Footy Dept. Soon to be ex-GM - List & Recruiting Adrian Dodoro #putoutyourjackets

[Lore]

Cliff notes:

• Stepping back from his current senior role following the 2023 AFL Draft
• Transition plan, raised the possibility with Vozzo in April
• Replacement is Matt Rosa, whose thread is here: Welcome to Essendon Matthew Rosa
  Matthew Rosa

  Age

  37

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  191cm

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  Mid

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  Last 5

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  2.7

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  1.7

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  No current season stats available

  D

  14.6

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  – AFL Talent & Operations Manager!

To coincide with this announcement, the Club’s General Manager of List and Recruiting, Adrian Dodoro, has made the decision to take a step back from his current senior role following this year’s NAB AFL National Draft. He will lead the Club through the upcoming 2023 Trade and Draft period in his current position prior to transitioning to and assisting Matt Rosa moving forward.​

​

Dodoro, an Essendon Life Member, has played a significant role at the Bombers over nearly three decades and said the time was right to take a step back.​

​

“I approached Craig back in April to discuss the concept of transition and I feel that now is the right time to make this decision,” Dodoro said.​

​

"I sat on the panel to assist in the selection of Matt, and I believe he will be an outstanding acquisition to the Club for years to come. I look forward to working with Matt moving forward.​

​

“These roles are very taxing on individuals and their families and it just feels like that. After nearly three decades and with stability in key roles at the Club, now is the right time for me to take a step back in to a role which will provide me and my family with a better work life balance.​

​

“More immediately, we have an important few months coming up and I’m looking forward to playing my part to deliver a strong Trade and Draft period for the Club to ensure that the playing list is in a strong position for the future.”​

​

Essendon CEO Craig Vozzo acknowledged the significant impact Dodoro has made at the Club since joining in a full-time role in 1998.​

​

“Adrian is a highly respected Life Member of the Essendon Football Club and has made an enormous contribution to the Club and the wider AFL industry during his time in football, including assisting to navigate the Club through unprecedented and challenging periods,” Vozzo said.​

​

“Throughout his time at the Bombers, Adrian’s commitment and passion to take the Club forward in its list management and recruiting, has been unquestionable. Some of the Champions of Essendon have been identified and selected by Adrian, and we will always be grateful for the important and enduring role he has played.​

​

“On behalf of the entire Club, we would like to acknowledge Adrian’s selfless decision and we look forward to his ongoing contribution to the Club.​

​

“Adrian will work with Matt to ensure a smooth hand-over and a successful transition of responsibilities.”​

 

[Mr Mojo Risin]

I wasn’t really basing it upon games played etc. Was basing it on how they have gone for us as a club and if they are up to it.

I was kidding around. Although I don't agree with Winderlich, excellent player ruined by injuries. Houli should be a tick. Gumbleton was a monster talent ruined by injury. Maybe a question mark since that was never able to be proven, but widely regarded as a good pick at #2 at the time. Francis and Parish should be question marks. Richards a tick. In any case it's your rating but there's a lot I don't agree on.

 

[owen87]

I wasn’t really basing it upon games played etc. Was basing it on how they have gone for us as a club and if they are up to it.

Except the amount you can expect from a player is directly related to where they were drafted.

Steinberg is a fail because Parker was right there, Gumbleton was drafted where he was expected to go but injuries ruined his career. Not the same kind of fail.

McKernan is a massive tick for a rookie for example, as is Townsend, as is Snelling, and even McNiece.

Your expecting way too much from these late selections if you think these guys are a fail.

The issue is that he's not selected a genuine star in the first round, and he's had way too many busts in the second round. Not that his late picks are bad, because they're almost always, all bad.

Only around 50% of players selected after 50 make it to more than 10 AFL games for example.

 

[Old Campaigner]

Well he walked out on us before becoming any good. Maybe should have explained how I was rating them.

well that's just stupid

Dodoro can only pick players based on what he think their potential is, if they reach that potential at another club that's not really his fault.

 

[Old Campaigner]

I actually don't know if it is even possible to properly judge his performance like that. If he's picking players to fill a position he might be obliged to take a lesser talent with limited upside compared to some of the other players available at that pick. Does he go with the best player available and end up with an unbalanced list? Or go for the player with a shot at filling a hole in the list? Without knowing his intentions and strategy going into the draft it's hard to assess how he's done.

It's better to look at how the list as a whole has performed (or not) given he's ultimately responsible for it, although even then who knows if it's just shitty coaching holding back players with plenty of potential.

