‘Eyre long he’ll be clunking in defense.
Welcome Josh. Very pleased to have you in the red and black. Another left footer 
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I reckon young Josh could be anything, looking forward to seeing him develop over the next 2 years.
Pick No.39: Josh Eyre
NGA member and childhood Essendon supporter Josh Eyre has his dream come true.
Essendon has secured its Next Generation Academy (NGA) player Josh Eyre after matching Richmond’s bid at pick No.39 for the key forward in the 2020 NAB AFL Draft.
Eyre’s arrival marks a dream come true for the Calder Cannons product, who grew up barracking for the Bombers and joined the club’s James Hird Academy in 2018.
Standing at an imposing 198cm, Eyre is an athletic tall who worked his way into Calder’s line-up as a bottom-ager last year, becoming a mainstay as a forward and defender.
He lit up the Victorian Combine in November, clocking 6:30 mins in the 2km time trial and 2.98 secs in the 20m sprint, and recording top-10 running vertical jumps on both legs.
Eyre will be a familiar face at the NEC Hangar when he begins pre-season, having trained with the Bombers’ senior side for a week in December last year.
Josh Eyre with James Hird Academy head coach Heath Hocking during a training session with Essendon’s senior side in December last year. (Photo: Essendon FC)
General manager of list and recruiting Adrian Dodoro said Eyre was too good to pass up.
“Josh is one of those guys who has amazing athleticism. He’s 199(cm), but he could play on the wing, half-back, half-forward and pinch-hit in the ruck,” Dodoro said.
"He was too exciting to let go, so when he was bidded on, it was incumbent on us to keep him at our football club.
“He’s a very exciting talent and he’s going to excite our fans for many years to come.”
JOSH EYRE AT A GLANCE:
Position: Key forward
Team: Calder Cannons/Vic Metro
Height: 199cm
Weight: 85kg
DOB: October 24, 2002
Key strengths: Booming left foot, speed, athleticism
Key stat: Ran 20m sprint in 2.98 secs
This news is brought to you by Orchard HRO , the club’s official recruitment and list management partner.
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Any highlights out there?
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199cm, has he grown again? thought he was 198cm, late birthday as well.
Bottom aged, no footy exposure this year.
Who knows what he might have done if played.
Combine results were awesome. And that pre draft training session he stood out also.
Huge potential really - Tigers bidding using a 2nd rounder noting such
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Bit of the Jake Carlisles about those highlights
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I reckon he might become surprisingly good.
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I was expecting a bid in the 20’s. This kid can play.
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so, who’s seen him? is he any good?
I get this feeling that he will be a very good player for us
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Not much, the highlights above are the most I’ve seen of him (plus the TAC cup game @THE_DON1 recommended). Moves well, looks a clean mark, nice left boot. Get a bit of a Lucas vibe, but could just be because he’s a tall left footer.
Given the little exposed form and the impressive Test results, guessing it’s mainly on the upside potential with this kid. He’s on the younger side of the age group as well.
Easy on there, Nostradamus.
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He absolutely has some size to put on, but he isn’t as small as some might think. He certainly isn’t what Jones was when we drafted him last season.
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He was the best contested marking player at Training last week… apparently beat Cox and Brand pretty convincingly.
I reckon he will be the absolute steal of this draft.
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Umm… this is huge if true. Not sure how you got the scoop on that
Steal of the draft like Noah Gown and Tyson Slattery
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This either means he will be a gun or both Cox and Brand are no good either!
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