Sam Draper

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) Uncle
Date of birth (1998-09-28) 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)
2017– Essendon 3 (1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 7, 2023.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early Football

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

Draper played for South Adelaide in the SANFL for the 2016 season.[4]

AFL career

2020 season: debut

Draper debuted in Round 9 of the 2020 AFL season in Essendon's 63-point loss against the Brisbane Lions.[3][5] On debut, he picked up 9 disposals, 2 marks and 2 tackles, and kicked a behind.[6]

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.[7]

2021 season

Draper suffered a syndesmosis injury in Round 2 after a good start to the beginning of the season.[8] He was out of the team for 12 weeks before returning to the lineup in Round 14.[9]

2022 season

Draper 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. [10]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of Round 5, 2023 [11]
Legend
  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)
G B K H D M T H/O G B K H D M T H/O
2020 Essendon3881346206615151480.10.45.82.58.31.91.918.5
2021 Essendon21325854613131233160.10.36.53.510.02.31.724.3
2022 Essendon2221271407421435335230.60.36.43.49.71.61.523.8
2023Essendon2 56336205618131041.20.67.24.011.23.62.620.8
Career 48 21 18 307 160 467 99 84 1091 0.4 0.3 6.3 3.3 9.7 2.0 1.7 23.0

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. 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. Colangelo, Anthony (30 July 2020). "Trade-target ruck Draper to debut for Essendon". The Age. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  6. "Round 9 • Essendon v Brisbane Lions - Player Stats". Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  7. "Ridley wins 2020 Crichton Medal". Essendon Bombers Media. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  8. "Bombers' brutal blow: Trio out for extended period". AFL Media. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  9. "Team selection: Round 14". essendonfc.com.au. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  10. afl.com.au https://www.afl.com.au/news/846101/2022-rebel-goal-of-the-year-sam-draper#:~:text=The%20AFL%20is%20pleased%20to,2022%20Toyota%20AFL%20Premiership%20Season. Retrieved 22 October 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. "Sam Draper". AFL Tables. Retrieved 7 December 2022.


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