Essendon’s first pick from the 2023 Draft, Nate Caddy, will make his AFL debut for the club in Saturday’s Dreamtime at the ‘G clash against Richmond.
The No.10 pick earned his selection through some nice form in the VFL, kicking two goals in each of the last two games while also averaging 10.5 disposals and 6.5 marks across the last fortnight.
Standing at 193cm, Caddy looms as a key target inside 50 and someone who watched him close up as a junior for Vic Metro, the Northern Knights and Parade College was AFL Media’s Cal Twomey.
Twomey joined SEN Breakfast where he was asked what Essendon fans could expect from Caddy by Bombers great Tim Watson.
“He's fun to watch,” Twomey said.
“I think he's going to add something a little bit different to Essendon's forward line in that he's so powerful in his marking attempts and he crashes packs.
“He would have played a lot earlier in the year, if not for hurting himself when he flew for a mark at training in the pre-season … he landed on his back and missed about a month of training.
“He was on track for a very early debut (before that).”
Although Caddy dominated as an underage player up forward, he also spent some time running through the midfield.
While he was more of a hybrid player in the under-18s, Twomey envisions the teenager starting as a full-time forward before eventually building a midfield base.
“I loved watching him last year,” Twomey said.
“He puts himself in positions. His stretching for marks is extraordinary and he's tough.
“I watched him play a little bit through the midfield last year as well, but I don’t think he'll be doing that for a while at AFL level, but in time he might be able to flick through there.
“He's powerful and explosive and hopefully we see a little bit of that on the weekend.”
Saturday’s Dreamtime at the ‘G clash between Essendon and Richmond begins at 7:30pm (AEST).
