Karl Worner looms as a potential debutant in the second half of the 2023 AFL season after exhibiting strong form in the WAFL playing for Peel, according to Executive General Manager of Football Peter Bell.
The defender / winger was drafted by Fremantle in the 2021 Rookie Draft as a part of the same class as Jye Amiss, Neil Erasmus, Matthew Johnson and Eric Benning.
Overlooked in the 2020 draft, Worner spent 2021 working significantly on his fitness training with champion Australian athlete Craig Mottram, and is now one of Fremantle’s best runners.
He has averaged 28 disposals and seven marks from his six appearances for Peel, helping the Thunder to a 6-1 record on top of the ladder.
The 20-year-old was a travelling emergency for Walyalup’s win against Narrm in a sign that he is being considered strongly at the selection table.
“He travelled with us in our most recent game,” Bell told SportFM.
“He was really close (to selection), he was an emergency. If someone had woken up sick or was a bit sore in the warm-up, for example, we would have had great faith in Karl coming into the team.
“He’s extremely close, he’s a wonderful athlete. He’s put together a strong, consistent, couple of months at Peel and I’m sure his opportunity will come soon.”
Bell said Walyalup was fortunate to have several players, particularly in the backline, capable of stepping up into the AFL team.
“As a back seven, they’re a really tight group. They trust each other and we’ve had good continuity down there for a couple of years now,” Bell said.
“We’ve got terrific – I use the term depth – but they’re more than that as we trust them as well.
“We have players like Nathan Wilson, we’re liking what Corey Wagner is doing in his first year at the club. We feel we have some real depth to our list at the moment.”
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