After realising their AFL dreams on Wednesday, Tyrepower NGA graduates Josh Draper and Conrad Williams were straight into it on Thursday as they joined their teammates on the Club’s community camp in the South West.
Draper is a versatile tall from Peel who played as a key defender, forward and midfielder in their Colts premiership season, while Williams impressed with his speed on the wing for Claremont.
The pair have both trained with Fremantle previously thanks to their ties to the NGA and the help of the likes of Roger Hayden and Tendai Mzungu.
They also have relationships built with the likes of Brandon Walker, Liam Henry and Eric Benning who also came up through the NGA.
“I know a couple of NGA boys who are in the team so that’s handy,” Draper said.
“It does help but I’ve also seen these guys playing on TV and everything, so I’m still quite nervous but I can’t wait to get stuck in and meet everyone.
“The NGA has been so good for me, Tendai Mzungu and Roger Hayden have got me ready to preform in that elite environment and also developed me as a player. It’s been unreal.”
Williams, who also celebrated his 18th birthday on Wednesday, said it was Mzungu who encouraged him to make the journey from the Kimberley to Perth to pursue his football career.
“I grew up in Halls Creek and moved to Kununurra in about 2017,” Williams said.
“Tendai came down through the NGA and scouted me and Roy Benning so I moved down to Perth, went to boarding school with Hale in 2019 and played footy from there.
“The NGA was great, I worked closely with Roger this year, we’ve texted a lot to get tips to help me with my early pre-season and getting my touch up and going.
“I can’t wait to get started. It was a big day yesterday, it was my 18th birthday and getting drafted on the same day made it the best day ever.”
Draper was given a taste of the attention you receive on an AFL list when he played in the Colts Grand Final at Optus Stadium, where he had 13 disposals, three marks and a goal.
“That experience was unreal. A couple of months ago I didn’t think I’ll be playing a finals series due to injury. I’m just so grateful to get back and play in that grand final,” Draper said.
“It was pretty full on, we had Channel 7 in the changerooms at half time with cameras and everything, so it wasn’t like your normal game.
“We had to put that aside, get our heads in the game and stick to our footy.
“I’m just so grateful I got to play in that team. All the relationships I made along the way will last through my footy career.”
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