North Melbourne’s National Recruiting Manager Will Thursfield details his club’s first round draft haul.
North Melbourne welcomed five first round talents on the opening night of the 2023 AFL Draft, with Colby McKercher (pick two), Zane Duursma (pick four), Taylor Goad (pick 20), Wil Dawson (pick 22) and Riley Hardeman (pick 23) all landing at Arden Street.
Thursfield said the Kangaroos had been set on taking McKercher and Duursma long before the clock started ticking on Monday night.
“That was the plan. Pick the talent at the top and then address some of those needs” he told media at Marvel Stadium.
“That was decided a while ago. We just thought they were the best two talents there and just too hard to pass up on” he explained.
“We came in with some objectives and we’ve achieved them all. Clearly we had a great hand but we’re very very happy with what we’ve walked away with” Thursfield said.
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Amid interest from Adelaide, North Melbourne opted to secure Taylor Goad with the first of their trio of selections in the 20s on the night.
“We were pretty keen on getting Taylor so we were nervous, didn’t know whether Adelaide were gonna come in and get us there but just to be able to get a ruckman of 206 and a half centimetres with his athletic profile for a developing list is seriously exciting” he said.
Head coach Alastair Clarkson met with top prospect Daniel Curtin in Western Australia just days out from the draft, with Thursfield revealing the club was open to a live trade on draft night.
“It was just ticking the boxes really” he said of Clarkson’s meeting.
“We had to cover all bases. A trade back in on the night, that was an option”.
