Mitch Crowden believes he has a lot of room to grow as embraces a role in Freo’s forward line.
The 21-year-old is one of a number of young midfielders at Fremantle, and after playing round one in March against Essendon, he struggled to break back into the team when the season restarted.
Since his return against Collingwood in round nine, Crowden has established himself up front and has played every game since.
Freo’s upcoming games against North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs to round out the season will be crucial for Crowden to continue his growth.
“I just want to continue to build,” Crowden told 6PR.
“I’ve played midfield a lot during my younger days and even this year, I’ve pretty much trained completely as a midfielder until I played forward eight weeks ago.
“There’s still a lot of craft to build and get better with my knowledge about that role. I’m continuing to learn heading into next year.”
Crowden was asked about how Fremantle have improved their skills and ball movement in 2020.
Under Justin Longmuir, Freo’s kicking efficiency is running at 65.5 per cent, the fourth-best in the AFL, compared to their league-worst 60.9 per cent efficiency in 2019.
Crowden said a new game style had a part to play but added that there was a much simpler explanation as Freo’s younger players come into their own.
“It’s a little bit of everything. I think the biggest thing is a lot of our young guys coming through are actually really good kicks,” Crowden said.
“They have the confidence to hit those kicks, they’re doing that now, with Adam Cerra being an excellent kick and leading the way in that aspect.”
Crowden said he was looking forward to a return to Metricon Stadium, where he kicked two goals against Richmond in round 15, when Fremantle take on North Melbourne on Saturday.
“I’ve only played the one game there this season. It was terrific. It was a great ground,” Crowden said.
“Under lights it was quite dewy when we played there against the Tigers. The Kangaroos game is during the day so I don’t think we’ll get that. Hopefully, it’s another good hit out.”
