North Melbourne has bolstered its 2020 draft hand, after landing a second-round selection in a trade with Essendon on Thursday night.

The Roos’ recruiters dealt pick 30 and pick 50 in this year’s NAB AFL Draft, in exchange for pick 35 (Flynn Perez) and the Bombers’ 2020 second-round selection.

“Essentially we went into the draft with four selections, and once we knew we’d sign Josh Walker as a delisted free agent, we had that pick available for trade,” National Recruiting Manager, Mark Finnigan explained.

“We tried to maximise the value in that pick, and by sliding back in the draft (this year), we felt obtaining that second round pick next year puts us in a really great spot.

“Next year we go in with two first-round picks, a second-round pick and two fourth-round picks which puts us in a really good spot, and a flexible option to do what we want next year.”

In a frantic 15-minute period, North welcomed three emerging youngsters with picks 31, 34 and 35.

Charlie Comben (ruck/forward), Jack Mahony (midfielder/small forward) and Perez (rebounding defender) will join the Roos’ playing group in the coming days.

“We’re pretty confident we’ve added to the group we have here, and three players that give us something different in each position,” Finnigan added.