Why Brereton thinks Essendon got a draft steal in Caddy after breakout game

Dermott Brereton loved what he saw from Essendon draftee Nate Caddy in Sunday’s 122-92 win over West Coast.

Playing in just his second career game, Caddy kicked two goals to go with 11 disposals and five score involvements.

Both of his goals caught the eye with the first an opportunistic snap and the second a strong contested mark which led to a set-shot finish.

Brereton watched Caddy closely during his draft year and was shocked to see the 193cm forward slide to pick No. 10 in the Draft.

As a result, he thinks Essendon might have gotten themselves a real steal.

“My partner has got a boy who plays at Richmond in the reserves,” Brereton said on SEN Whateley.

“But he played with the Sandringham Dragons last year … so by chance of their draw and who they played in finals, I saw Nate Caddy probably five times last year (for the Northern Knights).

“He went number 10 (in the Draft), but I had him at least in the top seven and I think from memory, the Bombers traded up one or two spots to get him.

“I thought looking at those players that I saw in that competition (the Coates Talent League), I thought he was somewhere in the top four to seven.”

As well as being a strong key forward, Brereton thinks that Caddy will eventually play midfield while floating forward to take contested grabs.

“He can play midfield,” Brereton said.

“He’s Jake Stringer's size, although not as thick through the torso yet, but he is Jake’s size with better aerial capabilities.

“He’s not quite as fast as Jake, but he is that type of player with much, much better aerial capabilities.

“Jake will stand flat-footed, hip shake you or bump into you … this kid will jump over packs.

“This kid will slide through a pack airily and pluck it at its highest point. Those boys don't.”

While Brereton doesn’t expect Caddy to ever be a burst midfielder, he thinks that his endurance will allow him to spend a fair bit of time on the inside.

He expects the youngster to cause some real headaches for the opposition when a defender that’s not a key is expected to match up on him given his prowess in the air and capabilities on the ground.

“I don't know if he's going to be as good as say Stringer as a burst player in the middle … but this kid probably has a little more endurance if he wants to play there,” Brereton said.

“But he's going to cause some serious headaches when he comes out of the midfield and says, ‘Alright, this is my 12 minutes forward’. Somebody is going to go, ‘Christ, how do I let him go when I'm trying to guard that bloke over there?’.

“If they put a six-foot-one guy on him, he’ll out-mark that bloke and he'll be as good on the ground as someone who's much more adept at that in that area.

“He's going to make headaches because of his size and shape and capabilities above his eyes.”

Caddy looks set to play his third AFL game when the third-placed Dons face the Cats at the MCG on Saturday night.