Young gun Andrew McGrath has created headlines before playing his first game, with Essendon's first ever No.1 draft pick being handed the club's No.1 guernsey for the 2017 season.
The former Brighton Grammar school captain and Sandringham Dragons star will wear the number after defender Michael Hibberd found his way to Melbourne.
The No.1 jumper at Essendon has been worn by several famous names, including premiership players Merv Neagle, Mark Johnson and Mark Harvey.
McGrath's jumper number – along with those of Essendon's other recruits – was unveiled at the club's member's forum at Etihad Stadium on Monday night.
"It's a massive honour," McGrath told the forum. "The number is pretty famous at the club, you look at the names on the locker every day and see all the famous names like Merv and Harves and all the boys … and it just really urges you on to work really hard and live up to the expectations of all those players and hopefully be half as good as them one day."
McGrath's draftee teammates were also unveiled, with Jordan Ridley (14), Josh Begley (16), Kobe Mutch (19) and Dylan Clarke (37) all given their numbers.
The Bombers forward recruits from other clubs, James Stewart and Josh Green were given numbers 17 and 15 respectively.
Hundreds of die-hard Bombers fans turned up to the member's forum; where they were able to ask questions of several Bombers administrators and coaches.
The club's infamous supplements saga was barely mentioned, however, with most questions concerning Essendon's future rather than its past.
