Bombers hold onto No.5 AFL draft selection

The most hated statistic at Essendon reared its ugly head as the Bombers held onto their top AFL draft pick and used it to recruit Elijah Tsatas.

The 18-year-old midfielder becomes the first Essendon player born after they last won an AFL final.

He was born on October 18, 2004 - a month after the Bombers beat Melbourne in an elimination final.

It is the longest finals win drought in the AFL and there are parody Twitter accounts mocking Essendon's September futility.

But the Bombers are bullish that Tsatas will help them end their barren era.

The biggest speculation before Monday night's first round of the draft was whether they would hold onto their top pick at No.5 - and if so, how they would use it.

Highly rated South Australian Mattaes Phillipou was also in their sights.

But they went for Tsatas and St Kilda picked up Phillipou five picks later.

"We're rapt to have him, he's exactly what we want in our midfield - he's 188cm, he has great speed, great balance, he's high-end," said Bombers recruiting boss Adrian Dodoro.

"We're chuffed to get him."

Told about the significance of when Tsatas was born, Dodoro replied: "It's making me feel pretty old."

Dodoro confirmed several clubs made serious offers for Essendon to trade away their top pick.

It was at No.4 until Brisbane used their father-son provision to step in and recruit Will Ashcroft at No.2, matching North Melbourne's bid and pushing all other selections back  by one.

"They were genuine ... but at the end of the day, they weren't compelling enough for the player we wanted," Dodoro said of interest from other clubs.

"We're happy we made the right call."

Dodoro said they decided a couple of hours before the draft started on Monday night to hold onto the pick.

"We would have lost a really good player to accept later picks in the draft," he said.

"A lot of people had him (Tsatas) in the top three or four (picks) on talent.

"We did the right thing by not declaring our hand - everyone in the industry knew we were sincere about listening to offers.

"You put it out there - it's a good thing for the industry we were able to create a bit of competition for picks an put a bit of interest in the night."

Asked if Tsatas might play in round one next season, Dodoro said: "He'll certainly give himself a chance."

Twins Alwyn Jnr and Jayden Davey have nominated Essendon under the father-son rule, with the Bombers aiming to recruit them when the draft continues on Tuesday evening.

"We certainly think we'll have another successful night," Dodoro said.