Impressive pre-seasons from Neil Erasmus and Matthew Johnson are unlikely to earn a starting spot in Fremantle’s midfield in round one, but the pair have other avenues to earn selection, according to Senior Coach Justin Longmuir.

The 19-year-olds are among the most talented midfielders to come out of WA in recent years, with Erasmus drafted at no.10 and Johnson at no.21 at the 2021 NAB AFL Draft.

Erasmus has five games to his name after his debut season however a pre-season foot injury limited Johnson’s opportunities last year, instead playing 14 games for Peel.

Fremantle have shown off the plethora of options they have in the midfield during their match sims throughout the summer, with Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong, Will Brodie and Jaeger O’Meara earning the bulk of the minutes alongside Erasmus and Johnson.

Two-time Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe, who has spent 100 per cent of his time with the forward group at training, is likely to play a mix of forward and midfield once the season starts.

As two of Freo’s strongest runners, Erasmus and Johnson have also tested themselves on the wing as they put their case forward for selection.

Longmuir said the pair had been using match sim to learn the structure and running patterns required to play on the wing.

“It is a little bit different on the wing…you’re going to have to be a good runner to close down exits up forward but also get back and support the backline at the right time,” Longmuir told SEN WA.

“The difficulty the inside midfielders have going out to a wing is sometimes you can get caught inside the contest when we want our wingers to hold balance and be more on the outside.

“We’ve been trialling Erasmus and Johnno out there…if you’re a track watcher you would have noticed both of those guys have been on the outside, just like Andy, Dave (Mundy) and Caleb did last year for us.”

Longmuir doesn’t expect it to be long until the pair are moved into inside midfield roles, further strengthening Fremantle’s already impressive midfield depth.

“In the early stages of their careers, they’re going to have to play other roles outside of the midfield but I think in the future we’ll see them as full time midfielders,” Longmuir said.

“There is a little gap period in the early part of your career where you have to be flexible.

“Whether that’s on the wing or forward, like we played ‘Ras’ a little bit last year, we’ll still work that out.”

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SEN WA host and former Freo midfielder Paul Hasleby asked Longmuir about Hayden Young’s potential as a midfielder while predicting the 21-year-old would be an All Australian defender in 2023.

Longmuir said he was keen to keep Young in a role that is crucial to his game plan.

“Maybe he’ll go into the midfield one day, there’s a few coaches campaigning for that!” Longmuir said.

“As mentioned before, we are quite deep in the midfield and when our mids are all out there, we have enough talent to go through.

“Before I shift players around, I want to make sure they’re really proficient in the role they’re in.

“Youngy has taken a massive step forward this pre-season as a half back.

“He’s someone who can win the ball back but also distribute the ball as well as he does, it’s going to be a real benefit down back.

“I’m really pleased with the way he’s handled his pre-season and he looks like one of our players who will take a big step forward this year.”

Midfield still on cards after forward thinking summer
Match Sim report 1 February