WA’s two Next Generation Academies came together on Saturday to take part in two ‘derbies’ at East Fremantle Oval.
Fremantle and West Coast’s sides were made up of players under the AFL’s ‘multicultural’ criteria, with the participants either born outside Australia or having one parent born overseas.
In 2016, multicultural players made up 15 per cent of the AFL player lists across the 18 AFL Clubs.
Consisting of players born from 2001 to 2003, Fremantle’s two teams included players with backgrounds from all around the globe, including Sudan, Trinidad, Myanmar, Chile, Canada, India, Brazil, PNG, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany the Netherlands and New Zealand.
Under the watchful eyes of Freo players Lachie Neale and Brady Grey, Fremantle split the day with West Coast, winning the opening game for players born in 2002 and 2003, but going down the game for 2001 players.
Ryley Seale from the South Fremantle district was a highlight in Fremantle’s win, kicking four of the team’s 12 goals in their six goal victory.
Players from the regions of WAFL teams Peel Thunder, South Fremantle, East Fremantle, Claremont and West Perth belong to Fremantle’s multicultural region, with the club running the academy to help attract kids to the game who would otherwise not play AFL or are underrepresented in AFL talent pathways.
In return for investing in the setup of the multicultural academy, Fremantle will be granted draft concessions for players that reside in their respective zone and have developed in the program for three or more years.
