Universal Love Welcome to Freo- Joel Western (Pick 54)

Scham

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Bell said he is 174/175cm

Which is absolutely no problem providing he has other elite qualities to make up for it, e.g. speed, evasiveness, footy nouse, leap, ball handling, reflexes, courage. The more of those he’s got the easier it’ll be for him to succeed at AFL level.
 

apuchar

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Which is absolutely no problem providing he has other elite qualities to make up for it, e.g. speed, evasiveness, footy nouse, leap, ball handling, reflexes, courage. The more of those he’s got the easier it’ll be for him to succeed at AFL level.
Yeah. I thought he was 172cm. Not that it matters. . Anyway he wants to play forward because of his smaller body, so it should work out well for us and him.
 
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apuchar

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Haven't seen much of him and Walker, quick summary anyone?
Fast++ evasive.
Walker runs and carries a lot, is very evasive and is hard to hold up. Just runs around people or fends them off and skips around them
Western is smaller. Electric pace, very clean, smart and a long kick. Very hard to catch.
 

Marc85

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I reckon Western could play round 1. Just a feeling he'll bolt into calculations in the pre-season.
 

Cesoir

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I reckon Western could play round 1. Just a feeling he'll bolt into calculations in the pre-season.
I think like every year we will all be picking the new guys in the round 1 team and the selectors will pick the most proven best 22 - happens every year.

Will definitely be some good melts :)
 

DMan 11

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That crouched running style, small steps and quick change of direction just screams Roger Hayden to me....


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E Shed

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That crouched running style, small steps and quick change of direction just screams Roger Hayden to me....


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Still my equal favourite player with Hilly and MJ (Pav is in a class of his own).
 

wayToGo_

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Loved the honesty in his interview post draft. Acutely aware he needs to play as a small forward initially. This kid is lightning - I've never watched a player as quick as this kid over a short distance. He somehow got a reputation for poor disposal in 2019 that hung around in 2020 by some but really like most speedsters it is because it is friggin hard to kick well at full pace. I think him rarely needing to bomb the ball on the boot because he gets separation means often his kicking is underrated. You often saw him slowing down a bit before kicking in 2020 and not surprisingly he hit targets far more than not. Apart from being so short this kid is the full package.

The confusion by people watching toward the end of the draft when Freo kept passing must have been so much worse for him. Would have loved to see the reaction and relief when he found out he'd been drafted.
 
The confusion by people watching toward the end of the draft when Freo kept passing must have been so much worse for him. Would have loved to see the reaction and relief when he found out he'd been drafted.

The club would have made him fully aware of what they were going to do before hand.
 

wayToGo_

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The club would have made him fully aware of what they were going to do before hand.
That's what I thought and then I read this:

Western endured a nervous wait as the final of Fremantle’s four National Draft selections at no.54, however the nerves turned to elation when the NGA product’s name was called out in a bid by the Western Bulldogs, which Fremantle matched.

“I didn’t actually see my name called out as my head was in my hands,” Western said.

“My sister screamed when my name popped up and everything just turned after that.

“Mum instantly started breaking down with tears, we were all just filled with emotions. We’re just all so grateful that I’ve finally made it.

“There’s been a lot of tough challenges this year, so to get that end result is just so rewarding.
 

mayne iac

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That crouched running style, small steps and quick change of direction just screams Roger Hayden to me....


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Omergerrrd
 

rgauci

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That's what I thought and then I read this:

Western endured a nervous wait as the final of Fremantle’s four National Draft selections at no.54, however the nerves turned to elation when the NGA product’s name was called out in a bid by the Western Bulldogs, which Fremantle matched.

“I didn’t actually see my name called out as my head was in my hands,” Western said.

“My sister screamed when my name popped up and everything just turned after that.

“Mum instantly started breaking down with tears, we were all just filled with emotions. We’re just all so grateful that I’ve finally made it.

“There’s been a lot of tough challenges this year, so to get that end result is just so rewarding.

I found that really odd. Even without Fremantle spelling it out for him. He should have realized if he went undrafted Fremantle would just add him as a category B rookie. So I don’t understand the head in hands bit. Perhaps he wanted a 2 year contract rather than 1? It doesn’t make sense to me he wouldn’t be totally across the draft and category B rules. Surely he’d know. Surely?
 

vidwhal

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I'll just be stoked if this lil chipper doesn't turn out to be the next Brett Peake, no disrespect to the dude.

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CapitalA

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I found that really odd. Even without Fremantle spelling it out for him. He should have realized if he went undrafted Fremantle would just add him as a category B rookie. So I don’t understand the head in hands bit. Perhaps he wanted a 2 year contract rather than 1? It doesn’t make sense to me he wouldn’t be totally across the draft and category B rules. Surely he’d know. Surely?
He would have thought because we picked up an extra player in O'Driscoll that if he got bid on we wouldn't match probably.
 

rgauci

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He would have thought because we picked up an extra player in O'Driscoll that if he got bid on we wouldn't match probably.

We were passing, and still had a list spot. He reason we were passing was to leave a spot open just in case, for him. There was no other reason. Sounds like he misread the situation.

As soon as we made the 1st pass, he should have known he was secure.
 

2012

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Fast++ evasive.
Walker runs and carries a lot, is very evasive and is hard to hold up. Just runs around people or fends them off and skips around them
Western is smaller. Electric pace, very clean, smart and a long kick. Very hard to catch.
So, where does last year's pick #9 fit in after an overwhelming media buildup and a less than good couple of games?
 

rgauci

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So, where does last year's pick #9 fit in after an overwhelming media buildup and a less than good couple of games?

He dislocated a knee cap in late 2019. He was short of a run, I think his last competitive match was July / August 2019.

He’d lost a yard of pace and plenty of match fitness.

He’s put on size and the pace is back. Watch out!
 

yyou

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I'd happily take a participation certificate for our trophy cabinet at this stage.
Don't forget the singing comp on the footy show won by Luke McPharlin

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