Sam Draper

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Sam Draper
Personal information
Full name Sam Draper
Nickname(s) Drapes, The Mullet
Date of birth (1998-09-28) 28 September 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth South Australia
Original team(s) South Adelaide (SANFL)
Reynella (SFL)
Draft No. 1, 2017 AFL rookie draft
Debut Round 9, 2020, Essendon  vs. Brisbane Lions, at Carrara Stadium
Height 205 cm (6 ft 9 in)
Weight 105 kg (231 lb)
Position(s) Ruck
Club information
Current club Essendon
Number 2
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
2017– Essendon 74 (37)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 1, 2025.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Sam Draper (born 28 September 1998) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited with the 1st draft pick in the 2017 AFL rookie draft. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life

Draper was born in South Australia, but he lived in Brede in East Sussex for six years, where he enjoyed playing association football. [3]

Draper played for South Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) for the 2016 season. [4]

AFL career

In Essendon's Victorian Football League (VFL) match against Geelong in 2019, Draper tore his ACL. [5] He missed nearly 12 months of football in his recovery, but signed a four-year contract extension in August of 2019. [3]

The ruckman debuted in Round 9 of the 2020 AFL season in Essendon's 63-point loss against the Brisbane Lions. [3] [6] On debut, Draper picked up 9 disposals, 2 marks and 2 tackles, and kicked a behind. [7] He quickly became a fan favourite through the remainder of the 2020 season due mostly to his extremely physical style of play and mullet hairstyle. He went on to play 8 games and win the club’s Lindsay Griffith’s Rising Star award at the conclusion of the season. [8]

Draped switched his number 38 guernsey for number 2 prior to the 2021 season. He suffered a syndesmosis injury in Round 2 of 2021 after a good start to the beginning of the season. [9] He was out of the team for 12 weeks before returning to the lineup in Round 14. [10]

Playing every game of 2022, a highlight came when Draper kicked Goal of the Year against Gold Coast in Round 18. Eddie Betts called it Goal of the Year during Fox Footy's live commentary. [11]

The following season, Draper was the target of controversy for an umpiring decision involving Adelaide forward Taylor Walker. Walker's tackle on Draper was not called holding the ball by the match officials in the dying seconds of the match. The AFL later conceded that the decision was an error. [12] Draper scored the opening goal in 2024's ANZAC Day draw with Collingwood, but did not play again until June after he underwent a knee surgery. [13]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of 2024 [14]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals  
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds  
  H  
 Handballs  
  M  
 Marks
H/O
 Hit-outs
SeasonTeamNo.GamesTotalsAverages (per game) Votes
GBKHDMTH/OGBKHDMTH/O
2020 [a] Essendon 3881346206615151480.10.45.82.58.31.91.918.50
2021 Essendon 21325854613131233160.10.36.53.510.02.31.724.34
2022 Essendon 2221271407421435335230.60.36.43.49.71.61.523.81
2023 Essendon 21610121015315437282820.70.97.23.811.02.62.020.10
2024 Essendon 21411101225717949313060.70.67.63.611.23.11.919.12
Career73363749425074416713015740.50.56.83.410.22.31.821.67

Notes

  1. ↑ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the media

Draper is a host of the 200 Plus podcast with Network 10 sports journalist Nick Butler and North Melbourne Football Club player Charlie Comben. [15]

References

  1. ↑ "AFL rookie draft 2017, which snubbed draftees and delisted players did your club pick up?". Fox Sports. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  2. ↑ Rosen, Laurence. "When will Sam Draper make his Essendon debut?". SEN 111.6. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Trantino, Julian (30 July 2020). "Draper to make debut". EssendonFC Media. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  4. ↑ Conway, Simon (28 November 2016). "Sam Draper joins our Comeback Story". EssendonFC Media. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  5. ↑ Walsh, Conor (7 May 2019). "Disappointing news for Draper". essendonfc.com.au.
  6. ↑ Colangelo, Anthony (30 July 2020). "Trade-target ruck Draper to debut for Essendon". The Age. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  7. ↑ "Round 9 • Essendon v Brisbane Lions - Player Stats" . Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  8. ↑ "Ridley wins 2020 Crichton Medal". Essendon Bombers Media. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  9. ↑ "Bombers' brutal blow: Trio out for extended period". AFL Media. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  10. ↑ "Team selection: Round 14". essendonfc.com.au. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  11. ↑ "2022 rebel Goal of the Year – Sam Draper". afl.com.au. Australian Football League. 18 September 2022. Archived from the original on 18 September 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  12. ↑ Barrett, Steve; Pierik, Jon (20 April 2024). "'What else can I do': AFL admits error as debate rages over Draper non-call". The Age . Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  13. ↑ "Rd 15 team selection: Draper return confirmed". essendonfc.com.au. 21 June 2024.
  14. ↑ "Sam Draper". AFL Tables. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  15. ↑ "Producey Podcasts | Expert Podcast Producers in Melbourne". www.producey.com. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
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