"We’re certainly not putting a media ban on him" - Essendon coach Brad Scott denies key ruckman is banned from the media following bizarre comment
Coach Brad Scott has denied allegations that the club stopped ruckman Sam Draper from going on the podcast - 200 Plus. He is one of the hosts of the show. The other hosts are North Melbourne player Charlie Comben and sports journalist Nick Butler.
“We haven’t put a media ban on Sam Draper – that would be doing a disservice to our fans and to all those little kids running around with mullets with No.2 on their Essendon jumpers,” Brad Scott said in an interview with Fox Sports.
"We want Sam out in the media and in public representing our club. He had a misstep, he learned from it, we put a full stop on it … now Drapes, more than anyone, wants to move on."
“I want him to be involved in media, podcasts, representing the club in the right way, and I think all our fans want to hear from Sam Draper. We’re certainly not putting a media ban on him.”
Brad Scott said Draper has responded well to criticism from the club about his comment on Western Bulldogs’ coach Luke Beveridge.
He also said the team is adequately prepared to tackle the Giants to prevent a do-over of the 126-point drubbing in round 23 last year.
“We probably reflected on that (game) at the end of last year more than this year, and we think we’ve improved a lot, but time will tell. We’ve had a number of really good tests this year, and this is arguably our biggest,” he said.
He spoke on Key defender Zach Reid's inclusion to play in the VFL after seven weeks on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury. He said it was good news for the group but the team must resist the urge to rush him back to senior footy.
Sam Draper speculates his peers' futures
Earlier in the week, Brad Scott criticized ruckman Sam Draper for his comments on Western Bulldogs players and their coach Luke Beveridge. Draper said;
"I’ve got a big call about the Doggies. If Bevo’s still there, there’ll be some players requesting trades.”
He mentioned players Jack Macrae, Caleb Daniel and Bailey Dale requesting to be traded if the coaching situation remains unchanged and Luke Beveridge remains at the club till 2025.
Brad Scott said he was very disappointed in the player, suggesting that the ruckman's environment at the time might have influenced him to make the disrespectful comment in a bid to be funny. However, he said that they had addressed the issue with the player at the club, emphasizing how his words had a negative impact on the club's image that had previously taken a beating due to the 2012 peptide supplements incident.
Luke Beveridge said the club officially reached out to apologize for Draper's comment. He also said he was willing to accept that the bizarre comments were a one-time thing.