Young backman Zach Reid is quickly becoming a fan favourite amongst the Essendon faithful this year. Photo: AFL MEDIA
Could it be?
Has Essendon finally done it?
After multiple drafts in which they have failed to unequivocally nail their first-round picks, it appears the Bombers might have belatedly unearthed a gem in key defender Zach Reid.
To say it’s been a long, arduous road for the 23-year-old would be an understatement.
After being taken at pick No.10 in the 2020 draft, which the Bombers acquired from Carlton in exchange for Adam Saad, his first four years in the AFL were ruined by injury.
A pair of stress fractures in his back, three hamstring injuries, a ruptured pec, glandular fever and bone stress in his foot restricted Reid to just nine of a possible 91 games.
And after a couple of unconvincing performances first-up this year, as he was trying to rediscover his bearings after being absent from senior level for 12 months, most Essendon supporters, too tortured by big-name draftees of yesteryear who failed to live up to the hype, were resigned to Reid being the latest name added to that unenviable list.
After all, Darcy Parish (pick five, 2015) is probably best described as serviceable, Aaron Francis (six, 2015) is with the Swans, Andrew McGrath (one, 2016) has failed to realise the lofty expectations attached to a No.1 pick, Nik Cox (eight, 2020) can’t catch a break with injuries, Archie Perkins (nine, 2020) is yet to emphatically announce himself after 87 games, Ben Hobbs (13, 2021) probably hasn’t come on as quickly as the fan base would’ve liked and Elijah Tsatas (five, 2022) just doesn’t look comfortable at the top level and continues to yo-yo between the VFL and AFL sides.
However, something began to stir in Round 3 during Essendon’s upset win over Port Adelaide. The Reid kid, in just his 12th game, showed some genuinely encouraging signs for the first time with career-highs in disposals (16), marks (10) and score involvements (seven).
But Essendon fans were going to need to see more than that before allowing themselves to be seduced by the promise of a gun key defender for the next decade. And Reid gave them exactly that the very next game against Melbourne, topping his previous performance with 21 touches, another 10 grabs and five intercepts.
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He continued his momentum on Anzac Day against Collingwood, with a career-high nine intercepts in the wet, and North Melbourne in Round 8, but it all came together for Reid on Saturday against the Swans when he officially declared himself as a star of the future.
After consistently showing heartening signs over the previous month, Reid exploded to be one of the most influential players on the ground, and a key reason why the Bombers hung on for their thrilling eight-point win.
The Swans had 15 more inside 50s, but Reid was a major repelling force and consistently got in the way of Sydney’s best-intended scoring efforts. He was everywhere for the Dons, and finished up with a spectacular 27 disposals (18 kicks), 14 marks, eight intercepts and 451 metres gained in what was a complete performance.
He joined forces with McGrath, Nic Martin, Ben McKay, Mason Redman and Jaxon Prior to produce an excellent defensive team effort.
It wasn’t lost on spectators that while wearing the No.31, the impact Reid was having in that part of the ground was eerily similar to that of lanky champion Dustin Fletcher who donned that number with distinction across 400 games.
Now, this writer is certainly not comparing Reid to Fletcher, and given his extensive injury history, it would be wise to take a cautiously optimistic approach when imagining what his full potential might look like.
But when one considers the trajectory that he currently finds himself on, it’s hard not to envisage him becoming the general of Essendon’s backline in the next 12 to 24 months.
And with teenagers Nate Caddy (pick 10, 2023) and Isaac Kako (13, 2024) already looking as promising as they do up forward in the very early stages of their careers, over the next few years Essendon might start being regarded as a club that hits its high-end draft selections more often than it misses them.
