Essendon’s draft sanctions in 2013 and 2014 have significantly impacted the make-up of the club’s current list, says David King.
The AFL banned the Bombers from the first two rounds of the 2013 draft and they also lost picks in the first two rounds of the 2014 draft for bringing the game into disrepute over the supplements saga controversy.
Essendon were however allowed to trade back into both drafts and received an end of first round selection in the 2014.
King went through the picks the Bombers lost in 2013 and 2014 and the players they could’ve potentially selected with those top selections.
The North Melbourne champion also thinks long-time Essendon list boss Adrian Dodoro is “harshly judged”.
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“I think their list is a very good list, I’ve said this for a long time,” King told SEN’s Whateley.
“I think Adrian Dodoro is harshly judged. If you go through the selections they actually made, and you can argue whether they paid overs for Dylan Shiel and Devon Smith, but every club pays overs for the players they want and they have to trade for.
“When you track back, the two years they were banned from the draft, 2013 and 2014, they’re the sorts of key senior experienced players right now that drive the ship.
“I did a bit of research yesterday (Sunday), they were banned from the first two rounds of the draft in both years, and they were given a last pick in the first-round in 2014 back as some sort of compensation.
“They lost picks 10 and 28 in 2013 – pick 11 was Dom Sheed, pick 13 was Patrick Cripps. Now they’ve been after a big-bodied midfielder for a decade. Let’s assume they may have looked at a Paddy Cripps at that pick. Pick 28 ended up being Rory Lobb. They traded (Stewart) Crameri for pick 26, and that pick became Zach Merrett.
“This is perfect world stuff, their draft haul that year could’ve been Cripps, Merrett, Lobb, Fantasia. That’s a pretty good year.
“The next year they were banned from pick 12 and 30. Pick 14 is Jake Lever, pick 13 is Lachie Weller, pick 30 was Brayden Maynard. They trade (Paddy) Ryder for effectively pick 17 which becomes (Kyle) Langford. They might’ve had Lever, Langford, Maynard.
“So those two years have really knocked this list around because you’re chasing your tail after that point. You’re having to deliver players ahead of time because your list is out of whack.
“I think the AFL are quick to dismiss clubs from drafts in terms of sanctions, but the flow-on effect is huge. I think it’s a very good list … I think these two years to Essendon are still having lingering effects.”
Essendon is on the hunt for a new senior coach after parting ways with Ben Rutten on Sunday.
Rutten’s sacking comes after the Bombers won just seven games in 2022, conceding over 140 points in Round 22 and Round 23 defeats to Port Adelaide and Richmond.