Ruled out as finals contenders by the opposite 17 AFL captains, Essendon will use the snub as motivation to show their rivals improper.
At the AFL captains day, every membership skipper was requested to appoint seven different golf equipment who they believed may make the highest eight.
Bombers ruckman Sam Draper admitted it made for powerful studying seeing Essendon left off the record altogether, together with Hawthorn, West Coast and North Melbourne.
“Look, I obviously wasn’t happy to see that,” Draper instructed reporters on Friday.
“But for our group, and for me in particular, it puts a bit of fire in the belly and makes you want to prove people wrong.
“So we’re not right here simply to participate, we’re right here to go far into finals and go properly.”
Draper was confident Essendon under new coach Brad Scott was putting together a midfield group, headlined by Zach Merrett and Darcy Parish, that could genuinely make a premiership tilt in years to come.
“We’ve acquired a extremely numerous group there. They’ve acquired loads of strengths,” he mentioned.
“We put all of it collectively, I feel we might be actually harmful. We’ve seen patches of it. We’re simply striving for some extra consistency.
Key to any success will probably be Draper’s ongoing growth.
Now 24 and with 43 video games underneath his belt, the ruckman is able to step up.
“Last year was really important for me to play all 22 games and get some consistency on the field,” he mentioned.
“Last year was a good stepping stone. I’m ready to go to the next level this year.
“Hopefully I can get some constant performances in and play some dominant footy.”
Draper hopes the club’s new manager of Indigenous player development, classy former ruckman Paddy Ryder, can also lend a helpful ear from time to time.
“I’m unsure how a lot time he’ll spend within the footy division, however even little chats right here and there could be nice,” he mentioned.
“He’s somebody I’ve regarded as much as for a very long time. Some of his centre-bounce work is a murals.”
The Bombers get their season under way against Hawthorn next Sunday.
Veteran Jake Stringer (hamstring) headlines a list of players, including Dyson Heppell, Jye Caldwell, Kyle Langford and Matt Guelfi, attempting to prove their fitness after injury issues.
Draper conceded round one could come too soon for Stringer but backed the enigmatic forward to feature early in the season.
“Jake is clearly a extremely vital participant for us,” he mentioned.
“So I feel it is going to be vital to think about the lengthy season, not simply put all of it on spherical one.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
