The Bombers want Yarran btw
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Bombers take aim at lively Yarran
26th September 2008, 7:00 WST
Chris Yarran could still be selected as high as No. 5 at the AFL draft despite a quiet September campaign for Swan Districts that ended with the clever forward being beaten soundly in the grand final.
Essendon assistant coach Ashley Prescott revealed the Bombers were keen to recruit the exciting 17-year old and predicted he would be taken early in the first round of the draft.
Prescott compared Yarran’s physique and skills to Port Adelaide’s talented Shaun Burgoyne.
“We would love to get him. Chris is a super talent but I don’t think he will last until the second round,” Prescott said.
“It depends on what sort of player each club wants but he could become a valuable acquisition.”
Essendon will have pick No. 5 after coming 12th this season and will retain it unless they lose the selection as part of a trade deal.
Victorian teenager Jack Watts appears set to be drafted by Melbourne with the first pick while WA duo Nick Naitanui and Daniel Rich, who faced off in the WAFL grand final, are likely to go to local clubs West Coast and Fremantle, who have the next two selections.
Prescott coached Yarran at Clontarf Aboriginal College and said he and Paddy Ryder, who was drafted from East Fremantle to Essendon in 2005 and has played 43 of their past 44 matches, were the best two players to come through the college’s football academy.
Yarran burst into senior football this season with best-on-ground performances in his first two matches before he took part in the national 18s championships.
He was affected by hamstring injuries in the second half of the season but still managed a creditable 38 goals in his 14 games. Sandover medallist Hayden Ballantyne, rising star Ian Richardson and AFL veteran Troy Longmuir were the only small forwards to kick more goals this season.
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