The Draft

The journey begins now.

Essendon walked away from the 2025 AFL Draft with a haul they’ll be expecting to shape the next era.

With three first-round selections on night one and a fourth and fifth added on night two, these are the Bombers’ first steps into a more defined list build, one built around versatility, craft, and players who can adapt to the demands of the modern game.

This review takes a closer look at those selections: the strengths each recruit brings and how those traits translate at AFL level, the areas that will need attention as their development continues, and most importantly, how this draft class influences Essendon’s direction heading into 2026 and beyond.

Pick 9.

Sullivan Robey.

“To think that I’ve come this far since the start of the year is pretty awesome…

There’s a lot to be proud of over the past 12 months.”

Quote taken from Fox Footy October 21st

A genuine reflection of his rapid rise, the biggest bolter in this year’s draft arrives at Essendon as their top selection.

After a slow start to his 18th year, not making his first appearance until Round 12 in Victoria’s premier under-18 competition, Robey ended the season playing nine of the last 11 games of Eastern Ranges’ premiership run, averaging 19.6 disposals (publicly available data from the Coates Talent League is limited). He then lifted that output to 26.2 disposals from Wildcard Round through to the Grand Final, where he finished with four goals. Over the season he played a mixture of starting midfielder and forward, but it was his role and impact in the Grand Final that I believe best suits him at this stage — and one that absolutely needs filling at Essendon.

A piece of the puzzle.

“I’m that high half-forward who links with the mids and the deep forwards, but can also impact the scoreboard and can kick straight, which is really important. I also have the versatility to go through the midfield and be clean at ground level”

Quote taken from Fox Footy October 21st

This role has been my most wanted in the last two seasons, as it has become increasingly clear how important it is in the modern game.

It involves starting in the forward zone of the 6-6-6 setup at centre bounces, then working further up the ground to become part of the midfield mix — aiding in ball-winning when needed, helping transition the ball forward, and contributing defensively at stoppages and with the opposition’s ball movement. All of this asks questions in the opposing coaches’ box: do they send up his half-back matchup to even up the numbers, or hold back a defender to cover behind the ball? If so, the opposite half-forward is usually required to get up the ground to help, creating further structural challenges.

This role demands a consistent, balanced approach at the source: knowing when to impact in the immediate contest, where to position in the outer layer to be ready to receive from teammates, and how to prevent the opposition from moving the ball cleanly from inside to out when exiting.

In attack, it’s about being in the right spot to not just be a viable option, but a dangerous one. Too far away and the ball bypasses you; too close and the ball isn’t free of congestion, allowing the opposition around the perimeter to close in to create turnovers.

Defensively, it’s about not being drawn into the contest where teammates already have numbers, while remaining aware of where your direct matchup may be heading to receive on the way out.

It effectively asks for midfield skills, requiring a 360° game in the middle of the ground, as well as the potential to cause damage on the scoreboard. With the game in chaos between the arcs, the ability of this type of player to lose their matchup in the mess, find space, and punish was the real value of Dustin Martin in his Brownlow and Norm Smith medal years, and, more recently, Zac Bailey in Brisbane’s premiership runs.

It’s not a role a player can step into and immediately impact though.

Over the last two seasons, Essendon have asked several players to take it on — for some, like Ben Hobbs, they weren’t suited to the role, and for others, such as Dylan Shiel and Jye Menzie, they couldn’t consistently take their opportunities and hurt the opposition

A lot of the difficulty in Essendon being successful with this approach has also come down to game style.

The slow, kick mark dominant method that has been the default in recent years makes it much harder for a player to lose their matchup and find space. As I’ll discuss later, the shift in methodology during the first 10 games of this season will help, with another potential change likely to make an even more significant difference.

Expectations.

All new recruits face a steep learning curve in their first preseason and full AFL season. Before looking at areas for development, it’s worth detailing Robey’s key strengths.

His biggest asset over time will be his appetite for the contest. Even at this early stage of his development, he attacks each contest at full speed and in a straight line, and if he takes possession, he carries the ball forward with momentum. Players like this draw the opposition to them, freeing up teammates around them to create space and run.

Rarely should you see him on his heels, as he’s always on the move, especially at stoppages. If he can continue to have a clean and clear run at the drop of the ball, expect him to “one grab” and immediately take it forward.

His final game of the season, the under-18s Grand Final, is a perfect example of his ability to inflict maximum damage: four goals from nine kicks, showing his capabilities with ball in hand, in space, and front-facing to goal.

Over time, he may progress to become a more regular onball contributor, but there are challenges he will need to address.

