# Essendon’s Rebuild Starts Here | Rick Edwards’ June 2026 Top 20 Draft Rankings Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/don-the-stat-5422065/essendon-s-rebuild-starts-here-rick-edwards-june-2026-top-20-draft-rankings Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/don-the-stat-5422065/essendon-s-rebuild-starts-here-rick-edwards-june-2026-top-20-draft-rankings.md Podcast: [Don The Stat](https://stenobird.com/podcast/don-the-stat-5422065) Published: 2026-06-08T11:07:34+00:00 Episode link: https://donthestat.podbean.com/e/essendon-s-rebuild-starts-here-rick-edwards-mid-season-draft-check-in/ Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/2pstirqe997fk3gp/Rick_June_Recording6ihmb.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/don-the-stat-5422065/episodes/essendon-s-rebuild-starts-here-rick-edwards-june-2026-top-20-draft-rankings Duration seconds: 2832 ## Resource Support Rick at his Patreon here - https://www.patreon.com/cw/RickEdwards With Essendon's 2026 season spiralling and the AFL Draft becoming the major source of optimism for Bombers fans, we welcome back one of the most respected talent watchers in the Essendon community β€” Rick Edwards. In this special Don The Stat episode, Rick reveals his exclusive Mid-Season Top 20 AFL Draft Rankings and breaks down the players every Essendon supporter should be watching ahead of the National Championships. We discuss: πŸ† The state of Essendon's season and whether Brad Scott's sacking was the right call πŸ† James Hird's coaching prospects and what the Bombers should prioritise in their rebuild πŸ† Why Harry Van Hattum is currently Rick's No.1 prospect πŸ† Arki Butler, Ethan Drever, Kodah Edwards, Harvie Cook and the other elite talents climbing draft boards πŸ† Who Essendon could target with multiple early selections πŸ† The latest on NGA prospects Justice, Bewick, Jed Naim, Darwish and Rodan πŸ† Rick's experience watching the Vic Metro vs Vic Country trial match πŸ† The players who could rise rapidly during the National Championships If you're already looking ahead to the future of the Essendon Football Club, this is the draft episode you've been waiting for. Don't forget to check out Rick's Patreon for exclusive training reports, vision and draft analysis, and follow him on X at @BomberRicko. πŸ”΄βš« #GoDons ____ Watch 'The Moment that Mattered' and listen to our Post Match First Thoughts exclusively on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/donthestat Don The Stat Website: https://www.donthestat.com/ Follow Us on Twitter and Bluesky: Jono at twitter.com/JonathanJWalsh / https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanjwalsh.bsky.social Ian at twitter.com/Kyptastic1 / https://bsky.app/profile/kyptastic.bsky.social Don T… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/don-the-stat-5422065/episodes/essendon-s-rebuild-starts-here-rick-edwards-june-2026-top-20-draft-rankings/transcription-requests` β€” Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/don-the-stat-5422065/essendon-s-rebuild-starts-here-rick-edwards-june-2026-top-20-draft-rankings.md` β€” Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.