National Recruiting Manager, Dom Milesi, assessed the Bulldogs’ 2024 Telstra AFL Draft haul.

On the Dogs’ haul...

“We’re really happy to have walked out with these five players. The character of the group that we’ve brought in is just outstanding.

“There’s a really good mix of players as well – a few of them know each other too which is a good thing.

“Overall we’re really, really excited with this group.”

On Cooper Hynes...

“Cooper is a 190cm midfielder-forward – he’s got that real strength 1v1 both as a forward and also a midfielder. He’s got a lot of growth left in his game as well. He was co-captain at the Stingrays this year and we think he’s got a lot of upside.

“He came into the club today – you could just see what a great person him and his family are. I think he’s going to add a lot to our midfield in terms of that extra size going forward.” 

On the pick swaps...

“It was more around knowing we’d have two picks in the top four (of the second night). We understood there could be some demand for those picks, but it also gave us a lot more certainty around the mix of players we’d be able to bring in with those selections.

“It really panned out that way – bringing in a defender with the first and a small forward with the second. It complimented what we had done with Cooper already, so I thought that worked out really well in the end.”

On Lachie Jaques...

“Lachie is an 184cm defender – he’s really good overhead for his size. He can play on small or medium types and is super competitive and brave in the air. He was captain of the Falcons, so is a fantastic leader and was also an All Australian for Vic Country.

“He had a really consistent season – you know what you are going to get with Lachie every week. Again, his character is through the roof. We just felt he was very solid in so many areas that he was going to be a really good acquisition for the Club.

On Josh Dolan...

“Athletically, Josh is very high-end – he’s got elite endurance and high speed. He plays that high forward role so well, where he pushes up and then pushes back.

“He was having a really good season for Vic Metro and playing well for Brighton before he hurt his knee late in the year and missed the last 4-6 weeks. He’s another really outstanding character, is really willing to learn and is very excited to come in.

“I think he complements our existing forward-line really well.”

On Luke Kennedy...

“At this stage we weren’t sure how many players would be left, so we traded a future fourth to bring in Luke. He’s another Sandy Dragons boy – he played the whole year with them because he didn’t have private school football.

“Things that stood out about Luke were his elite endurance and his elite kick on either side of the body. He had some great games when a few of the highly rated kids were missing through Metro or school commitments, but he was probably starved of opportunities a little bit because of those boys so flew under the radar a bit.

“When you meet him, he’s such a fantastic kid and is just desperate for a chance. We were rapt that he got through that late.”

On Sam Davidson...

“We traded back into the draft to get Sam. We felt like it was a really strong pool overall, so we were always looking for opportunities to attack this draft.

“With Sam, the point of difference is that he’s a bit older and his journey has been so different. He was studying his medical degree and playing a lot of country footy - the fact that he came in with so much good VFL footy this year but still has so much scope to grow at 22.

“His speed and endurance combination is exceptional and is another one with fantastic character. He’s also a mad Bulldogs supporter, which is probably a little nice touch on top of it all.