Todd Goldstein a break. Smartt has shown the Bombers he is an accurate goalkicking forward has a good leap in his time playing VFL for the club.
Collingwood added steel to its midfield by recruiting Roan Steele, a 183cm midfielder originally from Frankston who played three years for Casey in the VFL before moving west to play with West Perth this year. He played as a forward but has shown versatility in recent seasons.
The Magpies were tracking key forwards leading into the rookie draft and moved on 19-year-old Noah Howes from South Adelaide, a 196cm target who booted three goals in his SANFL debut this season.
With the first pick of the night, West Coast took running defender Tom McCarthy, the 24-year-old Richmond VFL player who was widely regarded as the best readymade midfielder in the pool.
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