Garrett McDonagh Biography

Essendon delist Tom Hird, Tom Cutler and Garrett McDonagh.

"These three players handled this news with great professionalism and we wish them all the best for their future endeavours. They will always be welcome at the Essendon Football Club," Essendon general manager of football Josh Mahoney said.

Mature-age Essendon draftee Garrett McDonagh says he resorted to emailing several clubs in his bid to get on an AFL list.

"I wrote to a few clubs after last season, just to get my name out there. I had no manager so I was trying to do it myself, I just wrote to a few clubs and had a response from a few of them. A couple of weeks ago I had a call from Adrian (Dodoro, Essendon's list manager) and it was an amazing call, one I'll never forget," he said.

McDonagh believes an open spot on Essendon's half-back line is where recruiters believe he could fill a void, a position he played for Richmond's VFL side prior to being drafted.

"25 years old, there's not many of them getting drafted at the moment. It's been a whirlwind of a ride, so grateful for this journey of mine, can't thank Richmond enough for what they've done for me," he said.

Essendon select Garrett McDonagh with pick No.50 in the 2021 National Draft.

Draft Report: Mature-age premiership defender at West Preston-Lakeside who spent the past two seasons at Richmond's VFL team. Had 20 or more disposals in five of his eight games this year including 30 in his last outing for 2021.