What Will He Bring: Sam Davidson

Having made a strong start to Night Two of the draft, picking up a couple of young talents with the first few picks, the Bulldogs got a taste for more, and once again turned to Brisbane to add to its draft hand, when they traded for Pick 49.

It cost the Bulldogs a future third-round selection, and the pick eventually slid to 51, but when the Bulldogs turn came, they selected Sam Davidson - one of the feelgood stories of the draft crop.

THE PLAYER

Name: Sam Davidson

Height: 190cm

Position: Forward

Club: Richmond VFL

WHAT THEY SAID:

“Sam Davidson had an eye-catching year for the Tigers, averaging 14 disposals, three marks and three tackles from 17 state league outings. He is an elite runner and strong ball-user who can play as a forward or through the midfield. He booted 26 goals for the Tigers, which also saw him finish the season as the club’s leading goalkicker. The Maffra product works hard, is clean with the footy and earned a State Combine invite, which is a good indication of the interest he has at AFL level.” – Dylan Bolch of FOX FOOTY

“With Sam, the point of difference is that he’s a bit older and his journey has been so different. He was studying his medical degree and playing a lot of country footy - the fact that he came in with so much good VFL footy this year but still has so much scope to grow at 22.

“His speed and endurance combination is exceptional and is another one with fantastic character. He’s also a mad Bulldogs supporter, which is probably a little nice touch on top of it all.” – Western Bulldogs National Recruiting Manager Dom Milesi

2024 SEASON:

At 21 years of age, Davidson had spent the past few seasons dominating across multiple leagues in country Victoria. However, a chance contact of former Richmond player Steve Morris saw Davidson reached out to Richmond’s VFL program at the end of last year. From there he was given the opportunity to partake in Richmond’s pre-season campaign, and by Round 3 he had broken into the VFL side, and he didn’t look back.

In a dominant campaign, Davidson and his blonde-bombshell locks stood out up forward for Richmond, kicking 26 goals in 17 games as he took out the club’s leading goalkicker award. Averaging 14 disposals and three marks to boot, Davidson finished the year as joint-winner of the club’s best-and-fairest award, while also taking out the VFL’s Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal; awarded to the league’s most promising player, making him the 18th consecutive player to end up on the AFL list after winning the award.

Such was his form for Richmond that Davidson’s name was on the radar of AFL clubs long before Draft Night, with Essendon even tempted to recruit him in the mid-season draft, before he eventually landed at the Bulldogs.

WHAT WILL HE BRING:

Davidson is another player that is difficult to gauge how he will be used in 2025. Built at 190cm, he is a third-tall forward option that poses a challenging proposition for opposition clubs to contend with. Blessed with terrific speed and endurance, Davidson can run all day, allowing him to break away from any taller defenders that lack that turn of pace, but he would still be too big and strong for any smaller defenders in the marking contest, and at the age of just 22, he still has many years of improvement left in him.

The question for Davidson is similar to that of Cooper Hynes, another third-tall forward: how does he fit into the Bulldogs current setup? With three genuine key forwards already marshalling the attacking 50, can the Bulldogs afford to deploy any more tall options in there without compromising their small brigade? It will be very interesting to see how Davidson is used during the pre-season, because at 22 years of age, there’s every chance that the Bulldogs plan on having him be ready to go from Round 1.