WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n Essendon pros: As good a player as Draper is, any recommitment to Tullamarine he makes is first and foremost a massive win for their culture. Outside of Jake Stringer last off-season, the Bombers haven\u2019t really had many big-name players exit the Hangar; but that\u2019s not to say that impact of Draper\u2019s non-signature wouldn\u2019t be massive. At a time where Brad Scott has openly said his club is amid a rebuild, every senior player the club can get to re-commit long term is a key signing. The likes of Andrew McGrath, Jordan Ridley Ben McKay and Darcy Parish are all signed until at least 2029, and the Bombers\u2019 upped offer of five years would see Draper join McGrath as the only other player contracted until the start of the next decade. With Nick Bryan and Vigo Visentini signing on for two more years last week, the guidance of Draper throughout the formative years at AFL level is obviously invaluable, alongside Todd Goldstein should he go around for one more year. The club hasn\u2019t been shy in playing two rucks before, so ideally, Draper staying wouldn\u2019t impact the young duo\u2019s growth at the top level either.<\/p>\n Sam Draper of the Bombers and Nick Bryan of the Bombers celebrate during the 2022 AFL Round 8 match between the Essendon Bombers and the Hawthorn Hawks at Marvel Stadium on May 07, 2022 (Photo by Dylan Burns via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n Essendon cons: The fact Brad Scott\u2019s side are amid a rebuild, means that the draft compensation they would receive for an unrestricted free agent walking out the door could be worth even more than it has in recent years. Already sitting with picks four and five in their back pocket, the Bombers could make a serious play at this year\u2019s draft come November. The question will also be asked: Is Sam Draper in Essendon\u2019s next premiership side? And if not, are Nick Bryan or Vigo Visentini? A cruel setback with a ruptured Achilles may have capped Draper\u2019s ceiling slightly, but make no mistake, he is at his optimal value to rival clubs right now. <\/p>\n Brisbane pros:Foxfooty.com.au understands the Lions are the strong frontrunners in the three-horse race for Draper. Securing his services would be a major coup given the age profile and injury concerns surrounding their current ruck options. Oscar McInerney\u2019s well-documented niggles have restricted him to just 11 games this season, to the point where Darcy Fort has seemingly become the first-choice ruck. With McInerney now 31 and Fort 32, Draper would represent forward planning as well as an immediate boost. For a side firmly in the premiership window \u2014 and as the reigning premiers \u2014 it\u2019s hard to imagine the Lions turning away a player of Draper\u2019s calibre who is eager to join. At just 26, he sits perfectly within the Lions\u2019 competitive timeline and, like several of their emerging stars, brings a spark of flair that would allow him to slot seamlessly into the group.<\/p>\n Sam Draper of the Bombers is pressured by the defence of Oscar McInerney of the Lions during their Round 9 AFL match between Brisbane Lions and Essendon Bombers at The Gabba, on May 13, 2023, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n Brisbane cons: Unless Brisbane intends to leave either McInerney or Fort out of the side altogether \u2014 which would be curious given both are contracted until 2026 \u2014 one of them would almost certainly need to spend more time in the forward line alongside Draper. While Draper\u2019s forward craft is by no means negligible, Chris Fagan\u2019s front half already features Eric Hipwood, Logan Morris and impending recruit Oscar Allen, meaning the addition of another tall could quickly crowd the space. Still, aside from those early structural challenges at Springfield, there\u2019s little downside to adding a player of Draper\u2019s quality.<\/p>\n Adelaide pros: An arrival at West Lakes from the 205cm ruckman would be another strong endorsement of Adelaide\u2019s direction this season. Interstate recruits Alex Neal-Bullen, James Peatling and Isaac Cumming all joined the tri-coloured Crows last off-season, and although they fell short in their pursuit of Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, the list is undoubtedly stronger with another big man added. Before his season-ending Achilles injury in Round 6, Draper had already showcased forward craft superior to most primary ruckmen \u2014 highlighted by a three-goal haul against the Crows themselves in Round 2.<\/p>\n It would be a huge structural change at Adelaide if Sam Draper were to fly south-west to the Crows Nest at West Lakes (Photo by Daniel Pockett\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n Adelaide cons: Despite reports that Matthew Nicks recently phoned Draper to reaffirm the club\u2019s interest following Reilly O\u2019Brien\u2019s three-year contract extension, it would be an unprecedented move for Adelaide to bring Draper in. Under Nicks, the Crows have never fielded two genuine rucks in the same side, with all eight of Kieran Strachan\u2019s appearances since his 2020 debut coming only when O\u2019Brien was unavailable. Third-string ruck and SSP signing Lachie McAndrew inked a two-year deal in June and has enjoyed a strong SANFL season, giving the club confidence he can step in if required. Strachan, meanwhile, was shifted to the inactive list in February and, despite returning from an acute navicular stress fracture, appears highly unlikely to go around again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Essendon, like every other bottom 10 club in the coming days, will be forced to make some critical…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":95634,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[70482,9126,638,36846,64,63,689,55,639,696,651,3237,3239,3244,70489,70481,3499,37348,70492,2105,7492,49772,70487,2527,1120,2522,70490,50347,36862,16712,70485,68970,677,15836,3233,47876,18000,701,13664,3427,11244,27748,1124,85,70486,5338,70491,70483,51019,14363,11236,70488,36719,16710,70484],"class_list":["post-95633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-acute-navicular-stress","tag-adelaide-crows","tag-afl","tag-andrew-mcgrath","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-brad-scott","tag-brisbane","tag-brisbane-lions","tag-carlton-blues","tag-chris-fagan","tag-club-confidence","tag-craft-superior","tag-daniel-pockett","tag-eric-hipwood","tag-first-choice-ruck","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-hawthorn-hawks","tag-injury-concerns","tag-interstate-recruits","tag-isaac-cumming","tag-jake-stringer","tag-james-peatling","tag-jordan-ridley-ben-mckay","tag-key-signing","tag-logan-morris","tag-matthew-nicks","tag-navicular-stress-fracture","tag-nick-bryan","tag-oceania","tag-oscar-allen","tag-oscar-mcinerney","tag-premiership-side","tag-premiership-window","tag-queensland","tag-reilly-obrien","tag-ruck-options","tag-sam-draper","tag-senior-player","tag-south-australia","tag-sports","tag-structural-challenges","tag-the-gabba","tag-three-goal-haul","tag-three-horse-race","tag-three-year-contract-extension","tag-todd-goldstein","tag-trade-news","tag-trade-state","tag-two-year-deal","tag-west-lakes","tag-young-duo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\n