AFL Player # 2: Sam Draper - The mullet hath returneth - 22/6

[Dave]

Contract Status: Out of contract 2025
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 20, TheUnicorn

 

[naraku]

Got completely out played and sent to the cleaners.

But yeah, I would go with him another week or two other's he can sharpen up in the VFL.

 

[TheGrizz]

I am still bullish on him long term, but he seems to have lost his aggression around the ground. If a spell in the VFL can get that back i am all for it, but have no idea if that is the answer...

 

[fairbump_playon]

Phillips was actually pretty good

 

[bacon buster]

Whether or not he will be good or not, is kinda irrelevant

Right now, he’s not good enough to be considered an AFL no 1 ruck. I’d also like to see Bryan have a go at it

Phillips outplayed Draper tonight, and for matchups, if we wanted to go smaller, Draper could have a week in the 2s. Can’t play both every week

 

[BrunoV]

Draper got dominated by a guy who has put together 4 or 5 years that have him in the conversation as the pure ruck in the game and you want Bryan?

He's about 10kg lighter than Draper and I was surprised by how much heavier Gawn looked than Draper.

It looks to my eye that Draper has trimmed down, probably a result of running out the best part of a full preseson.

I think this is why he's not playing with the same presence. I can see how these things ebb and flow for a young guy his size.

I'm not going to pretend I wasn't predicting a genuine break out would have happened by now, but at the end of the day the ruck is generally not a young man's game.

He's still 23.5 yo. I'm surprised to be saying it but he may need to be managed through the year. He may still be another 12 to 24 months away from being the player I thought he was.

 

[ant555]

Draper got dominated by a guy who has put together 4 or 5 years that have him in the conversation as the pure ruck in the game and you want Bryan?

He's about 10kg lighter than Draper and I was surprised by how much heavier Gawn looked than Draper.

It looks to my eye that Draper has trimmed down, probably a result of running out the best part of a full preseson.

I think this is why he's not playing with the same presence. I can see how these things ebb and flow for a young guy his size.

I'm not going to pretend I wasn't predicting a genuine break out would have happened by now, but at the end of the day the ruck is generally not a young man's game.

He's still 23.5 yo. I'm surprised to be saying it but he may need to be managed through the year. He may still be another 12 to 24 months away from being the player I thought he was.

He is a long way from being what he can be but he has played under 30 games so you would expect it.
Right now I would be giving Sam a few weeks in the VFL to find some footy and playing Phillips and Bryan for 3 weeks.

 

[citizen-erased]

He is a long way from being what he can be but he has played under 30 games so you would expect it.
Right now I would be giving Sam a few weeks in the VFL to find some footy and playing Phillips and Bryan for 3 weeks.

Is bryan ready? Not seen any vfl, so curious.
But yep, phillips was very good against a strong ruck opposition off very little game time

What i did like last night was 2mp as a pure forward. So a solution is needed.
Have we got a forward that can ruck? And let phillips and draper fight it out for #1 spot

 

[MiguelM]

Is bryan ready? Not seen any vfl, so curious.
But yep, phillips was very good against a strong ruck opposition off very little game time

What i did like last night was 2mp as a pure forward. So a solution is needed.
Have we got a forward that can ruck? And let phillips and draper fight it out for #1 spot

Yep, 2MP needs to stay forward.

We CAN absolutely build our forward line around him now.

 

[ant555]

Is bryan ready? Not seen any vfl, so curious.
But yep, phillips was very good against a strong ruck opposition off very little game time

What i did like last night was 2mp as a pure forward. So a solution is needed.
Have we got a forward that can ruck? And let phillips and draper fight it out for #1 spot

Bryan is probably not ready but he is at the stage where we can give him some exposure as long as we have Phillips to ruck as the number 1 man. That leaves Wright forward which is the best solution right now as far as set up goes. Sam will be back but I think he needs a few in the VFL to find a bit of footy around the ground and get some mojo back.

 

[andleanback]

Is bryan ready? Not seen any vfl, so curious.
But yep, phillips was very good against a strong ruck opposition off very little game time

What i did like last night was 2mp as a pure forward. So a solution is needed.
Have we got a forward that can ruck? And let phillips and draper fight it out for #1 spot

Bryan can’t do any worse than the output draper gave last night. Bryan will play full time ruck today in the vfl, I’d be giving him a go if he plays well.

 

[citizen-erased]

Bryan is probably not ready but he is at the stage where we can give him some exposure as long as we have Phillips to ruck as the number 1 man. That leaves Wright forward which is the best solution right now as far as set up goes. Sam will be back but I think he needs a few in the VFL to find a bit of footy around the ground and get some mojo back.

Im convinced Wright is the full forward for the future. Last two weeks have been exactly what i thought he'd be like pre-draft and a welcome change to everything post-lloyd.

It might be worth bryan coming in as a deep forward/relief ruck and running draper or phillips against ROB, darcy (or meek) and grundy in next few weeks.

 

[TheGrizz]

Draper got dominated by a guy who has put together 4 or 5 years that have him in the conversation as the pure ruck in the game and you want Bryan?