 

[IggypopsTshirt]

3 picks in top 10 for upcoming draft is a tasty prospect

But Dodo is sure to come home with a fistful of self praise and magic ******* beans.

 

[Old Campaigner]

3 picks in top 10 for upcoming draft is a tasty prospect
View attachment 981206
But Dodo is sure to come home with a fistful of self praise and magic ******* beans.

We're not getting band 1 for Daniher and I'd be surprised if we got Carlton's first pick for Saad. Every independent commentator I've seen reckons he's worth a late first round pick.

I doubt we'll be able to pick the eyes out of the top 10 until next year assume Merrett asks for a trade then.

 

[citizen-erased]

I actually don't know if it is even possible to properly judge his performance like that. If he's picking players to fill a position he might be obliged to take a lesser talent with limited upside compared to some of the other players available at that pick. Does he go with the best player available and end up with an unbalanced list? Or go for the player with a shot at filling a hole in the list? Without knowing his intentions and strategy going into the draft it's hard to assess how he's done.

It's better to look at how the list as a whole has performed (or not) given he's ultimately responsible for it, although even then who knows if it's just shitty coaching holding back players with plenty of potential.

my judgement lies in the depth

Heppell missed a period this year - midfield depth?
Shiel/Merrett missed through suspension - midfield depth?
Belly was cooked last year...but Draper was out - ruck depth?
Hooker is 32, Hurley is 30. Both are battle weary - KPD depth?

Why so many small players. Why target Shiel when we had Merrett, McGrath, Parish, Zaka, Smith, Fantasia
Where's our developing ruck depth? 2 of them have played 0 games. Our #1 ruck has played 8.

Is a massive part of the problem. not the only problem, but a massive part.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Confused me at first there ant I think you thought I was a Sydney supporter? But yeah I think you're probably right.

I recall Dodoro saying they didn't have enough time to scope a replacement for Joe...i dunno though the meeting with Harley news came out a few months before trade week and we've heard of players moving to clubs where serious talks only happened really late in the year. It does seem like he genuinely believed Essendon could get him to fall in love with the club again.

Also, I recall Dodoro asking for some of Sydney's young guns in the trade. Did he even lay any ground work or was he just throwing out names to be obtuse and make it Sydney's problem? A club can't just trade a player against their will and Essendon would have actually needed to also get the player to agree to join them and agree to contract terms...which I don't think occurred.

It was always Sydney’s problem and there was no groundwork for us to lay.

They came to us at the last minute before trade week and in literally a matter of days wanted us to trade our contracted key player which we’d spent three years building our list strategy around.

It was multi-year club strategy and not even Dodoro’s call to make. We said from the second it was raised that we wanted him to stay and the only way that’d change was if Sydney could get us something major in the way of player/s that would fit with that strategy.

They didn’t even try to.

I’ve actually said if Daniher and Sydney were a lot more upfront with us and gave us as much time as possible to plan for his exit (they were at it for months and kept denying it), I reckon there’s a very good chance we could’ve worked something out and got it done. It was never going to happen with the way they approached it, it showed a total ignorance of the club’s strategy.

If it stopped Carlton getting Papley well let’s be honest, that was just a nice bonus.

Carlton and Norf supporters and Adrian Dodoro... ffs get over it, its pathetic.

 

[owen87]

I don’t mean to intrude but if Adrian was working on other deals, with other players from other clubs he could have gotten what he wanted. He could of taken pick 9 and Sydney’s 2020 first rounder and made plenty of decent moves.

In the end all he accomplished was holding the trade period to hostage waiting on him, CFC not getting Papley but getting Kemp in the draft (I’d say a short term loss, long term gain for us) and you getting completely shafted if Joe ended up deciding to leave.

In the end Joe gave you nothing this year, is leaving and you could have had no.3 this year, 9 last year (which u could have traded one or both for player/s)

I get that a lot of you like Adrian’s tough stance on trading .... he always has to look like he won and grinds it out to the last minute ... always .... but he was too ridgit and too shortsighted last year ... pure and simple.

Didn’t want to read the post directly above yours, written 15 minutes prior, before going off half cocked?

 

[Lore]

Didn’t want to read the post directly above yours, written 15 minutes prior, before going off half cocked?

Or the 70 other pages of this thread and 200+ pages worth of content across the rest of the board over the last month...


lol

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Can’t even escape them on our own board ffs

 

[jmoo wan]

Can’t even escape them on our own board ffs

we are headed into the mods’ finals series.

