Thought draper had a really good game overall. Honestly though people are criticising draper but I haven’t seen a whole lot of discussion around langford, genuinely didn’t notice him except for the one set shot he had.
2 Likes
He also creates chaos in the forward line which is always hard for opposition sides to plan for and manage. He’s unpredictable and if he’s actually a really good player, defences look out!
2 Likes
Crows will come extra hard if Draper has a break out season
He’s never looked better. Still huge, but also lean and athletic.
Very wowed by how he looks but the fact that we’re so pleasantly suprised speaks to how poorly the club has been run. Yes, he looks terrific but this needs to be seen less as impressive and more the standard.
2 Likes
So what, so be it. If the club provide a great environment and he’s happy he will stay. If not, he will go and we work on the revised plan.
He’s set for a big your. Only injury has prevented a breakout season. I hope Scott gives him plenty of opportunity on-ball because he adds so much more than Bryan as a ruckman. His athletic traits coupled with his physicality make him an extremely dynamic player.
3 Likes
I agree i dont want us making the same mistakes like we did with Parish,Redman etc offering them long term deals.
1 Like
What’s the choice then? He goes and we hope a pick around 10 in the draft as compo is adequate? More than likely the club would be the loser. With him the risk might be worth it.
Personally i think he stays seems very happy and settled in Melbourne
1 Like
Get two first rounders for Draper and Parish, Melbourne’s first rounders and our bottom 4 finish pick and craft some guys that can take this club forward. Bryan solo ruck.
1 Like
Yeah but Bryan dosent offer the same physicality or hurt factor like Draper around the ground
Draper has the potential to be the next Max Gawn
2 Likes
bryan’s stuff is subtle. you can easily miss him being a link in the chain, but he rarely fumbles and rarely fails to dispose to advantage. This is not something to be sneezed at.
5 Likes
Suppose he has a breakout year.
How many years do we offer him if either Adelaide club (or any other club) come circling? Sick of seeing us get burnt on 5 or 6 year deals. My word, there’s been some shockers. If he loves the club and believes we’re headed in the right direction he’ll stay for 4.
Take the first if he wants 5 years.
Bryan needs to able to drift forward and kick goals should model his game on Tim English
1 Like
Bryan & Draper both look like taking steps forward this year in their improvement.
It’s pleasing to see.
It’s a good 5-7 year investment now from our part in both players.
4 Likes
Do all the hard work and years of development only for Crows swoop in and take him it will be a gut punch if that happens
Oh well.
We may not want to pay Drapes 950k x 5 years, or whatever they offer.
If the offer is good enough, we get the Band 1 Compo and keep adding talent.
It’s not that hard to lure away a Pittonet type ruckman from another club to give us ruck cover.
Not gonna happen when he see’s his mates at the club getting 5/6/7 years.
Yep i think that what we need to do if Draper goes
This is why we need Bryan to become a top ruck lose Draper and will still have Bryan as a back up
If we decided to not offer 5-6 years deals in principle, we’d never secure our talent and would forever be a young list rebuilding.
At some point you have to back your footy department and club and follow through on a list management plan.
If Essendon becomes a professional footy club and does fitness and conditioning well, the decision to keep Draper is simple. Regretting long term deals on talent is a symptom of a broken footy department.
1 Like