Former Saint Oscar Adams is among the key defenders who Essendon are considering selecting in Wednesday night’s AFL mid-season rookie draft as they try to remain in finals contention amid an injury crisis.
The Bombers are in desperate need of reinforcements after a horror injury run that includes ruckmen Sam Draper (Achilles) and Nick Bryan (knee) sustaining season-ending setbacks, on top of tall defenders Jordan Ridley (hamstring), Zach Reid (hamstring), Lewis Hayes (knee) and Ben McKay (foot) being sidelined.
Former Saint Oscar Adams could be picked up by the Dons on Wednesday night.Credit: AFL Photos
Kyle Langford (quadriceps) is also set for an extended stint out, while Harrison Jones’ return date from an ankle issue is still to be determined and Nik Cox’s future is uncertain due to concussion symptoms.
Neither Reid nor Langford are likely to play before Essendon return from their round 16 bye in early July, coach Brad Scott said on Monday, but star midfielder Darcy Parish could be back to face Brisbane on Thursday night.
The Bombers are so decimated by injuries to tall players that Scott conceded it was “not beyond the realms of possibility” one of their mid-season draftees could make his debut for them at the Gabba only 24 hours later. They can make as many as four selections on Wednesday night.
“Fortunately, we’ve got a mid-season draft to mitigate [our injury situation] somewhat, but that’s far from perfect either, obviously. It’s a different challenge for us,” Scott said.
“We’re in a difficult spot, in terms of availability, but the way I look at these things is it’ll create opportunity for others. If we had a 100 per cent availability list, we wouldn’t have unearthed six debutants this year, [and] Angus Clarke wouldn’t have got his opportunity last week, which he clearly took.”
Scott joked that they might try to recruit a Queenslander to “make it a bit logistically easier”. He discussed the club’s mid-season options with the recruiting team after training on Monday.
“It’s exciting, in a way,” he said. “We’re going to be looking at players who even a week ago, we probably weren’t considering, so our recruiting team is working overtime at the moment.”
Adams, 21, did not play a game in two seasons at the Saints after being the No.51 pick in the 2021 draft, but returned to his junior club Glenelg and was part of their SANFL premiership triumph last year.
The 198-centimetre lockdown backman is also strongly on Gold Coast’s radar ahead of this week’s draft, according to three industry sources, but Essendon would be able to swoop on him before the Suns.
St Kilda suspended Adams in his first AFL season after a car accident where he recorded a blood alcohol reading above the legal limit. However, Glenelg’s head of football, Paul Sandercock, said Adams had matured since those days, and he would be “pretty surprised” if the defender was not drafted.
“Oscar’s come back to an environment that’s familiar to him, and we’ve given him every opportunity to develop as a key defender in our league side,” Sandercock told this masthead.
“He’s missed very little footy, played in our premiership side last year, and has just got better and better. He’s found a bit of confidence and been a valuable contributor the last 18 months.
“It’s a cutthroat business, and he was probably not given enough time to settle into Melbourne and AFL footy life, but he’s working with his dad in the family [concreting] business, and he’s benefited from our strong leadership group and culture at the footy club.”
The Bombers have also inquired about Adams’ Glenelg teammate, 202cm project Harry Ramm, who has piqued several teams’ interest, while 199cm Werribee defender Ryan Eyers is another on their shortlist.
They are among at least five clubs, including Adelaide, Carlton, Collingwood and North Melbourne, who have spoken to 198cm Subiaco key forward Archer May.
The Magpies encouraged May, who has requested an 18-month contract, not to play at the weekend, but he may be gone by their selection. The 20-year-old ex-VFL Tiger is averaging two goals and more than six marks in the WAFL this season.
Essendon were tracking Coburg ruckman Cooper Keogh until he suffered a navicular injury, but have shifted their attention to Claremont’s Ollie Eastland, GWV Rebels’ Floyd Burmeister and Murray Bushranger Ky Harding.
East Fremantle’s Lachlan Blakiston and Southport’s Brayden Crossley – who trained with the Western Bulldogs in the summer and played 10 games for Gold Coast in 2018 – are other ruck prospects.
Nathan Kreuger, who has been playing in the VFL with Geelong after being delisted by Collingwood, is a ready-made key defender who can also go forward.
The situation will likely change before the draft, but eight clubs have at least one list vacancy: Essendon (four), Gold Coast and Western Bulldogs (two each), and West Coast, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Collingwood and Carlton (one).
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