Not many players enter the AFL with the tank required for sustained midfield minutes, and improving his endurance will help him consistently get to more contests rather than relying on them to come to him.

The midfield and forward half aren’t just about what you do with the ball, but also without it. If Essendon’s hierarchy can teach these new boys tackling techniques early, it will better help them stand up — both in the tackle and in the big league.

Pick 10.

Jacob Farrow.

While I rated Jacob Farrow very highly, as you can see, I wouldn’t have had him inside the top 10 at that time. But the longer the research went on, the more his strengths stood out, and clearly not just to me, but to clubs across the league as draft night drew closer.

As a junior, Farrow started most of his games in the front half, and that grounding helped shape the midfielder he became by the end of his last underage year. Even though he began that season as a defender, his ability to read the play, win contests behind the ball and then use it well made it an easy call for his coaches to shift him into the middle as the year went on.

Here, there, everywhere.

Dual-position — or better yet, multi-position — players are enormous assets in the modern game, and Essendon has one here with the athleticism and size to create opportunities wherever he’s deployed.

There are several defender types needed for a balanced and successful backline, but right now recruiters and list managers tend to hone in on two main ones.

One is the run-and-carry threat, who rebounds and takes the game on with almost reckless ambition. The other is the composed distributor, fed the ball because of what they see unfolding and how reliably they set up the next phase. Farrow fits firmly in the latter category.

His selection says plenty about how Essendon plans to attack — something I’ll expand on later in this piece. He brings a blend of ball-winning ability and high-quality execution, something the Bombers will always find value in.

He’ll be relied upon to use his vision to identify the best point of attack, and the poise to avoid being rushed while doing so. From there, it comes down to consistently making the right decision, and finally, executing well enough to make everything that happened before count.

For a while, I’ve wanted to see what Mason Redman could offer further up the field, using his instinct to go forward, gain quick territory, and his penetrating kick to find targets. Farrow may eventually fill that need.

His preference to go long means Essendon can

maintain a more permanent structure ahead of the ball, with tall forwards benefiting from a more direct approach rather than a string of short possessions that allows the opposition to roll back support.

I’ll admit I’m not convinced he becomes a week-to-week starting midfielder, but as a second or third tier option I can absolutely see the upside, with his build the biggest part of that appeal.

That next midfield rotation can be a nightmare for opponents to match up on, because that type of size and power is usually reserved for the starting group. And with finals football built around repeat contests, that profile continues to challenge opposition setups.

His prototype isn’t difficult to spot, with Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson and fellow left-footer Hayden Young two clear examples of how hard that mould is to stop when it gets going.

Left, right, right left.

It won’t take long for opposition scouts and analysts to search for a weak point, and one thing Jacob will need to work on is his opposite side — his right. At the moment he’s very left-dominant, often working back onto it to distribute or carry. Adding some balance will make default positioning far more difficult for his direct opponent.

Pick 13.

Dyson Sharp.

Here is the player I believe will have the biggest impact at Essendon, not just immediately, but long term, and not just on field, but off it as well.

Sharp arrives with undeniably impressive credentials, beginning with his two years of under-16 All Australian honours. He followed that by representing his state as a bottom-ager in the under-18s before being named South Australia’s Captain the next year. From there he led his side undefeated through the championships and, on the back of four outstanding performances, was rightly awarded the Larke Medal as the best player, along with the honour of being named Captain of the All Australian team.

In those four games against the best of his age group, he averaged 28 possessions, with over 40% won contested, along with five tackles, six clearances and 6.5 inside 50s. Translate those numbers to the next level and he fills a need Essendon has been trying to address for years.

Head in the trough.

From 2023 to Round 11, 2025, Essendon ranked 15th in hardball differential (winning a contested possession of a disputed ball at ground level under direct physical pressure). Of the teams that played finals in this period, only Collingwood ranked lower, and all of the top 11 teams in this metric featured in at least one finals series.

Across this time, Essendon has lacked a reliable matchup for players like Matt Rowell, Patrick Cripps, Tom Green and Josh Dunkley — not just to compete, but to win their share and turn first possession into territory.

Without that piece, the Bombers have been reactive at the coalface, relying on “stripping” the opposition of their first possession rather than being proactive and winning it first.

(For a more detailed breakdown, I cover this in my Essendon 2025 season review here: https://thebombersblog.wixsite.com/thebombersblog/post/part-three ).

Field position is key come September, as it creates more reliable scoring opportunities and strengthens your defensive setup.

This home-and-away season, almost 30% of teams’ scores were sourced from clearance, but in finals that number jumped to just under 47% — and across the two semi finals, two preliminary finals and the Grand Final, more than 60% of all scores began this way.

