BROWNLOW MEDALLIST QUESTIONS WHETHER ESSENDON IS THE RIGHT FIT FOR GOLDSTEIN

Former Essendon midfielder Adam Cooney has questioned whether or not his old club is the right landing spot for veteran Todd Goldstein.

The North Melbourne ruckman has reportedly selected the Bombers as his club of choice and is expected to make the move from Arden Street to The Hangar as an unrestricted free agent when the free agency period opens on Friday.

This year’s premiers Collingwood were also reportedly in the mix for 35-year-old Goldstein while Geelong had been loosely touted as a potential home.

Cooney, who won the 2008 Brownlow Medal with the Western Bulldogs, is not too sure about Goldstein’s impending arrival as he feels that Essendon has the right emerging ruckmen in Sam Draper and Nick Bryan to hold down that position for years to come,

“As strange as it sounds, I think Collingwood would have been a better fit for Todd Goldstein,” Cooney said on SEN’s Sportsday.

“I can see him elevating himself to the no.1 ruckman above Darcy Cameron and Mason Cox. Cox and Cameron can go forward and kick goals and take marks, which could help the flexibility of the Collingwood team.

“Sam Draper is the no.1 guy at Essendon, I don’t see Todd Goldstein coming in next year and pushing Draper out of the side. As long as Draper is fit, he’s the no.1 guy.

“So is Goldstein going there to try and wrestle the no.1 ruck role away from Draper? Is he going as support? Is he going to play as a Brodie Grundy-type forward and a backup in the ruck?

“I’m not sure it’s the best fit for Goldstein and Essendon.

“I know Draper has had injury concerns this year and hasn’t played a lot of footy, maybe they’re thinking Draper isn’t going to get out on the park as much as he needs to.”

Cooney described it as an “interesting decision”, especially considering the Dons have youthful rucks looking to develop, whereas a team like the Cats, for example, have chopped and changed between Rhys Stanley and Mark Blicavs with some support from the recently-retired Jonathon Ceglar across the last few seasons.

He believes adding an older player like Goldstein could impact the development of Bryan in particular.

“I’d like the combination if everyone was fit and up and going to be Bryan and Draper with an eye to the future there,” Cooney added.

“Whether that sets him (Bryan) back and he might be thinking, ‘Well, maybe I should look at other opportunities…’ this could have a flow-on effect from that.

“It’s an interesting decision for me. Todd Goldstein, I think, would have been better off going to Geelong down the highway, he would slot in and work with Rhys Stanley and possibly be the no.1 guy at the Cats for 12 months and maybe help them elevate themselves back up.”

The Bombers, however, aren’t fully bolstered in the ruck position right now given that Andrew Phillips has retired while Draper underwent groin surgery last week and Bryan is very green with just 14 senior games to his name.