In his first media conference in purple, Nathan Wilson made no effort to hide his love for the club he grew up supporting.

“This is what I grew up wanting as a kid and now it’s here,” Wilson said.

Wilson was just 17 when he left his home state to join GWS.

“I remember the day I left Perth and I didn’t want to go,” Wilson said.

“I got there and was homesick for the first two years but I stuck to my dream, to play AFL.

“ I was tossing and turning to get on that plane to come back home but the AFL dream was there.

“To come back home and play for Freo was always the biggest dream.”

The 24-year-old said his main reason for moving back West is for the birth of his first child with partner Stevie in February.

“All the family is stoked,” Wilson said.

“The ‘missus’ is stoked.”

It isn’t just the family ties leading Wilson to Fremantle.

“I’m mates with Harley (Bennell), obviously played with Cam (McCarthy) for a couple of years in Sydney, and the Hill boys and Sonny Walters,” Wilson said.

“I’m mates with a few of them but it’ll be great to meet the (other) boys and earn their respect.”

Wilson, who had to wait until the last day of the trade period to secure his place back home, found out the news from a Freo fan after landing in Bali.

“When I landed someone told me. He must have been a Freo supporter, he said ‘welcome back to Perth’ and showed me the trade.

“My phone was going off. I was obviously stoked that it got done. My family was crying because it’s the dream to play back home.”