During the regular season you can punish weaker teams for their turnovers and score from the back half; but in finals, when the best defensive systems face off, that initial territory gain from clearance puts you on the front foot, both in defending end-to-end transition and in generating front-half turnover scores.

With their third pick, Essendon selected the number one ranked player available at clearance and winning hardball.

These players draw heat, often needing two or three opponents to bring them down or at least nullify them, as they win the dirty ball in congestion and take it from inside to out, feeding teammates who have been freed up because of them.

But it’s not just what he can provide at stoppage — once the game is in motion post-clearance, he also adds support with his ability to win contests reliably and bring teammates into the game because of it.

This won’t be a role a first-year player settles into immediately, as the mature bodies built for these battles take time to match physically. Expectations should be tempered, with Sharp likely to start more forward of centre, where his strengths also translate, particularly his strong aerial presence.

While Dyson’s on-field impact will be straightforward to measure, he brings something else that has been clearly missing at Essendon.

Stand up and listen.

“Love to connect with heaps of people, I’ve been noted as quite a good leader which I think is a really good quality as a footballer.

I love to take lead and get around as many people as I can and play some pretty consistent football.

Try to get as many wins on the board and have fun doing it.

There’s not really much else to it; I just enjoy playing footy with my mates and getting wins on the board.”

Quote from SEN SA October 28th.

“Naturally, I think, my leadership skills have been really good; for me, starting off early and trying to settle in.

“But once I settle in and get more comfortable, definitely I will try and put my foot in the door with the leadership stuff.

“It’s just something I really like to indulge in and involve myself in. Luckily for me it comes naturally.

“Even if it takes me a while to get in, it won’t stop me from being a natural leader around the group anyway even though I am one of the younger guys.”

Quote taken from Herald Sun November 25th

“Do not follow where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path & leave a trail.”

-Ralph Waldo Emmerson

There are plenty of reasons why players are handed the captaincy at a young age, some command it through their actions and consistency in big moments, others through their voice, standards, and willingness to ask more of teammates. Whatever the mix was for Sharp at junior level, he arrives at Essendon with genuine leadership experience at a time when the list is searching for emerging voices rather than defaulting to the familiar.

It’s an immeasurable quality, but one that can shape a club’s direction for years. With Essendon undergoing significant change across the last three seasons, having new players eager to embrace responsibility rather than inherit it is an undeniable positive.

Uncontested possibilities.

On the field, there’s never been any doubt about Sharp’s ability to win “dirty ball”, but he will face early questions around his impact on “easy ball”.

That means getting to areas where he can influence once the game is in motion, spreading from the source, beating his direct opponent to the outside, and presenting as a viable option further in the chain.

It’s this layer of improvement that helps hard-nosed contested players elevate their game to another level.

Pick 36.

Max Kondogiannis

With Essendon’s fourth pick on night two, fans initially scrambled to learn more about what looked like the surprise of the draft. But once you look at his attributes, it becomes clear there’s really nothing surprising about the selection.

The intercepting defender was assigned Captain of his school, Carey Grammar, and backed up his 2024 season as a bottom-ager for Oakleigh in the Coates League by stepping up again this year and earning selection for Vic Metro, playing all four games in this year’s Championships.

Kondogiannis was invited to the draft combine in order to show his athleticism, agility and fitness in front of all 18 list managers, running his 2km time trial in 6:26, a measure that stacks up well against Essendon benchmarks such as Mason Redman’s 6:20 earlier this week at training, and Angus Clarke’s 5:55 in his second pre-season for the club.

Get the skates on.

Running power is always a welcome feature for any player, and looking at the Bombers’ selections over the last few drafts, it’s clearly something the club values in the lineup.

Combined with his ability to attack from the back half, defend a variety of opposition types — from medium to tall forwards strong in the air, to groundball winners close to goal — Max brings a string to his bow that gives Essendon flexibility for the future.

Fans have long bemoaned the lack of basic kicking skills to attack the opposition, with defenders either missing presentable targets or opting for the safer, easier option. Drafting a player known for his kicking, at a time when the game increasingly demands the ability to pierce through a defensive press and create scores from deeper in defence, Kondogiannis may bring a better balance to the starting back six.

Time is on your side.

Of all five selections, I see Max as the project player of the lot.

Undersized at present to match up against mature bodies, I expect him to focus on building his physique and refining his craft in the lower tier to gain experience against some big opponents.

