Essendon’s Mid-Season Draft Haul Shapes the Off-Season List Puzzle

Don TheStat
Jul 24
3 min read

Updated: Sep 15

Essendon’s Mid-Season Draft strategy was driven partly through necessity, given the 2025 Injury Crisis, but also an aggressive play to add new, young talent to the list. Four new faces added to the rookie list, including guaranteed 2026 Bomber Archer May. It was a clear signal: the club is willing to roll the dice mid-year to unearth talent. But that approach now has consequences.

The Dons will enter the off-season needing to open up significant list spots and the numbers are tight.

The Starting Point

At the start of 2025, Essendon had the maximum 42 players: 36 on the senior list, six rookies. Tom Edwards joined via the Supplemental Selection Period (SSP), filling the final slot.

After the mid-season draft, the rookie list ballooned to 10, not counting Category B Rookie Jayden Nguyen, whose contract status doesn’t affect the main list. That’s four Rookies over the standard limit. (Update: Jayden has re-signed as a Category B Rookie for 2026).

Now layer in this: the AFL requires clubs to take a minimum of three picks in the National Draft. Essendon is likely to take more, potentially five selections, given the club currently holds two first-rounders, a possible third (subject to a Sam Draper Free Agency Decision), and two Next Generation Academy (NGA) prospects in El-Achkar and Sweid. That means opening at least five senior list spots, before even thinking about incoming trade targets.

Out-of-Contract Snapshot

From the senior list, nine players are currently out of contract:5y

Nick Bryan
Alwyn Davey Jnr
Sam Draper
Todd Goldstein
Ben Hobbs
Jayden Laverde
Luamon Lual
Will Setterfield
Dylan Shiel

On the Rookie List, four have 2026 deals (Day-Wicks, Edwards, El-Hawli, May). The other six - Menzie, Prior, Visentini, Blakiston, Smartt, McMahon - are uncontracted.

That’s 15 players without deals beyond this year.

The Numbers Game

If Essendon keeps six rookies next year, a likely scenario - that leaves 36 senior list spots.

This means that at least 10 of those uncontracted would need to depart (not accounting for Players traded out or have their contracts paid out (ala James Stewart at the end of 2023)

A possible retention path could be:

Rucks – Keep one of Bryan or Draper. Let Goldstein retire. If Blakiston is retained as ruck/defensive cover, and Visentini stays, the club still has Wright as a fourth option.

Midfielders – One of Hobbs, Shiel or Setterfield stays, depending on trade activity. Reports linking Gold Coast’s Alex Davies and St Kilda's Marcus Windhager could further squeeze this group.

Upgrades – Jaxon Prior earns a senior list promotion after his durability and second-half form.

Depth Calls – Smartt and McMahon face uphill battles. Smartt’s spot could be taken by incoming NGA talent, while McMahon is competing in an already crowded key/medium forward group - especially with Tom Edwards and Harrison Jones already re-signed. His form is hard to ignore though.

Trade Period Wildcards

Langford rumours have circulated, possibly tied to the re-signing of Edwards and the recruitment of May. Injuries and selection squeeze have also put pressure on others: Alwyn Jnr has been unable to break into the side, and Shiel was playing VFL prior to midfield injuries.

As we’ve said before: one of Bryan or Draper stays, the other goes. The rest will be dictated by trade activity.

If Essendon lands a target like Davies or Windhager, that could push out a contracted mid. If the club backs Blakiston and Visentini as ruck cover, it frees a spot for defensive or midfield reinforcements. And if the right deal for a bigger name like Ridley or Langford emerges, the Dons could reshape their list more boldly than expected.

The Timing

It’s likely Essendon will delay final delisting calls until after the trade period. The reason is simple: every trade in or out has a flow-on effect on other players’ futures. Uncontracted players currently in the senior side have a final block of games to prove they belong.

The Mid-Season Draft gave Essendon more talent to assess. Now the challenge is fitting it all in. With list spots scarce and draft capital high, the Dons are heading for one of the busiest and most strategic list management periods in years.