Source :- THE AGE NEWS
If anyone can truly appreciate the vast vicissitudes of an AFL career, it’s Sam Draper
Twelve months ago, Draper was preparing to leave Essendon and enter the trade period as an unrestricted free agent, after another injury-plagued year at the Hangar including a devastating Achilles rupture in mid-April that ended his season.
That time, he says now, turned into “the darkest moments of my life”.
Despite spending nine years as a Bomber, the ruckman had only played 78 games including one final after a slew of injuries including an ACL tear.
On Saturday, the 27-year-old will play in his first grand final in his first season with the Lions – a reality Draper himself can’t quite believe.
“When I got injured last year, I was in a really bad way to be honest,” he said amid the chaos of Brisbane’s thrilling preliminary final win, surrounded by family and with long-term partner, Izzy, beside him. “Having those guys there, that got me through it.”
Izzy Burgess is a pivotal person in Draper life. Not only did she support Draper through those arduous months of rehab, but she kept things light with satirical memes about him that also entertained her Instagram followers.
Last Saturday, Burgess wore a custom-designed a black T-Shirt she had designed with a photoshopped version of herself in a Lions guernsey taking a “speccy” on Draper’s shoulders.
When Kayo Sports commentators asked Burgess what it was like to watch Draper head into a grand final, she said: “I don’t know because I can’t swear on here.
“It’s good, it’s crazy, I feel like it’s the shirts,” she said gesturing at Draper’s face plastered on the T-shirt.
“I’ll have to design a new shirt [for the grand final]. It’s the main thing.”
Burgess, who is a nurse, has made several T-shirts during the season with various photoshopped versions of herself and Draper. The best one undoubtedly came for the ruckman’s 100th game, when Burgess photoshopped herself cradling her 205-centimetre tall partner her arms like a baby.
Burgess’ comedic creativity is not limited to fashion.
She also vlogged his rehab from the Achilles injury and regularly posts AI-generated images of the pair, including an image of Draper in a full splits that would rival Simmons Biles in the Olympics – a post that has more than half a million views on TikTok.
“Izzy has a lot of fun with ChatGPT at home,” Draper laughed.
“She’ll go quiet on the couch, and I’ll just get tagged in something on Instagram, and then she’s AI-ed me and her doing something crazy, and people seem to enjoy it.
“She’s been doing a different T-shirt for every finals game, and she’s starting to get her own fans and followers now, and people stopping her for photos, so it’s quite funny, really.
“But I love it. She’s she just yeah, being herself, really, just being a bit of an idiot and having fun with it. I’m just so glad she’s able to support me along the way.”
It’s a sense of humour Draper clearly appreciates and shares. The ruckman, who was a soccer player at school, and is known for his goal celebrations and cheeky antics on the field. There was that infamous 2024 game between the Bombers and Crows, where Draper reenacted the umpire’s non-call by mimicking himself diving on an imaginary ball.
Teammate Hugh McCluggage heralded Draper’s arrival at the Lions, noting the mulleted ruckman would become “a cult hero for us”. Fellow Lion Cam Rayner said while Draper was witty, he was also “very level-headed” even though “doesn’t look like that from the outside”.
When Draper arrived at Brisbane alongside fellow free agent Oscar Allan, he had not run in months. Despite a stress reaction scare in his foot early in the season Draper has had a fantastic year under the Lions fitness program, playing a career-high 25 games.
Saturday will be Brisbane’s fourth consecutive grand final and Draper said he’s drawing on advice from experienced teammates like Charlie Cameron who told him “enjoy and embrace the weekend”.
“I’ve said many times, I knew before the season started that I’d made the right call. Fast forward to the end of the season, we’re in grand final week, so it is pretty surreal,” Draper said.
“I’m a big believer on everything happens for a reason, and yeah, it’s not what happens to you; it’s how you react to it. So I live by that.”
Hannah Kennelly is an award-winning sports reporter and Formula 1 writer at The Age.Connect via email.
Bridget McArthur is a sports affairs reporter at The Age, covering the intersection of sports and politics/business/economy/society.Connect via X or email.
