- Essendon has responded to claims that Sam Draper has a media ban
- The charismatic ruckman upset the Western Bulldogs last week
- But the 25-year-old can continue working in the media.
Essendon coach Brad Scott says Sam Draper couldn’t have responded better to his recent dressing down as the ruckman appears no guarantee of returning from injury against GWS.
Scott also dismissed reports that a media ban had been imposed on the charismatic ruckman after sparking anger over comments made about Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge on a podcast.
While imitating a reporter as part of a fun role-play, Draper claimed that some Dogs players would request a trade at the end of the season if Beveridge remains as coach.
Beveridge described the comments as “bizarre”, while his Bombers counterpart Scott said they were “disrespectful” and had let Draper know he was “really disappointed” in him.
When asked how Draper, 25, had responded to his criticism, Scott, smiling, said: “Like the weapon he is.”
Essendon ruckman Sam Draper has not been suspended from media
The charismatic 25-year-old has been the center of attention for his comments on a podcast.
‘I love Sam, I love working with him. This is the opportunity I see, as a youth coach: you make a mistake, you learn from it, you acknowledge it and you move on.
“I was even informed that we had banned Sam from the media; we haven’t banned Sam Draper.
“I mean, that would be a disservice to our fans and all those little kids running around with mullets and the number 2 on their Essendon jersey. “We want Sam to appear in the media in public and represent our club.
“He had a misstep, he learned from it, we put an end to it, we have solved it as a club and as a team and now ‘Drapes’ is more than anyone wants to move on.”
After missing last week’s win over West Coast with a knee injury, Scott said Draper’s selection depended on how he came through training.
Draper had his leg bandaged and looked calm at the start of Wednesday’s practice.
“That’s certainly our intention: to get him out there and train and hopefully he feels really good,” Scott said.
But Bombers coach Brad Scott says Draper has handled the aftermath like a champ.
“But again, we need him to be very close to 100 percent before we play him.
“The problem is the knee; the previous (hip) surgery he had last year is not the problem keeping him out of the game.”
“He just has what we hope is a relatively minor problem with his knee, but it hurts a little bit.” And if he trains well, he will play. But if he’s not close to 100 percent, he won’t do it.”
Jye Caldwell trained and is expected to face his former club on Saturday at Marvel Stadium despite being substituted from the West Coast match with calf tightness.
Young defender Zach Reid (hamstring) could return via the VFL.
