AFL Player # 2: Sam Draper - Knee surgery, 6-8 weeks - 14/5

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Contract Status: Out of contract 2025
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 20, TheUnicorn
 
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ghostdog said:
It's February and he still hasn't joined match sim. He'll be very proficient at jogging laps but match fitness is a different demand.
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He did all the footy drills yesterday. It will be close but he should make it to the practice match. He would still be very much 50/50 for round 1 but he looks in great nick and is moving very well. In fact he looks more agile just looking at him in the drills.

One thing I should mention is while the match sim was on he did more running and then was working with Trav Cloke on some forward craft stuff . Leading and timing of leads plus some second and third leads. Looks like there will be some sort of forward role planed for him as well as ruck.
 
ant555 said:
He did all the footy drills yesterday. It will be close but he should make it to the practice match. He would still be very much 50/50 for round 1 but he looks in great nick and is moving very well. In fact he looks more agile just looking at him in the drills.

One thing I should mention is while the match sim was on he did more running and then was working with Trav Cloke on some forward craft stuff . Leading and timing of leads plus some second and third leads. Looks like there will be some sort of forward role planed for him as well as ruck.
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That sounds like a contingency plan in case Wright goes down? Bryan then plays ruck?
 
ghostdog said:
That sounds like a contingency plan in case Wright goes down? Bryan then plays ruck?
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I think we'll see 2 ruckman most of the year with Draper spending about 40% time forward. Goldstein or Bryan sounds close, i think Brad will start Goldy and let Bryan take the spot on merit. Wright and 1 of Jones/Caddy will be the talls along with bursts from Draper. They want more tall marking options forward leading up to the wings which is understandable
 

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ghostdog said:
That sounds like a contingency plan in case Wright goes down? Bryan then plays ruck?
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I think it is more we are going to play two rucks and Sam will be the one most dangerous as a deep forward .
 
ghostdog said:
It's February and he still hasn't joined match sim. He'll be very proficient at jogging laps but match fitness is a different demand.
Click to expand...
ant555 said:
He did all the footy drills yesterday. It will be close but he should make it to the practice match. He would still be very much 50/50 for round 1 but he looks in great nick and is moving very well. In fact he looks more agile just looking at him in the drills.

One thing I should mention is while the match sim was on he did more running and then was working with Trav Cloke on some forward craft stuff . Leading and timing of leads plus some second and third leads. Looks like there will be some sort of forward role planed for him as well as ruck.
Click to expand...
ghostdog said:
That sounds like a contingency plan in case Wright goes down? Bryan then plays ruck?
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At the end of last year when they pulled the trigger and sent him in for surgery, there was speculation from the man himself that he wouldn't be available until round 6 or something. If he's touch and go for round 1 then that represents a massive amount of work as it is.

Would be Goldstein and Bryan, probably.

And if they're planning on having two rucks then they'll all be developing skills elsewhere on the ground, not really a big deal
 
www.theage.com.au

Draper ups the ante in round-one push; ‘We need to be competitive’, says Eagles coach Simpson

An important Bomber is mounting a late bid to be ready for round one of the premiership season. Meanwhile, Adam Simpson is clear about the steps needed to develop an identity that returns West Coast to finals and premiership contention.
www.theage.com.au www.theage.com.au


Draper pushing to be fit for round one​

Andrew Wu
Essendon ruckman Sam Draper is finally pain-free and ready to be let off the leash as he makes a late dash to be fit for round one.
The Bombers’ brains trust has taken the conservative approach with Draper, knowing they have experienced back-up in former North Melbourne big man Todd Goldstein, but their key ruckman is now ready to up the ante.


Sam Draper begins full training on Wednesday after surgery in September.CREDIT:GETTY
Draper’s importance to the Bombers was laid bare in the second half of last season when, as he was absent with a groin injury, they lost five of eight games and struggled to beat West Coast and North Melbourne amid an alarming fade-out.
Unable to train fully since undergoing groin surgery in September, Draper will join the Dons’ main group for training on Wednesday with the aim of logging precious practice match time to be ready for the start of the season.

Sam Draper is aiming to play in round one after an interrupted pre-season.CREDIT:AAP
“I’m feeling pretty good, to be honest,” Draper said on Tuesday. “The last couple of weeks have been great for me running around pain-free and slowly getting in some drills with the boys.


