Josh, Justin Longmuir has just broken the good news, what is going through your head right now?
A fair bit honestly, it’s all happened pretty quick with the uncertainty of what was going to unfold this week. I’m obviously stoked and excited to get out there on Sunday.
You asked for a meeting with Justin this morning, can you explain the reason behind that?
I just wanted to know where I sat in the team and if there was anything extra that I needed to add to my game that would help get me into the side. He just sort of sprung it on me (that I was playing) and said there was nothing more to add because I would be playing on the weekend.
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I bet that was quite unexpected, what are some of the things Justin said to you as to why you have been selected to make your debut?
A few things like my competitiveness. He said I was pretty clean for a bigger bloke and that my skills go alright. Hopefully, that will hold me in good stead on Sunday.
It’s felt like a bit of a journey to get here – there was a WAFL suspension which saw you unavailable for rounds one and two of the AFL season. How do you reflect on the past month?
Plenty of ups and downs that’s for sure. It was pretty tough at one stage there to cop the suspension. For the club to work with the AFL and get that changed around and to be available to run out and play this weekend is pretty exciting.
You were picked up in the rookie draft, did you imagine a debut to come so early in the piece for you?
I probably didn’t even expect to be on a list if I’m really honest. Not getting picked up on draft night was really tough, but then the rookie draft came around the next day and I was lucky enough to be selected by Freo. I’ve loved being over here ever since and I don’t really want to go home (back to Melbourne.)
You really impressed throughout that pre-season period, what were some of your biggest drivers and who were some of your biggest mentors here at the club?
I actually think training in our quarantine group (at the start of the year) really helped a lot. I was able to build a close connection with the Victorian boys and sort of break down the group to get to know everyone a little better. ‘Tabs’ (Matt Taberner) was one of the main ones who helped me along the way. Both him and Rory Lobb have been really good for me, as well as just bouncing off everyone else. There are so many good players to bounce off in the group as well as the coaches and staff too.
We’ve got the Hawks this weekend, what are some of your personal focuses heading into your first game?
Just to stick to my role and do whatever I have to for the team. I’ll do what they ask of me and hopefully they do as I ask of them. Hopefully, things fall into place and we have a good day on Sunday.
You will be playing at Optus Stadium in front of the Purple Army, you watched on from the sidelines a couple weeks ago against the Giants, what do you imagine that feeling is going to be like running out in front of the fans?
It’s going to be pretty exciting, I actually got goosebumps watching and listening to the crowd. I’ll just get out there and sort of embrace it and switch on as quick as I can. I can’t wait to get in the moment and just play footy.
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