Perkins hits back at critics of interstate comment

Essendon draftee Archie Perkins has hit back at criticism of his answers during the pre-draft process, saying his comments have been misconstrued.

Perkins polarised the AFL world prior to the draft after admitting that he had told clubs that he would prefer to not be selected by a team based outside of his home state Victoria.

However, after his wishes were granted by Essendon when he was their second first-round pick of the night, Perkins had some words for his critics.

"I think it's sort of been taken a bit the wrong way," he said.

"The clubs ask you the question, so therefore I'm going to answer it. It's not like I've gone out of my way to tell them that. They asked me."

Perkins joins athletic talls Nik Cox (pick 8) and Zach Reid (pick 10) as Essendon's three first-round picks from the draft, while the club also picked up academy products Josh Eyre and Cody Brand later on in the draft.

After a horror season on the field as well as an off-season which began with key personnel departing, Essendon is hoping that the trio of Cox, Reid and Perkins sparks a successful new era.

By picking the three youngsters inside the top 10 picks, Essendon became the first non-expansion club to do so since Hawthorn selected Jarryd Roughead, Lance Franklin and Jordan Lewis in the 2004 draft.

Essendon's brains trust will be hoping that their trio of top-10 picks brings a similar amount of success as the Hawks' 2004 draft haul.