 

[jmoo wan]

What do you all think of Dodoro's trading style?

read the thread mate. you’ll literally find the answers you seek in this very thread.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Somebody should create a neutral trade board where these things can be discussed

 

[Lore]

Somebody should create a neutral trade board where these things can be discussed

I mean, there's even a Dodo thread.

Adrian Dodoro

Was 2000 a tin pot competition? It was a Bradbury year when the powerhouse of the 90s - North - finally began to fade - and before the rise of the true 2000s gun teams like Brisbane, Sydney and West Coast. Its a nothing flag. 93 was salary cap cheated for and then we're back into the 12 team VFL.

www.bigfooty.com

 

[brain taylor]

Adrian Dodoro Analysis. National Draft
2000-2019: =Pass, =Bust, ⚠=Average, =unknown

First Round Picks
James Davies ">#17
Shane Harvey ">#18
Jason Laycock ">#10
Jason Winderlich #11⚠
Kepler Bradley ">#6
Brent Stanton ">#13
Angus Monfries ">#14
Paddy Ryder ">#7
Courtney Dempsey #19⚠
Scott Gumbleton ">#2
Leroy Jetta ">#18
David Myers #6⚠
Michael Hurley ">#5
Jake Melksham #10⚠
Dyson Heppell ">#8
Elliot Kavanagh ">#19
Joe Daniher #10FS
Kyle Langford #17
Jayden Laverde ">#20
Darcy Parish #5⚠
Aaron Francis ">#6
Andrew McGrath ">#1

Second Round Picks
Ted Richards ">#27
Sam Hunt ">#32
Joel Reynolds ">#31
Simon O’Keffe ">#34
Darren Walsh ">#27
Tristan Cartledge ">#28
Jay Nash ">#28
Andrew Lee ">#30
Tom Hislop ">#20
Tayte Pears ">#23
David Zaharakis ">#23
Jake Carlisle #24⚠
Travis Colyer ">#26
Anthony Long ">#33
Ariel Steinberg ">#31
Jackson Merrett ">#31
Jason Ashby ">#34
Zach Merrett ">#26
Alex Morgan ">#29
Mason Redman #30⚠
Jordan Ridley ">#22
Josh Begley ">#31
Irving Mosquito ">#38
Harrison Jones ">#30
Nick Bryan #38

Third Round Picks
Jordan Bannister ">#47
Andrew Welsh ">#47
Paul Salmon ">#50
Jobe Watson ">#40FS
Ricky Dyson #44⚠
Henry Slattery ">#46
Jay Neagle ">#39FS
Sam Lonergan ">#50
Alwyn Davey #36⚠
Bachar Houli ">#42
Kyle Reimers ">#47
Darcy Daniher ">#39FS
Alex Browne ">#48
Nick O’Brien ">#59
Dylan Van Unen ">#51
Martin Gleeson #53⚠
Orazio Fantasia ">#55
Mitch Brown #54⚠
Kobe Mutch ">#42
Jordan Houlahan ">#49
Ned Cahill ">#56

Fourth Round Picks
Marc Bullen ">#63
Michael Davis ">#74
Paul Thomas ">#60
Austin Lucy ">#66
Cale Hooker ">#54
Michael Still ">#55
Tyson Slattery ">#67
Luke Davis ">#64
Nick Kommer ">#73
Yestin Eades ">#64
Michael Hartley ">#68
Dylan Clarke ">#63
Brandon Zerk-Thatcher ">#66
Noah Gown ">#60
Lachlan Johnson ">#63

Fifth Round Picks
Michael Ross ">#80
Sean Gregory ">#88
Matt Guelfi #76⚠
Brayden Ham ">#72

pretty rough to say Parish is average but Langford is a pass. Langford had one good season after being a spud for 5 years, Parish has been consistently solid since day one

 

[Yoda_]

I genuinely fear that Dodoro will f this up more and we lose one, if not both Joe and Saad for nothing.

 

[MiguelM]

Reading between the lines from Brasher speech, I suspect recruiting/coaches/footy dept will have some guidelines re players they are considering from a physical perspective.

 

[ghostdog]

pretty rough to say Parish is average but Langford is a pass. Langford had one good season after being a spud for 5 years, Parish has been consistently solid since day one

I think it's disingenuous to say a player is a bust if they left us and were successful elsewhere. Houli and Salmon are surely passes. Richards as well.

Interesting list though.

 

[84859300]

Reading between the lines from Brasher speech, I suspect recruiting/coaches/footy dept will have some guidelines re players they are considering from a physical perspective.

