NATIONAL recruiting manager Jason Taylor says he had no hesitation selecting 2016 Footscray VFL premiership player Mitch Hannan with Melbourne’s first pick in Friday night’s NAB AFL Draft.
Hannan was claimed at No.46 and Taylor said the high-flying midfielder/forward was the standout at that pick.
“Mitch played in a premiership this year for Footscray in the VFL. He’s originally from Gisborne and then came down and played in the amateurs for St Bernards and played in a premiership there, so he’s played in a couple of premierships in a row. He was best-on-ground in the amateur one,” he told Melbourne TV.
“He plays with a lot of flair and can take a hanger. We seem him as potentially going through the midfield, playing on the wing and also up forward. He’s got some real speed and power in his game. He’s got a fair few rough edges he needs to work on, but he brings a bit of excitement.
“Through the interview process, we found him an excellent character and a well-organised young man.”
Taylor said Hannan was coming off a shoulder injury and wouldn’t be rushed.
“He’s come in at 22 [years old] and has plenty of age left. We just want him to get his body right and get him into full training,” he said.
“There are no expectations from that sense, but we thought he was the best available at that point.”
With Melbourne’s second and final pick – the red and blue claimed Dion Johnstone from Oakleigh Chargers at No.64.
Taylor said he was eager to see Johnstone make the transition to the AFL.
“Dion is actually a Warrnambool boy and borders at Scotch College and actually captains their football team,” he said.
“He’s Indigenous and has really good character and there are always glowing endorsements from everyone we spoke to about Dion, which gave us a lot of confidence to pick him.
“He’s a small forward for Oakleigh Chargers and he finished off the year well there, and really hit the scoreboard late in the year. He’s got good speed, he can mark it and he can crumb.
“But he brings a bit of edge to his game and he’s quite a tough, small forward, so we’re rapt to bring him on board. We’re looking forward to seeing what he can bring.”
Despite just having two picks, Taylor said it was still a tense night.
“We were waiting to see if those players we had on our list might get through … so it was a long wait to be honest,” he said with a laugh.
“Exactly, we had 64 [players] on our list, so we did OK.”
Looking ahead to Monday’s NAB AFL Rookie Draft, Taylor said the recruiting team, which he praised immensely for its effort throughout the past year, would reassess over the weekend.
“We’ll chat about who is left and then reassess at the airport tomorrow (Saturday) morning and then fly out reasonably early,” he said.
“If we need to look at a few things over the weekend – we will. If we need to adjust anything positional wise – we will, but at this point in time there are a few left.”
Melbourne will have two selections in the Rookie Draft.
