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]
| Sam Draper | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Sam Draper | ||
| Nickname(s) | Drapes | ||
| Date of birth | 28 September 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | South Australia | ||
| Original team(s) | South Adelaide (SANFL) | ||
| Draft | No. 1, 2017 AFL rookie draft | ||
| Height | 205 cm (6 ft 9 in) | ||
| Weight | 105 kg (231 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Ruck | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Essendon | ||
| Number | 2 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2020– | Essendon | 73 (36) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Personal Life
editDraper 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 SANFL for the 2016 season.[4]
Draper is a host of the 200 Plus podcast with Network 10 sports journalist Nick Butler and North Melbourne Football Club player Charlie Comben.[5]
AFL career
edit2020 season: debut
editDraper debuted in Round 9 of the 2020 AFL season in Essendon's 63-point loss against the Brisbane Lions.[3][6] On debut, he 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]
2021 season
editDraper suffered a syndesmosis injury in Round 2 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]
2022 season
editDraper kicked Goal of the Year against the Gold Coast Suns in Round 18. Eddie Betts called it Goal of the Year during the course of live commentary.[11]
Statistics
edit- Statistics are correct to the end of 2024 [12]
G
|
Goals | K
|
Kicks | D
|
Disposals | T
|
Tackles |
B
|
Behinds | H
|
Handballs | M
|
Marks | H/O
|
Hit-outs |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | |||||
| 2020[a] | Essendon | 38 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 46 | 20 | 66 | 15 | 15 | 148 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 5.8 | 2.5 | 8.3 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 18.5 | 0 |
| 2021 | Essendon | 2 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 85 | 46 | 131 | 31 | 23 | 316 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 6.5 | 3.5 | 10.0 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 24.3 | 4 |
| 2022 | Essendon | 2 | 22 | 12 | 7 | 140 | 74 | 214 | 35 | 33 | 523 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 6.4 | 3.4 | 9.7 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 23.8 | 1 |
| 2023 | Essendon | 2 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 101 | 53 | 154 | 37 | 28 | 282 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 7.2 | 3.8 | 11.0 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 20.1 | 0 |
| 2024 | Essendon | 2 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 122 | 57 | 179 | 49 | 31 | 306 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 7.6 | 3.6 | 11.2 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 19.1 | 2 |
| Career | 73 | 36 | 37 | 494 | 250 | 744 | 167 | 130 | 1574 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 6.8 | 3.4 | 10.2 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 21.6 | 7 | ||
Notes
- ^ 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.
References
edit- ^ "AFL rookie draft 2017, which snubbed draftees and delisted players did your club pick up?". Fox Sports. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ Rosen, Laurence. "When will Sam Draper make his Essendon debut?". SEN 111.6. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ a b Trantino, Julian (30 July 2020). "Draper to make debut". EssendonFC Media. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ Conway, Simon (28 November 2016). "Sam Draper joins our Comeback Story". EssendonFC Media. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ "Producey Podcasts | Expert Podcast Producers in Melbourne". www.producey.com. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ Colangelo, Anthony (30 July 2020). "Trade-target ruck Draper to debut for Essendon". The Age. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ "Round 9 • Essendon v Brisbane Lions - Player Stats". Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ "Ridley wins 2020 Crichton Medal". Essendon Bombers Media. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- ^ "Bombers' brutal blow: Trio out for extended period". AFL Media. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- ^ "Team selection: Round 14". essendonfc.com.au. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Sam Draper". AFL Tables. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
External links
edit- Sam Draper's profile on the official website of the Essendon Football Club
- Sam Draper's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- Sam Draper at AustralianFootball.com
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