That should never come from the CEO - like never

 

[Yoda_]

That should never come from the CEO - like never

The only thing the board should have a say on is $$$ spent on a certain individual player that may upset the apple cart.

 

[Lore]

The only thing the board should have a say on is $$$ spent on a certain individual player that may upset the apple cart.

Yeah recruitment/list management decisions that are high risk where recruiting/retaining them would potentially derail the entire strategic plan in one go should have board level input (big $$, long contracts, or guys who come with a lot of baggage... or even ones you've built your whole team around for the last 3 seasons...)

 

[Yoda_]

Yeah recruitment/list management decisions that are high risk where recruiting/retaining them would potentially derail the entire strategic plan in one go should have board level input (big $$, long contracts, or guys who come with a lot of baggage... or even ones you've built your whole team around for the last 3 seasons...)

Everything outside the monetary side of a players recruitment should be handled by the football department. Obviously to a degree the heirachy should be informed (present why player "x" should be pursued, we will do "y" to keep him in check etc. etc. we think "z" is what it will cost the club).

 

[NAB777]

Adrian Dodoro Analysis. National Draft
2000-2019: =Pass, =Bust, ⚠=Average, =unknown

First Round Picks
James Davies ">#17
Shane Harvey ">#18
Jason Laycock ">#10
Jason Winderlich #11⚠
Kepler Bradley ">#6
Brent Stanton ">#13
Angus Monfries ">#14
Paddy Ryder ">#7
Courtney Dempsey #19⚠
Scott Gumbleton ">#2
Leroy Jetta ">#18
David Myers #6⚠
Michael Hurley ">#5
Jake Melksham #10⚠
Dyson Heppell ">#8
Elliot Kavanagh ">#19
Joe Daniher #10FS
Kyle Langford #17
Jayden Laverde ">#20
Darcy Parish #5⚠
Aaron Francis ">#6
Andrew McGrath ">#1

Second Round Picks
Ted Richards ">#27
Sam Hunt ">#32
Joel Reynolds ">#31
Simon O’Keffe ">#34
Darren Walsh ">#27
Tristan Cartledge ">#28
Jay Nash ">#28
Andrew Lee ">#30
Tom Hislop ">#20
Tayte Pears ">#23
David Zaharakis ">#23
Jake Carlisle #24⚠
Travis Colyer ">#26
Anthony Long ">#33
Ariel Steinberg ">#31
Jackson Merrett ">#31
Jason Ashby ">#34
Zach Merrett ">#26
Alex Morgan ">#29
Mason Redman #30⚠
Jordan Ridley ">#22
Josh Begley ">#31
Irving Mosquito ">#38
Harrison Jones ">#30
Nick Bryan #38

Third Round Picks
Jordan Bannister ">#47
Andrew Welsh ">#47
Paul Salmon ">#50
Jobe Watson ">#40FS
Ricky Dyson #44⚠
Henry Slattery ">#46
Jay Neagle ">#39FS
Sam Lonergan ">#50
Alwyn Davey #36⚠
Bachar Houli ">#42
Kyle Reimers ">#47
Darcy Daniher ">#39FS
Alex Browne ">#48
Nick O’Brien ">#59
Dylan Van Unen ">#51
Martin Gleeson #53⚠
Orazio Fantasia ">#55
Mitch Brown #54⚠
Kobe Mutch ">#42
Jordan Houlahan ">#49
Ned Cahill ">#56

Fourth Round Picks
Marc Bullen ">#63
Michael Davis ">#74
Paul Thomas ">#60
Austin Lucy ">#66
Cale Hooker ">#54
Michael Still ">#55
Tyson Slattery ">#67
Luke Davis ">#64
Nick Kommer ">#73
Yestin Eades ">#64
Michael Hartley ">#68
Dylan Clarke ">#63
Brandon Zerk-Thatcher ">#66
Noah Gown ">#60
Lachlan Johnson ">#63

Fifth Round Picks
Michael Ross ">#80
Sean Gregory ">#88
Matt Guelfi #76⚠
Brayden Ham ">#72

Winderlich stiff.

 

[Zach Package]

I think it's disingenuous to say a player is a bust if they left us and were successful elsewhere. Houli and Salmon are surely passes. Richards as well.

Interesting list though.

The whole thing is disingenuous, it lumps it all at his feet and doesn’t factor in the fact that the footy department was a skeleton crew up until about 2005-6 with results to match, Sheedy had and was using his god complex to overrule and throw his weight around whenever he saw fit and a lot of those guys were actually talented but not even close to developed properly.

I don’t think the argument for getting rid of him has anything to do with ticks and crosses