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Bickley warns Crows off recruiting Essendon free agent
Jaiden Sciberras • August 7th, 2025 8:49 am
With interest from various clubs across the country, Essendon ruckman Sam Draper is facing a career-defining decision entering the off-season.
Hitting unrestricted free agency, the 26-year-old has attracted interest from Adelaide and Brisbane, while the Bombers have also tabled a deal to keep their number one ruckman, absent from the side since Round 6 due to a ruptured Achilles.
Initially, the Crows appeared the favourites to land Draper, with the ruckman appearing highly interested in a return to his home state of South Australia. However in recent weeks, the reigning premiers have emerged as leaders in the Draper sweepstakes, with recent reports suggesting it was down to the Lions or the Bombers.
That being said, Channel 9 reporter Sam McClure reported on Monday night that Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks is pulling out all the stops to give the Crows the best chance of landing their man, despite having recently re-signed number one ruckman Reilly O’Brien on a three-year deal.
“This is quite an extraordinary set of circumstances, because Sam Draper was picking between Essendon and the Brisbane Lions – both of which had offered long-term deals,” McClure told Footy Classified.
“But a phone call from Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks on the weekend directly to Sam Draper may have just changed things for that player, and it now has him, as we sit here tonight, seriously reconsidering the Adelaide Crows as a suitor – such was the vigour and excitement that Matthew Nicks had for Sam Draper on that phone call.
“This is really interesting, given that the Adelaide Crows have just re-signed Reilly O’Brien.”
Despite a potential change of heart, two-time Crows premiership captain Mark Bickley believes that the potential recruitment of Draper on what is expected to be a rather lucrative deal isn’t ideal for the player nor the club.
“It would blow my mind if Sam Draper went to Adelaide,” Bickley told SEN SA Breakfast.
“There’s a couple of things in that for me. If I’m Sam Draper’s manager, I’m saying, ‘they’ve just signed Reilly O’Brien, who is having a cracking season. He’s 29, he’s durable, he’s probably going to play the next three years – you have got to get past him’.
“The bloke standing in the goal square is Riley Thilthorpe! It’s not like Luke Jackson, where you can play as a forward, maybe kick 25-30 goals and then fill in in the ruck for 30 per cent… no! That’s not happening!
“This has got Brodie Grundy/Max Gawn written all over it.”
While the move could do Draper’s career no benefits, Bickley does concede that it would certainly help the Crows, however he does believe that the ruckman has a far better offer on the cards elsewhere.
“They will say, 'Now we’ve got two guys who are going to duke it out for the number one ruck spot, and if one gets injured or Riley Thilthorpe gets injured, you can have that',” Bickley continued.
“I would be going to Brisbane every day of the week. Essendon are still a fair way away from it, and Brisbane have got probably three years still – probably more than that.
“Lachie Neale is still going okay, they’ve got Harris Andrews still there, but then they’ve got the Ashcrofts (Levi and Will), Jaspa Fletcher…
“The other thing with Adelaide, what’s the number? It’s probably going to be over a million dollars a year for Sam Draper this free agency.
“You are not paying that for a backup ruckman. Particularly if you are as impressed as they have been with Lachie McAndrew. That’s a bit of a strange one.”
Sitting at the top of the table, the Crows will look to close out the home and away season on a high note, travelling to Perth for a clash with the Eagles this Sunday afternoon.
