Fremantle draftees Cooper Simpson, Ollie Murphy, Jack Delean and Odin Jones took part in their first official training session with new teammates on Monday.
The four spoke to media straight after, with plenty of excitement in the room.
Cooper Simpson, Fremantle’s top pick in this year’s AFL National Draft at number 35, said he was eager to “get stuck in” after travelling from Victoria on Friday.
“I was dying to get out there with all the boys and have a kick around. The boys got around us, which is awesome and made us all feel a part of it,” Simpson said.
“I want to crack in as hard as I can in pre-season and do as much as I can. Also to learn off all the older boys here and their experience.
“Us four boys here are all new to this and we’re all going through the same journey.”
Simpson was met by Fremantle legend Matthew Pavlich on touchdown in Perth and the Australian Football Hall of Famer presented him with his old jumper number 29.
“To have (Matthew Pavlich’s) number is amazing and something I’m really grateful for,” Simpson said.
“Number 29 hasn’t been out (on-field) since (Pavlich) played, so for the Fremantle fans it’s something to look forward to and something I’m looking forward to.”
fresh off the plane… yes this is what you think it means 🤯#foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/yHef7gXm2Z
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) November 24, 2023
Vic Metro key defender Ollie Murphy (pick 41) said he wants to use the pre-season to learn as much as he can from the more experienced players.
“The Club has been so good with introducing us to the boys and I’m gelling really well with all the backs, players and staff,” Murphy said.
“(I want to) learn as much as I can from the older players, pick their brains every day and play some good, consistent footy.
“I have admired Coxy (Brennan Cox), Alex Pearce and Hayden Young. Watching them all train has been awesome and just how they defend and play, so I’m going to love working with them.”
South Australian small forward Jack Delean (pick 60) also touched on his first day at the Club.
Known for hitting the scoreboard, Delean spoke about wanting to perfect his forward craft through consistent practice.
“I loved it. As soon as I got picked up I wanted to get in and start training so it was really enjoyable and I had such a great time today," Delean said.
“All the time I’ll try to get out and practice some set shots, so whether that’s before or after training or even practising some ground balls or snaps on the boundary.
“(I would) constantly keep up the reps and make sure I’m consistently hitting the scoreboard.”
Rookie draftee Odin Jones, from West Perth via junior Club Joondalup Kinross, is staying with ruckman Sean Darcy to cut back on freeway travel time on training days.
“Everyone was very welcoming and made me feel comfortable and I just want to get into it now,” Jones said.
Executive General Manager of Football Talent, Strategy and Special Projects, Peter Bell spoke on the pre-Christmas training plan for the draftees, wanting to ease the group into it.
“They’re raring to go and they want to do everything, but we leave it to high performance and medical to ease them in,” Bell said.
“They’ve been through a lot in recent times with the travel as well, so we want to get a thorough assessment on where they’re at physically.
“The last thing we want is for any of the young lads to get an injury early, so it’s a pretty steady build up until Christmas, and they can build their momentum post-Christmas.”
Peter Bol in the house!
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) November 27, 2023
Stoked to have @pbol800 join us to pace our time trials this morning 🤝#foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/iZmWRHWcXT