Murray Bushranger Charlie Byrne keeps AFL dream alive after invitation from Essendon

Less than two months later, the Albury product was offered an invitation to train with Essendon.

The 18-year-old jumped at the chance to learn from Bombers skipper Dyson Heppell and is hopeful he made a good impression with the club.

Byrne has returned to the Murray Bushrangers for the 2021 NAB League season and is prepared to work even harder to achieve his dream and play AFL football.

"After the draft, just before Christmas, they (Essendon) gave me a call to say they wanted to give me an opportunity to come down and train and hopefully push for a spot," Byrne said.

"There was a lot of communication back and forth and it was a bit week by week and it all happened.

"They set a date for February 1, but three weeks prior they called me to see if I could get down sooner than that because they were keen to see me.

"I think I went down on January 25 to train for a few weeks, which I was more than happy to do.

"I learnt everything I'm doing now. So much went on.

"If they say 'come up today', you're not going to say no, you're going to be happy to do it and that's how it went."

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Byrne trained alongside the entire senior group at Essendon, with the exception of a few injured players.

"Guys like Dyson Heppell were out there encouraging me. They were extremely welcoming and if I had a question they'd always answer it," he said.

"If you ask a bloke with that knowledge like Dyson Heppell, you know you're going to get a detailed answer.

"He made it really easy to understand.

"I knew Dyson Heppell was a leader, but when I saw him, just the way he speaks and the way he presents himself is impressive.

"Even though I thought he was good, he was better than I thought.

"I know people tell you not to meet your heroes, but if your hero is Dyson Heppell, you want to meet him."

Byrne aims to earn a call-up for Essendon's VFL squad this year when the Bushrangers have a break.

"I want to get myself in a position for the mid-season draft, if not the end of the year," he said.

"It's definitely a push in the right direction and gives you a bit of motivation."

The Bushrangers start the 2021 season against Bendigo Pioneers on April 4 at Shepparton's Deakin Reserve.

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