“[I’m] looking at training tomorrow with the group, which is quite exciting.”
The Dons play St Kilda on Friday week in match simulation before taking on Geelong on March 1 in an official practice match.
“I’m definitely aiming to play some of those practice games, not sure what that looks like if it’s AFL or VFL,” Draper said.
Should Draper not be ready, Goldstein will start the season in the ruck after impressing since arriving from the Kangaroos, where he played 315 games.
The question for coach Brad Scott is whether the Dons can play both Draper and Goldstein in the same team. Melbourne could not fit both Max Gawn and Brody Grundy last year but the Dons had success with Draper and the now-retired Andrew Phillips.

For Essendon’s specialist ruck pairing to work, it would most likely require Draper, the more accomplished forward, to spend more time around goal.
“I think we can definitely be a good partnership together,” Draper said. “I think the last couple of years I’ve learnt my craft in the forward line and feel really comfortable playing forward.
“We haven’t trained together yet. It’s a bit hard to say if we will be. But yeah, definitely, I think we can work well together.”
The Bombers enter Scott’s second season at the Hangar cautiously optimistic. Publicly berated by Scott at the end of last year for their modest professional standards, Essendon’s players took more of a lead in the pre-season, with many training overseas during their holidays.
The arrivals of Goldstein, Xavier Duursma, Jade Gresham and Ben McKay – all likely starters in round one – should help in their bid to win their first final since 2004, but their defensive frailties, evident late in the year, still need remedying.

“I think we improved from 18th to 15th, which doesn’t seem like a big deal, but I think we’re able to slow teams down a lot more, but they were still able to get through us and score when they went forward,” Bombers captain Zach Merrett said.
“It doesn’t mean we need to be No.1, but we certainly need to bring that gap down, to balance our full game plan around that.
“I hope fans can come and watch and know what they’re gonna get.

Essendon skipper Zach Merrett.CREDIT:AAP
“I know we’re not there yet, but 2024 hopefully gets us closer to that.”

Merrett said he was well aware of the Bombers’ finals drought.
“It’s going to be talked about until we win one,” Merrett said. “I wouldn’t say it hangs over our head, we know it’s there, it’s real, it’s not going away.
“We’re just focused on trying to keep building a program and an ability to play a style of footy that will hold up consistently. And hopefully that number will be back to zero sooner rather than later.
“It’s realistic and we’ll have to embrace and enjoy that process, I think.”
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Personal view is that we shouldn’t play two rucks if 2MP is playing.

1) I think benefits from a stint
2) We become too slow - bbetter to surround him with Jones, Caddy, Langford etc as secondary marking targets

Two rucks was a necessity last year when 2MP was injured. That said….suspect round 1 will see us pick two rucks.
 
Vander18 said:
Personal view is that we shouldn’t play two rucks if 2MP is playing.

1) I think benefits from a stint
2) We become too slow - bbetter to surround him with Jones, Caddy, Langford etc as secondary marking targets

Two rucks was a necessity last year when 2MP was injured. That said….suspect round 1 will see us pick two rucks.
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Depends how often all 3 are on the ground in the forward line. I agree if all 3 are there too long we become slow but if Sam is part of a ruck / forward rotation it does not hurt as much.
 
ant555 said:
Depends how often all 3 are on the ground in the forward line. I agree if all 3 are there too long we become slow but if Sam is part of a ruck / forward rotation it does not hurt as much.
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That doesn’t factor in the benefit of 2MP having a run in there. I think he’s a bit like Paddy Ryder - who always seemed to play better forward when it was combined with ruck duties.

Then when Wright goes to the ruck you can mix it up with Draper forward or some small ball stuff that creates mismatches for either of Stringer or Langford out in particular.

Personally I like the smaller
line up better but take your point - can minimise the impact through bench rotations.
 

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Wrights best role as a forward is as a leading target around the 50M arc and wing marking threat. Your traditional CHF.

Draper as a forward plays better deeper. Thrives closer to goal, as is a decent crumber off a spilled contest and will score the odd magic how’d he do that goal if he’s within range of a snap.

I think they will be pretty good together. Think 2021 with Draper in the role Hooker played. The question seems to be about who the 3rd tall should be. with Bryan/Goldy/Jones all competing for that spot and various structure changes that represents
 
dank420_ said:
Maybe but one has come up short many times and one is a baby.

