Fremantle have announced that Josh Draper will make his AFL debut this weekend against North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
The 20-year-old key defender is a product of Fremantle’s Next Generation Academy, being selected by the Club in the 2022 draft.
The 197cm key put pen to paper midway through last year, extending his time at Fremantle until at least the end of 2025.
When speaking following the announcement to the team, Draper couldn’t hold back his excitement.
“Now I get to carry out my dream on Saturday,” Draper said.
“I just want to do my role and be decisive, just do what I’ve got to do for the team and make the Freo family proud.
“Those two games against West Coast and Port (in the pre-season) were such a good experience and made me gain confidence knowing that I can go against guys at that level. It’s left me in really good stead.”
Coming to Fremantle, Draper was not initially a defender, but during his time in the NGA and in the senior side he has flawlessly transitioned his craft to become an agile intercept defender, showcasing his ability for Peel Thunder with 11 League appearances last year.
Draper said working with the Club’s experienced talent in the backline made his transition to defence seamless.
“Mainly I've been watching clips of Brennan Cox, Alex Pearce and Luke Ryan,” Draper said.
“I can't really pick one because that whole back six is really close and there's a lot of quality players there.
“Watching those boys just makes me feel more at ease on the field.”
Draper, who will become the fifth academy player to play for Freo, credited his time spent in the NGA, as part of the reason he was making his debut on Saturday.
“I worked with Tendai Mzungu and Roger Hayden and the NGA has been this really good resource for me, teaching me the skills on and off the field and what it takes to be a successful AFL player,” Draper said.
Fremantle’s final team of 23 players will be announced at 3.20pm WST this afternoon.
