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

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  191cm

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  No current season stats available

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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.​

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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.​

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“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.​

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"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.​

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“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.​

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“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.”​

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

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“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.​

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“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.​

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“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.​

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

 

[Handsome.B.Wonderful]

ITT: A lot of arguing in here about whether the past 10-15 years are Dodoro’s fault.


No one is addressing whether there is anyone out there that is better than Dodoro. Which is the main reason for moving on your List Manager / Recruiting Manager IMO.

 

[Zach Package]

So bearing in mind that it’s not his job to get blokes big enough and fit enough to be competitive or put them in the best possible position to succeed on field, how do we all assess the 2018 intake?

I give the Shiel transaction a big tick, the only thing stopping it from being a ginormous tick is his ability to kick while moving at top speed. Land a player with the GWS pick we get back this year and it’ll look even better.

Mosquito, Gown and Ham were never going to be year one prospects but all look quite promising and have developable traits. Ham in particular I’m super impressed with. Jok in the rookie draft as a bit of a punt with high upside and a point of difference that I’m completely fine with.

Redrafting Dea was a bit of an eyebrow raiser but the only reason we didn’t need him was because medium defender was just about the only position we didn’t get massacred by injuries in. Odds are he was a back up plan for that pick anyway.

Clarke is a battler but it’s hard to crucify him for it given the lack of genuine alternatives.

Snelling I think is really solid, has attributes that we lack and had played himself into another contract, could have and probably should have gone a tall though, again a lack of alternatives and cap machinations that probably impacted as well.

Obviously a bit of a focus on longer term project players last year given the previous focus on more AFL ready bodies but on balance I think he had a pretty good year. The blind spot for midfielders still persists, it’s almost as if we need to get him a cultural attaché specifically for big bodied inside midfielders.

 

[Schnitzengruben]

I'd be looking at whoever has been the Bulldogs list manager over the last 5~ years.

Nauhgton, Macrae, Dunkley, Bontempelli, Smith, English, Stringer - just off the top of my head.

Meanwhile we're sitting here debating who's the better player out of Laverde and Langford. Embarrassing times.

 

[Falcon27]

I really don't think Dodoro is the problem at Essendon.

He’s part of a systematic problem at Essendon were we institutionalise people doing the same thing over and over again. I have said it before but people like Dodoro, Harvey, Doc Reid, Sheedy etc should be told thanks but time is up. We need new people and a whole new approach.

 

[Falcon27]

ITT: A lot of arguing in here about whether the past 10-15 years are Dodoro’s fault.


No one is addressing whether there is anyone out there that is better than Dodoro. Which is the main reason for moving on your List Manager / Recruiting Manager IMO.

Doesn’t matter if they are better, we need a whole new approach in all departments

 

[eth-dog]

He’s part of a systematic problem at Essendon were we institutionalise people doing the same thing over and over again. I have said it before but people like Dodoro, Harvey, Doc Reid, Sheedy etc should be told thanks but time is up. We need new people and a whole new approach.

I'm fairly sure Sheeds has little to nothing to do with the footy department.

 

[MarkJohnson#1]

How many other people can we blame? Fair dinkum...

 

[yaco55]

You've said every player on an AFL list struggles below his knees at one point or another.

It would be better if you actually the questions posed in my post - Laverde is a borderline AFL standard player who you somehow ly think could be a bona-fide midfielder, yet he has never consistently played this role since his times in the junior - A number of Essendon players are good beneath their knees including smaller and bigger players - Tippa, Fantasia, Ridley, Merrett, Saad, Hooker is decent for a bigger player and a few others - This skill is not essential for all depending on your role - For example, Ambrose is ordinary but it's not a pre-requisite for his role.

 

[yaco55]

How do you know what we haven’t tried?

You’re describing Langford as a midfielder yet he plays there most of the time.

Langford is OK without being great beneath his knees but has other attributes that make him a better midfield prospect than Laverde.

 

[yaco55]

The one thing that stood out tonight ( besides EFC being totally outclassed twice by the WC ) is kicking skills - We are nowhere near the level of the top sides and as I've discussed for the last two years is the number one issue that needs addressing.

 

[silk]

Needs to go. We need a fresh manager to come in and ruthlessy change the make up of our list. Not THE problem but certainly a significant part of the problem.

 

[adsla69k]

I reckon 15 years of the same thing makes it a sure thing that we need a change.

Essendon biggest problem is culture. At all levels we can't make the hard decisions. Myers and Bags got an extra year when we all knew they were cooked. That's two extra players that miss out out on a season of upward development.

Next year it will probably be Hooker and Bellchambers that are long in the tooth.

 

[boncer34]

Adrian has been around more than 15 years.

 

[carloss]

Essendon biggest problem is culture. At all levels we can't make the hard decisions. Myers and Bags got an extra year when we all knew they were cooked. That's two extra players that miss out out on a season of upward development.

Agree, Essendon is the opposite of ruthless, can't make the tough decisions.
The clubs focus seems to be about building a brand.

 

[BrunoV]

I'd be looking at whoever has been the Bulldogs list manager over the last 5~ years.

Nauhgton, Macrae, Dunkley, Bontempelli, Smith, English, Stringer - just off the top of my head.

Meanwhile we're sitting here debating who's the better player out of Laverde and Langford. Embarrassing times.

It's interesting, isnt it, when you compare the players we took with top 10 picks in the draft and compare that with the Dogs.

It's even more interesting when you compare the players we have traded in using those picks, isnt it?

We all have our favourite whipping boys but what I find funny about your stupid troll account is that, fundamentally, it reflects the same widespread delusion about our real problem which is a B- grade midfield - in reality it's probably a C+.

