Fremantle could be one of the harder teams to break into in 2023, however that’s not stopping the 2022 NAB AFL Draft class from setting their sights on a round one debut.
National draft selections Hugh Davies, Tom Emmett, Max Knobel and Corey Wagner and rookie Liam Reidy were all unveiled to the media on Monday on their first official day at Club headquarters.
Emmett didn’t flinch when asked if he thought he could earn selection by March, and said all the boys standing alongside him should feel the same.
The mature age recruit referenced his battles to make it onto an AFL list, including overcoming cancer and a serious achilles injury.
“Yeah, I do think I can play round one,” Emmett.
“It’s that inner belief, the fact that I’ve overcome my obstacles in the past.
“There’s a young group and everyone is thinking they can play round one, and everyone should be thinking that. If everyone is fighting for spots, it’s just great for the squad.”
Despite sitting behind Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson in the pecking order, Reidy said he was also targeting selection.
“As Tom touched on, we got recruited for a reason,” Reidy said.
“I think I’m right in the mix of it and I’ll be there putting pressure on the ruck spots.
“They (Darcy and Jackson) are probably top five ruckmen in the league and it’s probably the most privileged spot for me to be, learning from them and watching what they do.
“The next step is competing with them and making them better and making myself better as well.”
Fellow ruck recruit Knobel said Darcy had already taken him under his wing.
“It’s been really good to meet Luke and Sean,” Knobel said.
“Sean’s strength is something incredible…I found that out in a marking contest. I’ll definitely be hitting the gym hard.
“He said that we’ll sit down and go through a few things so it’s good for him to take me under his wing and bring me into the group.”
Wagner had the most impressive display on the track as the only player who threatened to beat Andrew Brayshaw in the four 1km time trials that morning.
Brayshaw was a comfortable winner in the opening three runs before Wagner rallied in the final run to finish within a second of the MVP winner.
“My strength is my running, I was back training already with Port Melbourne, so I had a bit of a head start on these boys,” Wagner said.
“Pre-season is just grind it out and try and do your job, go as hard as you can, that worked out pretty well today.”
Davies, Fremantle’s top draft pick at no.33, said he was also benefitting from doing the work before pre-season started.
“I’ve been doing the work before being picked up, so I’m pretty far along and they’re just easing me in, so it’s going well,” Davies said
“Everyone is trying to work hard and they all want that one goal of success so it’s great to be a part of it.”
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