Sam Draper

ABOUT SAM DRAPER

Australian rules footballer who plays as ruckman for the Essendon Football Club in the AFL. He was nicknamed by fans as The Mullet. He was the first draft pick in the 2017 AFL rookie draft. He has 60,000 followers on Instagram.

He started out as a soccer player before switching to Australian rules football. His two favorite soccer players growing up were Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic . He played soccer in Adelaide until he got too big to play as a central defender. By age 11 started playing Australian rules.

He has stated that when he retires he would like to become a barber or start his own clothing line.

His parents are English. His mother was pregnant with him on the plane to Australia and gave birth to him when they landed in Australia. The family returned to England when he was three. He spent his childhood in Brede, East Sussex, where most of his extended family still lives. His parents returned to Australia with him and his brothers and sisters when he was nine.

His Essendon teammates include Dyson Heppell and Andrew McGrath .