13. Zac Dawson (Hawthorn)
Hawthorn, VIC, Tall defender, February 22, 1986, 195cm, 95kg
It was to complement who we drafted. When we looked at it, we were still short down back. Zac’s still in his early 20s and has a fair bit of footy ahead of him but he could play straight away if anything happened to Max (Hudghton). Zac has been at one club already and there is still a bit of an upside to him. He is tall and can play full-back, which we feel is a special position.
29. Tom Simpkin (Geelong Falcons)
Geelong Falcons, VIC, Tall defender, August 7, 1990, 191cm, 83kg
Tommy is a 190cm boy. He is more for the future. He is a medium/tall back but can play that role well. He played for Vic Country and played well on some of the boys that got drafted. We feel he is more down the track but once again he addresses a real need area as a tall defender.
44. Brad Howard (St Kilda)
St Kilda, VIC, Midfielder, December 21, 1987, 182cm, 80kg
We wanted to get Brad back because we still feel there is a bit of development for Brad. We waited til where we thought we could still get him but didn’t want to leave it too long because we thought another club might sweep in.
58. Steven Gaertner (Dandenong)
Dandenong Stingrays, VIC, Tall defender, January 2, 1990, 199cm, 87kg
Steven is elite with his speed. He has got some things to work on in his game. I think it has been well-documented that we have considered him for two years. We have him training and we feel there is a lot of upside. There is something really special with Steven but he has a bit of work to do. With his height and speed he could be that tall back that plays on the fast leading forward.
71. Ross Tungutulum (St Marys)
St Marys, Northern Territory, Small forward
Ross is a small indigenous forward who we feel we need. Ross hasn’t been in the elite system. He played with the Northern Territory Under-18 team. We got a bit of feedback he was best on ground in the grand final in Darwin and kicked a few magical goals. Ross has a fair way to go but he’s got the speed and a few tricks that we feel we’re missing down the forward line.
80. Sam McGarry (Sandringham Dragons)
Sandringham Dragons, VIC, Midfielder, April 21, 1990, 186cm, 77kg
Sam’s a local boy. He is a gut-running midfielder and whilst that wasn’t our No.1 need, you just can’t have enough of them. We felt we’d gone through our need areas and filled those up so we thought we’d take another gut-running midfielder. In time he could end up better than some of the boys who are already there.
84. Blake McGrath (NSW)
Pennant Hills, NSW, Ruck, April 24, 1990, 208cm, 85kg
Blake was already locked away as part of the NSW scholarship. He is a developing ruckman. He’s over 200cm and hasn’t played a lot of footy but he will take time. We imagine he will play a lot of VFL reserves footy next year but you just don’t know what will happen down the track with injuries and you might find that Blake plays a few VFL senior games. We’ve been very happy with him so far but he will take some time as a lot of big blokes do.
