Draper insists Bombers will fight on after 'heartbreak'

Even after Essendon's "heartbreaking" after-the-siren defeat to Gold Coast, ruckman Sam Draper insists the Bombers are not giving up on their finals dream. Essendon are still picking up the pieces from Saturday night's nightmare loss against the Suns, with Mac Andrew converting a set shot to pinch a famous win for Gold Coast. The Bombers managed 1.9 in the last quarter, to leave them two points outside of the AFL's top eight ahead of Friday night's clash with ladder-leading Sydney at Marvel Stadium. Essendon's hopes of toppling Sydney received a major boost on Thursday when star Swans midfielder Chad Warner was ruled out with a calf injury. The Bombers would have been sitting seventh, with their finals destiny in their own hands, had they not been the first team since May 2023 to lose a home game against the Suns. "Heartbreaking," Draper told AAP about the result against Gold Coast. "We just couldn't put them away when the chances were there in that last quarter, myself included. "It's frustrating because we are not that far off being where we want to be, but we're just letting ourselves down in the little things. "We know that we're better than what we've shown. "But what the competition's showing this year is that it's so even, so we're really fired up for these last two games. "Who knows where it can take us, but we're definitely not over yet." The Swans will travel to Melbourne buoyed by their stunning final-quarter comeback win over Collingwood last Friday night. Until Isaac Heeney and Warner came to the rescue, Sydney were staring down the barrel of a sixth loss in seven games to potentially fall from the top of the ladder. Sydney enter Friday night's match without Warner and Robbie Fox (kidney), with Lewis Melican and Corey Warner named as their replacements. "The last probably six, seven weeks, they haven't been at their best, so there's an opportunity there, but there's also a threat," Draper said of Sydney. "They're pretty strong in the contest, Sydney are always like that, but we're looking to put them away when the game's there." As well as trying to secure a finals spot for the first time since 2021, Essendon will be determined to send off former captain Dyson Heppell in style. Heppell on Tuesday announced he would be retiring at season's end, bringing the curtain down on the career of a beloved Essendon person who stayed loyal to the club during the infamous supplements saga. "Dyson has been an amazing servant for our club, and he deserves so much more from us," Draper said. "We'll definitely be putting in a bit extra for him. "(Heppell is) the hardest worker I reckon I've ever come across in my time, and most genuine bloke as well. "I was hoping he would go around for another year, just to have him around." The Bombers recalled Sam Weideman for his first AFL match of the year, with forward Archie Perkins also earning a call up. Nik Cox (concussion) and Alwyn Davey (omitted) go out of the side.