If you used current ruckmen as a scale, where do you see him in a few years time? Is Grundy level out of the question?
Impossible question to answer until he’s had a couple of seasons at the top level.
I reckon he’ll have to rest forward a bit, so he will need some craft to survive.
Just needs to work on crashing packs, knees first and how to aim
More naturally physical and powerful than Grundy, and in my view a better natural tap ruck who came from further back. His potential lies in his ability to demonstrate his clunking ability more often (which he might add he has in his armoury)… Think he projects as a Hille type for mine, but with a nastier edge, better tap, but without being quite as polished by foot.
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Better than Grundy - Grundy is more of the oversized ruck rover, but actually pretty ordinary as a tap ruckman.
Gawn is a better comparison.
Similar kicking deficiencies, but similar contested ball / bodies mongrel. Has the potential to become a similar clunk mark.
Sammy is more athletic and faster, but Gawn reads the play better.
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I haven’t seen him play but by all reports he sounds like a Mumford type.
He is a very good tap ruckman but his positioning (knowing where to run to) during general play is not yet up to AFL standard. Does not take enough marks because of this. Gawn and Grundy would be way stronger contributers in general play than him.
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No.
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Level… maybe.
Type, definitely not.
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I heard he plays like Somerville.
The question, and it was a good one, involved “ in a few years time”.
IE what style of ruck will Draper become? Not his current positional nouse.
He won’t be a Grundy - I reckon Grundy is over rated - suits Collingwood’s current style which is to throw lots of contested mids at stoppages then spread hard and wide. Takes most of his marks on the flanks as a receiver. When played directly opposed by rucks he falls off a cliff - witness the Eagles nullify him in the GF.
Sammy is a more contested ruck. He can take a good grab on the lead, and threatens to start holding big pack marks. It’s his contests at ball and man in pack situations that already promises a bright future - not just his tap work. And he doesn’t seem to care about the size of the opponent- Grundy does.
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Hille covered a lot more ground than Draper does. But Draper is clearly a better ruck/stoppage player than Hille was at a similar age (and well beyond).
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2020 looks likely for Draper to get a good run at AFL level.
In 2020, the average age of the 2018 top AFL ruckmen will be 30.5 years. Only Grundy, Gawn, Nankervis, Witts, Vardy and Lycett will be younger than 30. Draper will be 22, he will be a very good tap ruckman running rings around a bunch of old men in general play provided he has the tank by then.
If more clubs adopt the “Grundy” prototype ruckman going forward it means quite a number of the dinosaurs ( particularly those with injury risk ) will be retired/de-listed over the next 2 years. We are talking McEvoy, 31, Ryder 32, Martin 34, Goldstein, 32, Jacobs 32. Sandilands 38, Mumford. 34
I expect a very different ruck landscape in 2020 and Draper is likely to be a significant part of that landscape,
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After the success of WestCoast shutting down Grundy in the GF, I wouldn’t be surprised to see clubs employ similar tactics against those dominant ruckman by effectively applying a hard tag on the opposition ruckman nullifying their impact around the ground.
As if we would tag anyone ever 
I never said we would use this tactic 
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Feel free to use anything that I upload on Twitter… It’s there to be shared with Essendon family.
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Which player tagged Grundy?
Pretty sure they had their own rucks tag him
As soon as ruck contest over just followed him everywhere as opposed to trying to make the play themselves (still did at times)
Given Cox only played limited time in ruck, it was just Grundy vs Lycett/Vardy combo
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