Adrian Dodoro interview, video, Essendon trades, Port Adelaide deal, quitting as list manager, deadline،
When asked what he would say to all the haters during his nearly 15-year tenure as Essendon’s list manager, Adrian Dodoro’s answer was simple.
“I can’t say, it would be R-rated,” he joked on Fox Footy’s Trading Day.
“My goal is always the club. It’s not about what I do, it’s about doing the best thing for the club. I sleep peacefully at night.
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He will certainly have no trouble turning a blind eye on Wednesday night after he and Port Adelaide were locked in negotiations in the corridors of Marvel Stadium until the end, with less than five minutes remaining when the final agreement of the commercial period has been concluded. .
This deal saw Brandon Zerk-Thatcher and a few late picks join the Power and Xavier Duursma become Bomber.
Some might think that deals are made for drama: this one wasn’t.
“There were three minutes left when I found out. It went right down to the wire,” Zerk-Thatcher manager Tom McConville of Mac Sports told Fox Footy’s Trading Day.
“Very, very happy to have achieved this for both parties. He will be excited to become a Port Adelaide player next year.
“He’s on a plane right now, he’s on his way to Europe. He’ll land at some point, I don’t know when, and he’ll find out he’s a Port Adelaide player.
It was a frenetic end to the commercial period and to Dodoro’s tenure in his current role.
Matt Rosa will take over, while Dodoro will take on a new role to help Rosa move forward.
His final commercial period at the helm proved to be one of his busiest, with five players in and two out.
The final deal with Zerk-Thatcher and Duursma had the potential to be the first consecutive player-to-player trade since 2015, but the Power were relentless, pushing for picks in return.
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While they pushed for a future second-round pick, they ultimately settled for two future quarterbacks.
“In all honesty, they thought that because Xavier was a contracted player, they wanted a little more in the deal and they probably thought they could ride Zerk-Thatcher through the draft,” Dodoro explained.
“Ultimately, we had some picks at the end that we weren’t going to use and we included them in the deal.
“They agreed and we arrived with about five minutes to go.”
The acquisition of high-profile free agent Ben McKay was the centerpiece of Essendon’s trade period, while the club also added Jade Gresham and Todd Goldstein to its ranks without having to trade.
That leaves the Bombers with picks nine, 31, 35 and 73.
“Obviously with us improving our draft, we got an additional second-round pick in this draft and an additional fourth-round pick,” Dodoro said.
“We never gave up draft capital and signed four good players, three of whom were free agents. I think the club, we did a good job.
“I’m not congratulating myself, but we’ve signed players and retained our draft capital and that’s really important for the future of the club.”
The Bombers’ trajectory still fascinates the AFL world, but Dodoro has confidence in the list in which he played a significant role.
“I’m really confident. It wasn’t until round 15 or 16 that we were fifth in the standings, we’ve had some really big wins this year and we’ve improved quite a bit,” he said.
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“The end of the season wasn’t great, but if you add in the injured players on this team plus these four acquisitions, the early draft picks, the organic growth of some of the boys we brought in, I see a lot of ‘benefits., I really do.
“I think we look pretty good for the future.”
For those who think Dodoro will venture into football obscurity from here, he also had a message.
“It’s not about me, it’s about the club,” he said.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next year in terms of role, but I’ll be there. I will always be here to give you some grief.
As for his favorite job?
“The last one. You’re as good as your last one.
