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

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Contract Status: Out of contract 2025
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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.
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Even though Richmond won two flags with just Nank it was really only 2017 when they played Grigg as second ruck. Nank and Soldo played in 2019 and they both played together during 2020 but Soldo got injured before the finals. You are right. It does work. It just did not work for Melbourne who had two star rucks in Grundy and Gawn who both needed to be playing 80% ruck time.
 
2 rucks depends on what the resting ruck offers. Draper has a good ground game, likes the physical stuff and is OK forward. Goldy is decent enough as a forward.

Question is whether Draper has enough time to get enough condition into him by R1. Not sure he does. So either Bryan covers him or someone like Jones comes in to cover for Wright going into the ruck.
 
Long term he makes a nice partner with Bryan at 70/30 split ruck duties.

Bryan does most of the heavy lifting while Draper cause havoc forward.

Every now and then we release Draper into the middle to just go wild.
 

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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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True 2 rucks have got it done. Anyone taking home a medal proves that. Maybe I over simplified & should have said - I don’t think a second ruck playing over a half decent KPF has been a feature driving wins.

In all those cases, it doesn’t appear that those teams were playing 2 genuine rucks. One ruck (70-80% ruck time - Nank, Gawn, Cameron) and a second “ruck” that happens to be the next best tall to plug holes in the forward line.
  • Melbourne struggled with quality KPF and Jackson is a unicorn
  • Pies tried everything to displace Cox (bringing in McStay, Kroger, etc) but copped injuries… Cox definitely took the opportunity
  • Nank rucks 80% then sits on the beach. Solodo was playing forward and pinch hitting in the ruck.

Only in the Melbourne example would it be seen as a feature of the team that drove wins rather than plugged holes. Switch up of Gawn going forward and kicking goals whilst Jackson dominated the centre was beautiful to watch.

Happy for Draper to spend 60% forward to hone his craft, get fit & let Goldie help carry the load this year.

Would be pretty disappointed if Draper or Bryan turn out to be a better forward option than Jones, caddy (in a year), Weid* or Hunter.


*maybe scratch Weid.
 
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    I missed parts of the game and have only just seen the incident with Lloyd.

    **** me is he the luckiest man on earth. Given he was weeks late, not in the same post code as the footy and clearly dropped the shoulder in with a degree of force I would have thought his is clearly the more objectionable non football act that the AFL should be legislating against.

    I have obvious qualms with Wright getting four for a pretty honest attempt at the ball but I wouldn’t have had any problem in Draper getting a week or two purely based on how dumb, unnecessary and late it was.
     
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    Zach Package said:
    I missed parts of the game and have only just seen the incident with Lloyd.

    **** me is he the luckiest man on earth. Given he was weeks late, not in the same post code as the footy and clearly dropped the shoulder in with a degree of force I would have thought his is clearly the more objectionable non football act that the AFL should be legislating against.

    I have obvious qualms with Wright getting four for a pretty honest attempt at the ball but I wouldn’t have had any interest in Draper getting a week or two purely based on how dumb, unnecessary and late it was.
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    Charging doesn't seem to exist anymore.
     
    katana said:
    what's he done to his kicking? looks genuinely nice now...

    two weeks in a row he's monstered opponents, he's now taking marks around the ground.

    he looks fit and genuinely ready to be one of the premier rucks in the comp.
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    Would have kicked a great goal but for Langford in the 3rd Q, he has presence and is naturaly aggressive, no fakeness here !!
     
    Thought RoMo had him and goldy covered early but he really lifted as the game went on. Taking some good clunks down the line for a change!
     
    He’s a truly incredible athlete. We have seen some agile big guys with Gawn and Grundy etc but the only Draper comparison is NicNat in my opinion.

    Draper is just so explosive and dynamic around the footy. Very impactful in contested situations and just loves to surge forward.

    Seeing how much his kicking has improved is illuminating in terms of how adaptable he might be. Maybe he’ll turn into a Bontempelli style midfielder in a ruckman’s body.
     
    joey_jo_jo said:
    Thought RoMo had him and goldy covered early but he really lifted as the game went on. Taking some good clunks down the line for a change!
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    Agreed. You could see the Sts ruck getting more and more frustrated, maybe tiring (?), as Drapes especially started to gain the ascendancy. Love how mobile he is for a big fella. Robbed by Langers and Langers knew it.
     
    ghostdog said:
    Agreed. You could see the Sts ruck getting more and more frustrated, maybe tiring (?), as Drapes especially started to gain the ascendancy. Love how mobile he is for a big fella. Robbed by Langers and Langers knew it.
    Click to expand...
    Yeah marshall was everywhere in first qtr.
    Feel like alot of our players got better as the game went on, which is a big tick for the fitness team as lyon coached teams usually run out games well.
     
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    AFL Player # 2: Sam Draper - The mullet hath returneth - 22/6

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