Mid-season draftee Ethan Stanley will wear the number 46 at the Fremantle Dockers, with the winger settling in during his first week at the Club.
Stanley had his first training session with Fremantle on Monday, as he makes the transition from playing amateur under 19s football 12 months ago to an AFL list.
The 19-year-old impressed this season as he made the step up in the VFL at the Box Hill Hawks, kicking six goals from his six senior games.
Stanley will be working to break a seven-year drought for the no.46 at Fremantle, last worn by Clancee Pearce in 2016.
Settling in nicely ⚓️#foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/rgmyzKGhcF
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) June 8, 2023
Pearce played 100 games in the jumper as one of three Freo players to don the number, joined by Antoni Grover (nine games before changing to no.14) and Trent Carrol (19 games before changing to no.22).
Stanley said it was surreal to pull on the Fremantle kit for a photoshoot.
“It feels great because when I was a young footballer that played Auskick and started getting to local footy, I had that dream of playing in the AFL,” Stanley said.
“It almost came to me that I wasn’t going to get to that stage. I just love how my footy has improved over the past couple of years and I feel really privileged to pull on the jumper, it’s unreal.”
Stanley will sit closest to Conrad Williams (no.45) and Matthew Johnson (no.44) in the locker room.
Johnson has already been a great help for the young midfielder as he finds his feet.
“Johnno was great helping me with my first gym session,” Stanley said.
“I followed him around he’s a good bloke to have around the Club. He’s just helped me heaps.
“It’s been a big change. It’s been full on to learn the differences being in the AFL and learning a new way of going about things.”
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