Pick no.14 - Heath Chapman
Pick no.27 - Nathan O'Driscoll
Pick no.50 - Brandon Walker
Pick no.54 - Joel Western
Rookie pick no.7 - Josh Treacy
In Josh Treacy, Fremantle have a potential key forward who loves the contest and relishes the chance to bring the best out of his teammates.
Like all Victorian footballers in their 2020 draft year, Treacy faced a monumental challenge to stand out as a potential AFL-listed player without having the chance to prove himself on the field.
Fortunately for Treacy, an impressive 2019 season as a bottom ager for Bendigo already had the country Victorian on the radar of Freo’s recruiters.
He was set to co-captain Bendigo in 2020 but as the season shutdown due to Covid-19, Treacy instead focused on the aspects of his game that could be improved off the training track.
“It’s been a really challenging year but also something that was out of our control and we just had to deal with it, get on with things, train and put in the work,” Treacy said.
“The aim was to better myself in other ways without playing footy, which I feel is what I managed to do.
“There were a lot of drives to the oval and doing the work on your own and spending hours in the gym. It was pretty good to start seeing results from that work and the rewards that came on from that.
“I definitely wanted to improve my speed, endurance and agility and strength, as well as the leadership side of my game.”
On top of his contested marking ability, Treacy’s hunger for the contest made him a standout on the field in 2019.
“I think I can definitely expand on my 2019 season and go bigger and better for sure,” Treacy said.
“I like to be a bit aggressive on the field, I just love playing footy and I feel that my leadership comes first nature to me, it’s something I really pride myself on.
“Although we didn’t get to play a season, it was obviously a great honour to be named co-captain of the region.”
With Fremantle taking four West Australians with their four NAB AFL National Draft selections on Wednesday, Treacy is the lone Victorian in Fremantle’s 2020 draft class.
The 194cm big man is looking forward to reuniting with at least two Freo Dockers he got to know while in the Vic Country system.
“I know Caleb Serong and Hayden Young, we were in the Vic Country academy together last year,” Treacy said.
“Hopefully, we still have that connection that we did back then, it will be good to see them again."