Draper has proven himself up forward for a resting ruck. There's nothing to suggest it's going to hinder 2MP.
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Jones has also demonstrated clear AFL level talent to be fair.

I don’t mind Draper resting forward if 2MP goes to the ruck. But playing them forward together makes us too slow IMO - we can’t continue to allow the ball to slingshot out of our forward line.
 
Vander18 said:
Jones has also demonstrated clear AFL level talent to be fair.

I don’t mind Draper resting forward if 2MP goes to the ruck. But playing them forward together makes us too slow IMO - we can’t continue to allow the ball to slingshot out of our forward line.
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That’s more of an issue with having a lack of Small Forwards. Playing Stringer functionally as a tall slow small forward has been a big issue the past few years.

That’s really where the pressure should be coming from. Menzie, Gresham, Perkins, Caldwell ect

Then mids doing actual defensive running to close gaps and make oppo HBs hesitate while trying to work out what their option is
 
jdstorm said:
That’s more of an issue with having a lack of Small Forwards. Playing Stringer functionally as a tall slow small forward has been a big issue the past few years.
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This is true. But I don’t see a world where Langford and Stringer plus one of Jones/Caddy don’t play.
 
Vander18 said:
This is true. But I don’t see a world where Langford and Stringer plus one of Jones/Caddy don’t play.
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Stringer will have some midfield rotation going by the match sim so far.
They key to it working will be not having them all on the ground at once nice for too long.
They could still use 2MP to ruck as well .
It will come down to how well Sam can produce as a forward. They have been putting a bit of work into his leading and forward craft while he has bee on the modified program. Lots of one on one time with Cloke .
Not saying it will work but my view is it is worth looking at now as a guide going forward. 🙂
 
Like it not (not a fan myself) all signs are we’re playing 2 rucks in 2024. Coach said it. Goldie said coach said it. Big Footy said Goldie said coach said it.

Plus Draper talking up his forward skills / development.

Considering how not well it’s worked anywhere, I’m hoping it’s Draper playing forward 60% in 2024 (Goldie primary ruck) but ONLY to develop Draper into a goal kicking ruck. So then in 2025 he can be the one and only EFC ruck.
 
Rick Ross said:
Like it not (not a fan myself) all signs are we’re playing 2 rucks in 2024. Coach said it. Goldie said coach said it. Big Footy said Goldie said coach said it.

Plus Draper talking up his forward skills / development.

Considering how not well it’s worked anywhere, I’m hoping it’s Draper playing forward 60% in 2024 (Goldie primary ruck) but ONLY to develop Draper into a goal kicking ruck. So then in 2025 he can be the one and only EFC ruck.
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Would not say it has not worked anywhere.
Collingwood played Cameron and Cox in the GF . Both play their best footy as rucks even though Cameron has some forward ability.
Melbourne Jackson and Gawn although I admit Jackson is a decent forward but it was his ruck work in the third quarter that helped break the game.
Richmond played Nankervis and Soldo in the 2019 GF win.
Did not work for Melbourne with Gawn and Grundy for sure and a few sides like Geelong and Richmond have also won flags with 1 genuine ruck but it has also been done in recent times.
 
ant555 said:
Would not say it has not worked anywhere.
Collingwood played Cameron and Cox in the GF . Both play their best footy as rucks even though Cameron has some forward ability.
Melbourne Jackson and Gawn although I admit Jackson is a decent forward but it was his ruck work in the third quarter that helped break the game.
Richmond played Nankervis and Soldo in the 2019 GF win.
Did not work for Melbourne with Gawn and Grundy for sure and a few sides like Geelong and Richmond have also won flags with 1 genuine ruck but it has also been done in recent times.
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Outside of Richmond going Nank solo 2017/2020, who was the last premier not to play 2 notionally rucks? Collingwood 2010? And before that it was who? The whole "2 rucks doesn't work" is a bizarre statement that doesn't really ring true.

And yes I count Blicavs as a ruck.
 
eth-dog said:
Outside of Richmond going Nank solo 2017/2020, who was the last premier not to play 2 notionally rucks? Collingwood 2010? And before that it was who? The whole "2 rucks doesn't work" is a bizarre statement that doesn't really ring true.

And yes I count Blicavs as a ruck.
Click to expand...

Agreed. The big challenge is finding a ruck who is decent forward.

Why am I bullish in Draper.
 
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