Toast Welcome to Fremantle Neil Erasmus (pick 10 2021 AFL Draft)

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need to take a good look at themselves
Michael Johnson was the first Freo supporter to get drafted by Freo. there have been more since, but not many. 60% of Western Strines being affected with Weavilism, and all.

Weirdly, there have been more famous instances of Freo supporters going to West Coast - Matt Priddis and Elliot Yeo.

This Horne-Francis kiddie - the number 1 pick - was a Freo supporter.
 

Sully90

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Michael Johnson was the first Freo supporter to get drafted by Freo. there have been more since, but not many. 60% of Western Strines being affected with Weavilism, and all.

Weirdly, there have been more famous instances of Freo supporters going to West Coast - Matt Priddis and Elliot Yeo.

This Horne-Francis kiddie - the number 1 pick - was a Freo supporter.
Do the McGoverns count as Freo fans?
 
That's what you were really doing in Busso the other week hey TheInjuryFactory
Yeah, caught up with the lads and picked up my starter pack.

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December birthday, 1 month younger and he wouldn’t be draftable.

How tall is he going to end up? might have someone genuine Bontempelli sized running around in the midfield in the not too distant future.
We might have a few of them :think:
 

masai tu

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Neil should be played in the dreaded high-half forward role at first. Its a tough position but potentially v important. He is a goalkicker and good enough to excel at it.

MJ should be groomed as a pure mid.

In the regular season, I see him playing a good amount of time at Peel. Remember he is straight out of Colts, but a good stint at Peel in the midfield is what the doctor ordered.

Once he’s bashing the door down of JLo’s office with top class performances at Peel, yes he could be eased into the midfield mix, by working mostly off the half forward line.
 

Dockernut

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So, watching the Erasmus highlights, a few things occurred to me (at around 1:18 mark):

- goes up for a pack mark and clunks it - no surprises there - kid’s a natural overhead.
- feigns handpass, turns and immediately spots the player encroaching on the protected area and protests. In the big leagues you’d expect this to be officiated much better than the private school comp, so assume a shot on goal.
- plays on, assesses options going inside fifty and then (rather than hoofing it into forward fifty) delivers a clever pass off the side of the boot to a teammate.

This kid has some serious league level traits.

Good get Freo.
 

Jezzitizle

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So, watching the Erasmus highlights, a few things occurred to me (at around 1:18 mark):

- goes up for a pack mark and clunks it - no surprises there - kid’s a natural overhead.
- feigns handpass, turns and immediately spots the player encroaching on the protected area and protests. In the big leagues you’d expect this to be officiated much better than the private school comp, so assume a shot on goal.
- plays on, assesses options going inside fifty and then (rather than hoofing it into forward fifty) delivers a clever pass off the side of the boot to a teammate.

This kid has some serious league level traits.

Good get Freo.

In all honesty I had no idea about this guy before we drafted him, but 100% saw the same things, has some really exciting traits, seems to have time in congestion and hits good targets.

Really adds a different dynamic to Serong and Brayshaw, but I get the feeling he will be the type to feed off their determination and drive to propel himself.
 

sherrif

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December birthday, 1 month younger and he wouldn’t be draftable.

How tall is he going to end up? might have someone genuine Bontempelli sized running around in the midfield in the not too distant future.
Yep. Him and Johnson are the ideal pair in terms of team balance to be rotating with Serong and Brayshaw in our long term midfield. Both Erasmus and Johnson are also quick and potentially explosive out of stoppages after a couple of preseasons.
Erasmus could very well need more than few games at WAFL level to get used to playing against bigger bodies and considering he is a bit younger than most draftees.
 

rgauci

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Yep. Him and Johnson are the ideal pair in terms of team balance to be rotating with Serong and Brayshaw in our long term midfield. Both Erasmus and Johnson are also quick and potentially explosive out of stoppages after a couple of preseasons.
Erasmus could very well need more than few games at WAFL level to get used to playing against bigger bodies and considering he is a bit younger than most draftees.

yet wasn’t it Erasmus who was one of the best in the under 18s vs. Geelong VFL team.
 
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yet wasn’t it Erasmus who was one of the best in the under 18s vs. Geelong VFL team.
#19 Neil Erasmus (Subiaco/WA)

The West Australian ended up being quite a handy addition to the Academy squad, able to show his worth in some nice pockets of play. He came to life during a second term purple patch, where his vertical leap and overhead marking were prominent. Erasmus rose well both on the lead and to intercept across half-forward, where he was posted for most of the game. He would later be shifted up onto the wing where he worked back more defensively, but arguably looked more dangerous in attack during the first half. Erasmus had a set shot attempt on goal fall shot in term two and took some time to eventually hit his targets by foot on the move, but returned a promising game overall.


#22 Matthew Johnson (Subiaco/WA)

While injury scuppered his chances of an early-season League debut in the WAFL, Johnson put his hand up for such honours with a solid outing against mature bodies. Having played exclusively in midfield, the tall ball winner looks like being in the right shape to do so after his time off. He was the Academy’s third most prolific player, even with a disposal count of 13, showing clean hands and poise at the coalface. His one-touch potential was shown early with a beautiful half-volley gather at half-forward, before going on to take a strong overhead grab later in the first term. Johnson also notched a few clearances but was given little time to think about delivering anything more than a quick kick forward. His uncontested touches were polished though, and he looms as the prime tall inside midfielder in this crop.

 
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