New rookie draftee Josh Treacy has made the most of his time in quarantine by learning off star forward Matt Taberner, according to teammate Hayden Young.
Drafted in December, Treacy moved in with Young as he settles in Perth and the duo quarantined and trained together after they arrived back in WA from Victoria following the Christmas break.
As a rookie draftee from country Victoria, Treacy has a similar background to Taberner, who was rookie drafted by Fremantle in 2013.
Taberner’s rise at Fremantle was stalled by injury but the 27-year-old had a breakout season in 2020 with 29 goals from 16 games, earning an All Australian squad selection.
At 18 years of age and 194cm, Treacy is also looking to have an impact at Fremantle as a tall forward.
“He’s a big boy! He’s a pretty powerful unit,” Young said about Treacy.
“He’s pretty exciting I think. He’s got great dukes (hands) and he’s a handy kick so he’ll be a pretty exciting player for us.”
Young said Treacy was already showing determination to break into the Fremantle line-up at training.
“I think he’s got the potential to have an impact this year,” Young said.
“He’s been working hard early on and trying to absorb as much as he can.
“We had Matt Taberner with us in our quarantine crew and he was following him closely and taking on his feedback.
“I think he’s progressing really well and hopefully he has a good year.”
Fremantle had up to 15 players training in their quarantine group alongside new coaches Matthew Boyd and Joel Corey as well as high performance manager Phil Merriman.
Young said it was a great opportunity to get to know the new coaching group.
“It was really good. We had Joel Corey, Matty Boyd and Phil Merriman with us. We had great support around us and the boys trained with great intensity and we enjoyed the two weeks together,” Young said.
“Obviously, it was the only time of the day we got to get out of the house so we tried to make the most of it and have some fun on the track.”
Young said he’s liked what he’s seen from Fremantle’s new head of high performance.
“Phil’s a great person and he’s built some really good relationships in the first few weeks that he’s been at the club,” Young said.
“We’re doing a bit more running this year which has been good. Phil’s really good at listening to us, listening to how our bodies are responding and we’re getting the most out of our sessions.”