He's about 10kg lighter than Draper and I was surprised by how much heavier Gawn looked than Draper.

It looks to my eye that Draper has trimmed down, probably a result of running out the best part of a full preseson.

I think this is why he's not playing with the same presence. I can see how these things ebb and flow for a young guy his size.

I'm not going to pretend I wasn't predicting a genuine break out would have happened by now, but at the end of the day the ruck is generally not a young man's game.

He's still 23.5 yo. I'm surprised to be saying it but he may need to be managed through the year. He may still be another 12 to 24 months away from being the player I thought he was.

I am not worried about Gawn besting him in the ruck, particularly in terms of hitouts etc.

My issue with Draper at the present is that he is lacking intensity and aggression around the ground at the moment.
What made him so remarkable last year was that he was almost reckless with how he attacked a contest. That physicality and intensity has been lacking so far this year. I was at the game vs Brisbane and there were multiple occasions where he needed to impose himself physically in congestion or was the man to go up in an aerial contest and he didn't or was too easily beaten.

Not to mention the book is out on him a bit around the league, he isnt surprising anyone anymore and he is being planned for. His opposing rucks are now challenging him to match their run, with McInerney, Stanley and Gawn/Jackson streaming forward and trying to catch him out of position.

It is to be expected, like you said he is only 23 with not a tonne of games, and was late to play footy anyway. But regardless he isn't immune to being dropped, and a couple of weeks in the VFL to get his aggression back by beating up in VFL ruckmen could be just the tonic to get his confidence back.

 

[Howard Moon]

It's not just the output, it's the footy nouse

At one point we had backs to the wall for about ten minutes in the demons half, we finally made a foray forward and somehow created a stoppage inside 50. Beautiful I thought, we can camp in our 50 for bit and force a score, ump.bounces , big drapes round arm swings the ball 15m into the clear and out it goes straight back to the demons half.

I swore all we needed was a couple of taps to the feet of the stoppage , lock it up, build a wall ect. Little things like this I guess, needs more feel for moments and times

 

[Big Slam]

And what did I say his potential to be, exactly?

A quality starting ruck that could be in the top 10 or so in the league at his position at his best? Sure.
Anything else is gravy.

I used Gawn as an example of how you cant write a 23yo ruckman off as hitting his ceiling - that's it. I have made no suggestion that he is Gawns quality or going to get to that level, you have just assumed that.

Looks at Shane Mumford or Sam Jacobs as other late bloomers if that has confused you. The point is writing him off as a bust at this point, two games into 2022 when various respected pundits had him as one of our brightest stars coming into this year, is baby and bathwater stuff.

Guess you wanted to wait 3 games then?

I see you’re saying he should be dropped to the 2’s now?

Lol.

 

[TheGrizz]

Guess you wanted to wait 3 games then?

I see you’re saying he should be dropped to the 2’s now?

Lol.

I never said he shouldn't be dropped, I said writing him off as a bust was foolish because he still needs to develop. If you cant understand the difference, then I can't help you.

But if you are going to be facetious by cherry picking arguments, at least get them right.

 

[maskmcgee]

All the people ending Draper's career - please note the following:

1. He has played 23 games TOTAL and has had 2 serious leg injuries in the first part of his career.

Being prone to serious injuries is a reason to want someone different not an upside

 

[TheGrizz]

Being prone to serious injuries is a reason to want someone different not an upside

It's a factor to be balanced, sure.

But there are plenty of players who have had serious injuries early in their career and have gone on to be fine.

 

[bombadeer]

Truck has obviously decided to develop this guy in the seniors - he’ll be up and down, if it was purely about winning games, Philips is a better ruck and better around the ground, by a fair margin.

 

[rumply]

Truck has obviously decided to develop this guy in the seniors - he’ll be up and down, if it was purely about winning games, Philips is a better ruck and better around the ground, by a fair margin.

Phillips is not a consistent player that can be relied upon week after week, he often flashes first up then his form tapers off. Would much rather persist with Draper.

 

[blitzer]

I still have high hopes for Draper but he really needs a big lift from his efforts so far this season and in particular the game against Melbourne.
I mean we know Gawn/Jackson are a great pairing but Phillips put up a much better showing than Draper did.

2 touches or whatever he had is not an effort that's acceptable.

 

[yodellinhank]

Have his performances dropped off markedly from last year? He wouldn't be the first young ruck to get beaten fairly badly. Held his own alright previously though.

 

[bombadeer]

Have his performances dropped off markedly from last year? He wouldn't be the first young ruck to get beaten fairly badly. Held his own alright previously though.

He was more of a presence around the ball - I also think his tap work has been poor, lack of possessions is the least of his worries. Still, the kid is 30 games into his career - time is on his side.

 

[BrunoV]

Wait, am I in a time warp?

Draper was more than solid v Adelaide.

 

[eth-dog]

Really good game. Now back it up against the man I think is the second best ruck in the comp.

 

[TheGrizz]

The aggro and intensity was back, love it.