Every interview and media article about Sweid leaves me more and more excited to see him come over and get a game for us.
Another great article with him here this morning where he talks about the draft and his plans now he's been drafted.
"I had to be patient because I knew there were other NGAs who it could have been but when there was no match I was like ‘this is where I want to be' and then all the family came over so it was good."
“There wasn't much info from Essendon about whether they would match a bid so I had to prepare myself to go to Freo and I spoke to my manager before the night and I said that if I was to go to Freo I would be happy."
- You love to see this, implying he wanted to go to Freo opposed to being matched by Essendon. You can see he appreciates the interest shown by Freo and has his mind set on doing everything possible for us.
“I want to kick goals at Optus Stadium and get the fans up and about and be a little rat to the opposition, getting under their skin making sure we get the home advantage."
- Someone get him under Ballantyne's wing, we have another favourite son on our hands. That's the attitude you want to see and especially from someone who will spend a lot of time early up forward creating excitement and buzz for us in the crowd.
Having conditioned himself to the possibility of moving interstate ahead of the AFL National Draft, Sweid is confident he will be able to handle the move west, noting that family and members of his community will visit frequently, while having childhood friend Cooper Duff-Tytler at fellow Perth club West Coast will make the transition easier.
He also noted that he has already felt the support of the Dockers squad and has turned his attention to helping the Dockers win.
“My goal is to debut Round 1,” Sweid said.
“That is something I'm looking to do. If there is a position I want to play, I believe high forward but I think I'm pretty versatile so wherever Justin thinks is best for me.
- With this intent to embrace and take on the challenge of moving interstate, he's giving himself every chance to enjoy his time here in WA and with Freo for a long time to come.
The widespread expectation was that bids for Carlton NGA prospect Jack Ison and the Eagles' Williams would come before a bid for Sweid.
Had that been the case, Essendon's later picks would have increased in value as the Blues' and Eagles' picks would have been absorbed, which would have given the Bombers of matching a bid without going into deficit.
“That was a tough one because we really rate Adam and we're really proud of what he's done and that he's found his way onto an AFL list so we're proud of the program we've put together and the part we've played in Adam's journey,” Essendon Recruiting Manager Matt Rosa said.
“It would have been nice to see him in the red and black but unfortunately it didn't work out that way.”
- A great strategic move by the club to throw out the idea of us bidding on a bunch of players like Williams and Ison ahead of Sweid so the Bombers wouldn't think to try and trade in more points to match. Also very much helped on the night by them trading up the draft for Sharp.
