List and Recruiting Manager Sam Power says the Club will head into the upcoming Trade and Draft periods with an open mind.
As it stands, the Bulldogs hold two first-round picks among two available list spots (following Josh Bruce’s retirement and Mitch Hannan’s departure) heading into the upcoming player movement period.
Speaking on the AFL.com.au’s Gettable, Power said flexibility will remain important as the recruiting team gets to work.
“We’re open to being active - we’ve got a lot of flexibility at the moment with list spots and what we may be able to do, but we’ve got a really open mind as to whether that’s through the trade period or through the draft,” Power said.
“Going into every acquisition period you want to improve the list and get better – but we won’t go out and bring a lot of players in just for the sake of it. It will be very targeted, which we have been over a period of time now, and pretty balanced as well whether that’s through the trade or draft.
“We want to keep a bit of flexibility – how many picks we have might be guided by what we do through the trade period, but I think anywhere between 2-4 picks in the National Draft.”
Power said he has been impressed by the 2023 Draft pool – particularly in regards to the mix of roles and positions.
“We quite like it. We think it’s a really strong top end,” he said.
“We feel the depth is pretty good as well – most of the drafts, which we’ve probably seen over the last few years, is that it does really open up after the first round or first 25 picks. We expect that to be the same again this year – but from the players we like and see as draftable, we think the depth is okay.
“It’s a mix this year – there’s probably not as many inside mids than perhaps what there was other years. It’s probably a mix of keys, mids and rebound defenders in this draft.
“Given we’ve brought in some young keys the last couple of years, and matching bids for Jamarra and Sam Darcy early in drafts, has meant that we’ve picked early and then late.
“It’s obviously fantastic bringing those guys in, but we have paid sort of maximum for them with where those picks came.
“(Our midfield) is definitely a focus – not necessarily inside mids or anything like that though. We’re aware our midfield - even though it’s pretty good still - there are some guys in the latter stages of their careers so we need to replenish that and look at more attributes with run and speed around the square as well.”
The Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period will commence on Monday 9 October until Wednesday 18 October, with Round One of the 2023 National Draft to follow on Monday 20 November.
