The Essendon Pick Swap That Shaped Two AFL Drafts

Essendon’s decision to trade out Pick 9 ahead of the 2024 AFL National Draft became one of the most debated list management calls of recent years. To understand why the club made the move and how it affected both the 2024 and 2025 Drafts, we need to go back to the previous off-season.

Setting the Table: Essendon’s 2023 Trade & Draft Period

Essendon opened the 2023 player movement period as part of a four-club deal with Carlton, St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs. The trade saw Paddy Dow become a Saint and Nick Coffield become a Bulldog, while Essendon moved out Pick 53 and its 2024 third-round pick.

In return, the Bombers gained Pick 35 and Carlton’s 2024 fourth-round selection.

Shortly after, Essendon packaged that Carlton fourth-rounder, its own 2024 fourth-rounder and Pick 73 to Port Adelaide as part of the Brandon Zerk-Thatcher and Xavier Duursma swap.

Two more picks arrived when Massimo D’Ambrosio joined Hawthorn, with the Bombers receiving Pick 61 and Collingwood’s 2024 fourth-round pick (from Hawthorn).

Essendon entered the 2023 National Draft holding Picks 9, 31 and 35 (and ultimately forfeited Pick 61 due to a lack of list spots).

Two early bids on Gold Coast Academy products Jed Walter and Ethan Read pushed Pick 9 back to Pick 11 by the time Essendon was on the clock. With West Coast reportedly circling Geelong’s Pick 10 to secure Nate Caddy, Essendon moved decisively—trading Picks 11 and 31 to the Cats to secure Pick 10. Caddy became a Bomber.

The club then traded Collingwood’s 2024 fourth-rounder to Richmond to grab Archie Roberts in a live deal.

The result: Essendon walked away with Nate Caddy, Luamon Lual and Archie Roberts—but exited the draft period without a 2024 third- or fourth-round pick.

The 2024 Pick Swap: Essendon and Melbourne

What Essendon didn’t know in November 2023 was that the NGA bidding rules for non-northern academies were about to change. By late 2024, it became known that the club would have full rights to match a bid on NGA talent Isaac Kako, regardless of where the bid came. Had Kako been in the 2023 Draft, Essendon could only have matched after Pick 40.

Entering the 2024 Trade Period, Essendon had just two selections: Pick 9 and Pick 31. With Kako a likely early bid and the real risk of Pick 9 being swallowed in the matching process, first-year list boss Matt Rosa executed a pre-draft pick swap with Melbourne:

Essendon sent:

• Pick 9

• 2025 third-round pick

Essendon received:

• Picks 28, 40, 46, 54 and 65

• Melbourne’s 2025 first-round pick

The Stringer trade followed soon after, sending Jake Stringer to GWS for Pick 53.

Draft Night 2024: How It Unfolded

Essendon completed three further pick swaps across and around draft night:

1. Swap with Brisbane (pre-agreed). Essendon sent Pick 53, Pick 40 and Pick 46 to Brisbane. In return, the Bombers received Picks 35, 37 and 58.

2. Swap with St Kilda. Picks 28 and 58 went to the Saints for Picks 32 and 47.

As the draft unfolded, Melbourne used the original Essendon Pick 9 (now Pick 11 after bids) to select Xavier Lindsay - no Kako bid came.

The bid eventually arrived at Pick 13 from Richmond. Essendon matched using Pick 33 and Pick 34 (post-trade adjustments), regaining Pick 61 through a points surplus.

Had Essendon kept Pick 11, history suggests St Kilda (holding Pick 10) or another club would have forced a Kako bid, likely creating a points deficit and reducing Essendon’s capacity to meaningfully participate later in the draft.

Instead, the Bombers were able to:

• Match Kako at 13

• Select Kayle Gerryn and Angus Clarke at 37 and 39

• Move Pick 47 to St Kilda (with a 2025 4th) for the Saints’ 2025 second-round pick, ironically a pick that started with St Kilda originally.

• Select Rhys Unwin at Pick 61 (the player we would have taken at 47, a pick gained from the points surplus matching the Kako bid)

• Finish with Zak Johnson at Pick 70

Essendon exited the 2024 National Draft with four players taken between Picks 13 and 61—a significant improvement on what would otherwise have been picks deep into the fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth rounds.

And, crucially, the club held extra first- and second-round capital for 2025.

How the 2024 Pick Swap Paid Off in 2025

Heading into the 2025 Draft (pre-bids), Essendon held:

• Pick 5

• Pick 6 (Melbourne-tied pick acquired in the swap)

• Pick 21 (Sam Draper compensation)

• Pick 27

• Pick 30 (St Kilda-tied)

With the 2025 Draft widely considered shallower than 2024, the Bombers, as expected, traded with Carlton, turning Picks 21, 27 and 30 with Carlton for Picks 9 and 43.

The net result across two drafts:

Matt Rosa effectively turned a single early pick (Pick 9) and a second-rounder into:

• 2024 Draft Haul

  • Isaac Kako (Pick 13)

  • Kayle Gerryn (Pick 37)

  • Angus Clarke (Pick 39)

  • Rhys Unwin (Pick 61)
    

• 2025 Draft Capital

  • Pick 6 (became Pick 10 – Jacob Farrow)

  • Pick 9 (became Pick 13 – Dyson Sharp)

  • Pick 43 (projected mid-30s after academy/father-son bids)

In short: the 2024 pick swap allowed Essendon to maximise its position in a deep draft, avoid a damaging points deficit, secure multiple high-value players, and enter 2025 with stronger draft hand than would have otherwise been possible.

Image Credit: Essendon FC