Essendon top pick on cloud nine

THERE was the pigeon in his locker, a day of Prison Break and then the performance to whet the appetite.

Even by No.1 draft pick standards, it was an eventful build-up to his Essendon debut for Andy McGrath.

Yet the Bombers’ highlyrated teenager was as we’ve already come to expect – cool, calm and composed – while exposed to the top level.

Indeed, McGrath wasn’t the only one smiling on Thursday night against Collingwood.

For while he had never run out alongside the likes of Jobe Watson and Dyson Heppell, he felt like they already had something in common.

They were all being welcomed. For McGrath it was for the first time; for the returning Bombers it was back to football.

And he was rapt to be a part of it.

“It’s just great to see all the smiles on their faces,” McGrath said.

“They’re in a pretty similar position to me, I guess. coming out here for the first time this year and they haven’t played footy in a while.

“It’s great to see them really happy and playing so passionately for the club.”

The No.1 draft pick had spent a nervous day catching up with a mate, snoozing and watching Prison Break.