His kicking for goal so far hasn’t been the best but I remember watching him at VFL and his kicking action didn’t seem so bad! Not sure what has happened but I think (hope) the penny will eventually drop
It might have ended up at the middle but gee it wobbled a lot on the way there
It was the straightest kick off a shin I’ve ever seen
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Reminds me of McKenna in terms of how raw he is in his first 20 or so games.
But you can just tell he will become a great player.
He is just going to need time.
He is either electrifying and a game changer (Hawthorn game or Adelaide last night) or totally ineffectual and unsighted.
But you can tell he is learning and that there is something special there if he stays healthy and gets the games pumped into him.
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In terms of Sammy & his tap work, his boundary throw ins need the most improvement.
However his centre bounces are under appreciated on here.
Just went through the replay, purely looking at those.
Sammy contested 15 of the 17
4 were clear wins, straight to players in space, or running into space. Including the 1st, a tap of beauty, behind his head to Merrett charging through.
4 were tap wins that almost gave our players possession & time - just fell slightly off in distance or direction - 2 to Parish, 2 to Stringer.
1 was a win that went into no mans land.
4 were draws.
Just 2 were losses
Note 2MP contested 2 for 2 losses.
That’s a pretty dominant performance in an area where teams can be massacred very quickly.
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We’ve had some ruckmen who have been excellent kicks. Madden, Alessio, Ryder, even David Hill was pretty accurate. It shouldn’t be accepted as fact that just because you’re a ruckman you can’t kick well. Nor should it be an excuse.
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On average ruckmen arent as skilled as other players. Im sure Sam will work on it but the point is he could end up a below average kick and still be the best ruck in the AFL, kicking is not the most important skill for a ruckmen.
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People seem to forget that ruckman are not finished articles at 22 years of age. Max Gawn managed 26 games in his first 3 years of senior football including an injury similar to Drapers. Draper will have played 20 games if he plays through to the end of the year, in his first 3 years. Draper is averaging more hitouts, inside 50’s, clearances, tackles in his first 3 years than Gawn did. Yes he’s averaging more clangers, something he needs to work on is his kicking which I think will happen. We won’t see his best until he’s at least 25 so hopefully he can fix up these issues before then.
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Reminds me of the ruckman when i was really young, was it james Manson or something from fitzroy?
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Collects a ball at ground level, sells candy/throws aside a Crow in the pack, sprints between two more Crows, sprints between two more Crows while taking a bounce, burns off a small Crow chasing him…
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Very true, but it certainly gives a team a huge advantage if the ruckman can be relied on to kick goals while resting in the forward line.
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Fixing his ball drop is going to go a long way to help his kicking. It is disgraceful, but easily identified and remedied
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The best bit (possibly the second best bit of the whole game after the Perkins goal) is how he holds the ball out to O’Brien who is on the ground and then when he gingerly reaches up towards it, Sammy SNATCHES it away and runs off. Delicious.
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Sounded like garden variety Brayshaw too me
insert strong text
BT was funny 
…kicks like he’s never seen a football before
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Being fair to Drapes and his kicking.
In the third he did a beautiful soccer pass out of the center square into space on the wing.
Perhaps when kicking for goal he could do a placed kick like a penalty kick.
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