Looked to as a distributor down back because of his execution, once he adds consistent and reliable decision-making to his game, he could even challenge some of his teammates’ automatic selection on a Thursday.

Pick 53.

Hussein El Achkar

Of the two Next Generation Academy players aligned with Essendon in this year’s draft, the Bombers used their final pick to select the goal sneak small forward, a future prospect expected to hopefully line up alongside last year’s NGA selection, Isaac Kako, for many years to come.

Throughout his under-18 year, El Achkar proved himself one of the premier dynamic forwards at ground level inside 50, kicking 35 goals across all competitions, including six against Sandringham, and averaging 1.5 goals per game for Vic Metro, with three coming against the Allies.

He got his first taste of the next tier when selected to play for Essendon’s VFL team in Round 10 against Brisbane, showcasing his impact by kicking three goals from only four disposals on a wet Friday afternoon.

Dancing feet.

There was great anticipation heading into 2025 about what Kako could bring in the forward half, and while he showed enormous potential throughout a tough season, for him to thrive fully, he needs more support around him.

The small forward role now requires two, maybe even three, to work as a team within a team — pressuring, tackling, generating turnovers, and allowing teammates to capitalise by putting the score on the board. One alone is no longer enough.

Finishing your work even when opportunities are limited is what separates the best from the rest.

In recent years, players tasked with this responsibility have often been unreliable in rewarding what their teammates have generated further afield.

It’s what the VFL is for.

Not many step straight into the Round 1 lineup like Kako did this year, so expectations are that “Huss” will spend 2026 developing many parts of his craft, with one of the most important being defensive accountability.

Essendon has conceded too many points over the last three years from end-to-end transitions, often due to a lack of accountability in quickly locating an opponent.

The best teams don’t let defensive-50 to forward-50 chains go unbroken.

It starts in the tight spaces of the front third, with small to medium forwards constantly on the move and proactive in applying defensive pressure to limit how easily and cleanly the ball exits their area, because once it reaches the wider expanses of the ground, containing it becomes much more difficult.

Over time, Brad Scott has asked different players to fill this requirement; some choices were hard to understand as it wasn’t a natural strength, while others proved unreliable. Here, El Achkar gets his chance to put his hand up.

Football has changed a lot in recent years, and the expectations of small forwards are no exception. What I outlined earlier about the role I hope Robey can provide is very similar to what the “smalls” are now asked to do.

Hussein will have to impact further up the ground, as the stay-at-home forward is a thing of the past.

He’ll need to work in traffic, find the ball as an extra, and make decisions under pressure without panicking despite so many options around him. It’s much easier when the ball comes directly to you than when you have to find it yourself with 360° of play unfolding around you.

Essendon 2026 and beyond.

The first thing that stood out from Essendon’s night one selections was how deliberate the strategy appeared: players who not only handle contested football, but thrive on it. That, to me, signals a clear direction for where the club intends to take its game over the next few years.

If you’ve read any of my previews or reviews since launching this site, you’ll know my thoughts on Essendon’s default game plan in 2023 and 2024.

I repeatedly bemoaned the uncontested style — both with and without the footy — and have long wanted a shift toward more contests, which is finals football, with the added benefit of creating more chaos over control.

Playing this way through the home and away season, in my opinion, would better reveal the strengths of each player, and importantly, whether they were capable of stepping up come September.

2024 brought a slight shift from the previous year, and this season, at least in the first half before injuries took hold, edged closer to the style I’ve long advocated. In doing so, it revealed who on the list wasn’t yet able to consistently stand up to the more contested, physically demanding game — and who simply couldn’t.

With five new players arriving, three with the potential to develop into big-bodied midfielders, one expected to stand up and defend as he grows, and another with the solid, nuggety build reminiscent of players from a past era, I’d anticipate a further shift that forces opponents to compete harder at the contest, both at the source as well as ahead and behind it.

I got a small taste of what the changes may look like with ball in hand at my first two preseason training sessions last Friday and Monday, but it’s still early to be certain until I see more full-ground match simulations in the coming weeks.

Early signs point to a more direct style, moving the ball quicker, going long by foot and taking territory when possible. If this continues, a constant structure with even numbers ahead will be essential, with the next step being to stand up and either win the ball or prevent it from leaving the area, allowing teammates to push forward, assist, and potentially outnumber the opposition.

With Sharp set to eventually grow into fulfilling a key part of ball winning, Robey to mature and add muscle to the front half, Farrow to continue his evolution adding to his penetrating foot skills, Kondogiannis to build confidence and attack off half back, and El Achkar to get on the hunt with the want to hurt, there could just be a positive change on its way.

Go Bombers!