The difference between my hammering of my whipping boys is 1) ive got solutions; and 2) I'm not using it to distract myself from reality (see comments above).

 

[Zach Package]

Adrian has been around more than 15 years.

He’s been at the club in some capacity for closer to 30

 

[Schnitzengruben]

It's interesting, isnt it, when you compare the players we took with top 10 picks in the draft and compare that with the Dogs.

It's even more interesting when you compare the players we have traded in using those picks, isnt it?

We all have our favourite whipping boys but what I find funny about your stupid troll account is that, fundamentally, it reflects the same widespread delusion about our real problem which is a B- grade midfield - in reality it's probably a C+.

The difference between my hammering of my whipping boys is 1) ive got solutions; and 2) I'm not using it to distract myself from reality (see comments above).

 

[DapperJong]

It's interesting, isnt it, when you compare the players we took with top 10 picks in the draft and compare that with the Dogs.

It's even more interesting when you compare the players we have traded in using those picks, isnt it?

We all have our favourite whipping boys but what I find funny about your stupid troll account is that, fundamentally, it reflects the same widespread delusion about our real problem which is a B- grade midfield - in reality it's probably a C+.

The difference between my hammering of my whipping boys is 1) ive got solutions; and 2) I'm not using it to distract myself from reality (see comments above).

How is it a troll account?

What he said was fine.

Plus I think you’re thin on solutions, personally.

 

[Schnitzengruben]

How is it a troll account?

What he said was fine.

Plus I think you’re thin on solutions, personally.

I know right? List managers were being discussed and I said "Hey, Bulldogs have had great success, we should look at them".

I hope his other 15k posts weren't as terrible as that one.

 

[DapperJong]

I know right? List managers were being discussed and I said "Hey, Bulldogs have had great success, we should look at them".

I hope his other 15k posts weren't as terrible as that one.

You slagged Laverde off during the game. You have made the list.

 

[Matthew_Lloyd]

We have the third most inexperienced list in the AFL ahead of only Carlton and GC (although I'm pretty sure we've gone below Carlton now after Myers, Baguley and Dea's retirements).

The most experienced team we fielded this year was on ANZAC Day, where our team had a total of 2146 games of experience. We were still 300 games of experience below our opponents that day. Hell, even on Dreamtime, where Richmond had literally half their team out, they still had 100 games of experience over us.

Look at West Coast's team on the weekend. They had an average of 146.5 games of experience. They had 13 players who have played more than 150 games, 9 more than us. Even Brisbane, without Hodge, have a more experienced team than us.

Zaharakis is our only 200 gamer. Hooker is on 193 (and he is nearing the end), Hurley is on 179, Heppell is on 169, and Shiel is on 157. That's a total of 5 players on our list who have played more than 150 games. In the 8, only the Bulldogs have the same amount, and the Lions & Giants have 7. West Coast have 13, Collingwood have 12, Geelong have 12, and Richmond have 11.

My question is, why is our list ALWAYS inexperienced? Even during the Knights/Hird days we'd constantly have a similar list profile (maybe even more inexperienced back then if you discount Fletcher). Serious questions have to start being asked of Dodoro. I doubt anything will happen though

 

[Nuggs Bunny]

We have the third most inexperienced list in the AFL ahead of only Carlton and GC (although I'm pretty sure we've gone below Carlton now after Myers, Baguley and Dea's retirements).

The most experienced team we fielded this year was on ANZAC Day, where our team had a total of 2146 games of experience. We were still 300 games of experience below our opponents that day. Hell, even on Dreamtime, where Richmond had literally half their team out, they still had 100 games of experience over us.

Look at West Coast's team on the weekend. They had an average of 146.5 games of experience. They had 13 players who have played more than 150 games, 9 more than us. Even Brisbane, without Hodge, have a more experienced team than us.

Zaharakis is our only 200 gamer. Hooker is on 193 (and he is nearing the end), Hurley is on 179, Heppell is on 169, and Shiel is on 157. That's a total of 5 players on our list who have played more than 150 games. In the 8, only the Bulldogs have the same amount, and the Lions & Giants have 7. West Coast have 13, Collingwood have 12, Geelong have 12, and Richmond have 11.

My question is, why is our list ALWAYS inexperienced? Even during the Knights/Hird days we'd constantly have a similar list profile (maybe even more inexperienced back then if you discount Fletcher). Serious questions have to start being asked of Dodoro. I doubt anything will happen though

Tbh, Hurley and Hooker both would be 200 gamers if it wasn't for a certain series of events transpiring which might of written off a season. Otherwise, our senior players have missed a lot of football through injury (Myers, goodnight sweet prince) or just took an eternity to play regular senior football (Bellchambers). So I don't think it's an institutional problem more than it is s**t luck and we do have a few players like Parish and McGrath who should easily play 200 games before they're 30.

I think what really sucks about our list is that we just have no player that's a genuine A-grader, an elite player in the competition. Joe and Zach both looked like being able to make a case for that in 2016 and 2017 but one has been injured and the other has stagnated or worse, regressed. I hoped Shiel would elevate himself into that conversation when we traded him but he hasn't done so. Even with the five first round draft picks we took in 2014 to 2016, none of those players look close to being in that conversation either.

Imagine if we had have drafted a Bont or a Kelly...

 

[DERO]

Did we lose our pick the year Bont was drafted?

 

[Nuggs Bunny]

Did we lose our pick the year Bont was drafted?

Yep, got Merrett with the Dogs pick at 26

 

[DapperJong]

Thanks Jimmy