In the pairs first run at their new home stadium, they tag teamed roles, switching between the ruck on three time All Australian Aaron Sandilands, and in attack, manned up by one of the AFL’s elite fullbacks, Luke McPharlin.
Both Hannath, who has played SANFL football for the past two years, and Moller described the experience as an eye opener.
“It was obviously pretty intense and quick and the game was physical. I’ve played a bit of senior footy before but there is definitely a big step up into AFL football,” Hannath said.
“It was a good experience and a great challenge.”
Moller was drafted in 2012 to Fremantle after being part of the NSW Scholarship program.
The eighteen-year-old commenced the scholarship in 2009 as a 14 year old.
Part of the scholarship included trips to Fremantle HQ to meet coaching staff, players, and to see how an AFL club worked.
The Derby Club, a Fremantle Dockers day coterie group, provided financial assistance to enable Moller and the club to continue his scholarship, and assisted with costs to fly him to WA.
Moller had met Sandilands during these trips and was well aware of the influential player he was.
Weighing in at just 86kgs, Moller said the huge discrepancy in body sizes between he and Sandilands made it a significant challenge.
“Going in I knew who he was and how dominant he has been over the years,” Moller said.
“Aaron’s got about 30kgs on me.
“There was a couple of times I thought I had him but he would just come from nowhere and steal it.
“I wouldn’t have said I won too many, but he’s a great player to practice against and get some experience.”
It wasn’t just Sandilands’ size that Hannath had to contend with.
It was the 183 games of experience the Fremantle ruckman has had to master his craft.
“He’s a really smart player,” Hannath said.
“Even if you mix up your game and try different things he’s still incredibly hard to play on.
“He knows how to use his size to his advantage.”
That knowledge is something that Hannath hopes will rub off on his own game.
“Aaron has given me feedback throughout the pre-season, and even out on the ground when we were playing the intra-club, I asked him a few things and he helped me out.”
In between their stints in the ruck, the budding ruckmen had a chance to kick a few goals down forward.
Hannath kicked four, and said it was exciting to play on another All Australian.
“I got to play on Luke McPharlin, who was an All Australia last year so that was a good challenge going up forward and I had a lot of fun playing there,” Hannath said.
“Luke’s pretty smart in the way he plays, you can tell the difference between guys who have played only a few games, compared to guys who have a fair bit of AFL experience.
“The way he positions and uses his body makes it really difficult to score against.
“The game was just a great learning curve and a great experience to get amongst it with two of the best in their positions, so hopefully we can learn as much as we can from them.”
