The remarkable rise of mid-season draftee Ethan Stanley will continue this Saturday when the 19-year-old makes his AFL debut as a substitute against Sydney.
Just over 12 months ago, Stanley was playing amateur under 19s football for Frankston, and in March this year he progressed to make his VFL debut for Box Hill.
Five months later, Stanley was left wondering if it was all real when he was being told by Senior Coach Justin Longmuir that he would make the step up to AFL level for Fremantle.
“That's a crazy thing about it. This time last year I definitely didn't think I'd even be at any state league level at all,” Stanley said.
“I've been kind of overlooked for really my whole junior career, so to be six months ago, doing a VFL pre-season to then make an AFL debut this week, that doesn't really make sense in my head, but I'm just going to go with it.
“I'm a bit shaky at the moment, but I'm obviously really excited.
“It was hard to take everything in (talking to Longmuir) because you're just thinking, 'oh, my God, I'm playing this week'. I'm absolutely stoked.”
Slated as a potential winger, Stanley was selected by Fremantle in the mid-season draft on 31 May and he arrived at the Club the following week.
At 188cm and 81kg, Stanley arrived with a body capable of handling the rigours of AFL football.
He’s already shown his ability in his four games to date for Peel in the WAFL, highlighted by his 18 disposals and two goals against Subiaco.
He said his continued advancement since arriving at the Club came purely down to hard work.
“Training everyday with these AFL boys, you learn so quickly,” Stanley said.
“You just have to be physical, because you can't really get anywhere if you're not matched up with these boys at training or in games.
“In the 18 v 18s and our contested footy drills at main training, when you're able to do things against some of the top players, that makes you think that you can have a career out of this.
“You just have to keep working your hardest, making sure you're doing the right things and ticking the boxes.
“I didn't think it was going to be coming this early but I did think that one day, I could potentially have this.”
When telling Stanley the news, Longmuir highlighted the midfielder’s efforts since his arrival at Fremantle.
“Mate, you’re going to make your debut this week,” Longmuir said.
“Ever since you got here, you’ve been showing a level of composure and work ethic to understand your role, go about your work in the right way and we’ve been really impressed with what you’ve done on the field.
“You’ve been strong in the contest, composed with ball in hand, you back yourself and you understand your role.”
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