Breakout Bulldog on Bont comparisons, his 'tough decision' to leave home
After being picked up in the third round of the 2023 draft, its been a rapid rise for Bulldog Joel Freijah
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JOEL Freijah has a penetrating right foot, but you should see him wielding a ping pong paddle. Three years in the boarding house at Ballarat Clarendon College honed his craft behind the table tennis table. It also instilled the discipline and devotion that has propelled him out of the blocks at the Western Bulldogs.
Freijah grew up in Horsham, 300km north-west of Melbourne, just past the Grampians. He made the decision at the end of Year 9 to leave home and board at the same school that has recently produced Brisbane premiership players Hugh McCluggage and Jarrod Berry, Gold Coast's Tom Berry, Essendon's Ben Hobbs, Port Adelaide's Willem Drew and North Melbourne's Darcy Tucker.
The 19-year-old wasn't the only boarder the Western Bulldogs selected in the 2023 Telstra AFL Draft. Ryley Sanders was taken at pick No.6, after the Tasmanian moved to Victoria to complete Year 11 and 12 at Melbourne Grammar. That shared experienced has connected the pair.
The alarm sounded earlier in the boarding house than at home. Every second morning started in the gym. Free time was spent playing hours of table tennis. Study commitment wasn't suggested, it was expected.
While Freijah cemented his draft status with the Greater Western Victoria Rebels in the Coates Talent League across 2022 and 2023, his school performances also stood out. But the boarding experience helped with much more than just football.
"It was a hard decision to leave family – we are a really close family – and I'm from Horsham originally, so two hours away from Ballarat. But I'm extremely grateful for it," Freijah told AFL.com.au ahead of the Easter Sunday clash against St Kilda.
"Every day there is routine, there is discipline, even just being away from family at a young age you develop so many daily skills you don't realise you do develop until you come out of school and others don't have that just went to school as a day student.
"Boarding is a whole different experience, but it's something you need to do if you're from the country. Horsham is a great town but there are more opportunities in Ballarat for my education and my football. it was a tough decision but probably one of the best decisions my family and I made. I've made four or five lifetime long friends from school. The friendships and connections are unbreakable because you spend every day together for three years."
Luke Beveridge picked Freijah to make his debut against Richmond in May last year and played him 13 times in his first season at the Western Bulldogs, including the elimination final loss to Hawthorn in front of 97,828 people at the MCG. They lost by 37 points, but Freijah enhanced his reputation on the big stage.
"You want to play well in those big games," Freijah said. "Something I do enjoy is challenges. We knew that was going to be a challenging game. Obviously it didn't go our way in the end, but I played how I play in a normal game; I love playing on the MCG in front of big crowds. It was a really enjoyable experience even though we lost and a cool game with 97,000 people there.
"Having those VFL games at the start was really good for my development. When I came in, I was ready. The one thing that helped me a lot was the boys in the backline like Taylor Duryea, Liam Jones really guiding me well. They made me feel comfortable and that made me gain a lot of confidence."
Freijah was drafted as a wingman but played predominantly at half-back under Daniel Pratt's watch in 2024. This year, with reigning All-Australians Marcus Bontempelli and Adam Treloar missing early, the assured 191cm utility has played mainly in the midfield.
He collected 28 disposals and 455 metres gained against North Melbourne in round one, then finished with 23 touches, 12 contested possessions and a memorable goal, where he swooped on Steele Sidebottom in the middle of the MCG, tucked the ball under his arm, took one bounce and calmly slotted a goal from 55m out to level the scores late in Footscray's 100th year anniversary game against Collingwood in round two.
"I have really enjoyed it and in the future I think I will be able to play any role, whether that's in the midfield or going back to help defensively, which I have been doing in games this year," he said.
"With 'Ads' and 'Bont' out there was opportunity there. It's been great to play with Ed (Richards) and 'Libba' (Tom Liberatore) and Matt Kennedy has bene absolutely awesome for me. I've enjoyed the opportunity. I think it suits my strengths really well. It's definitely something I want to keep working on with my craft at stoppages and then hurting teams on the outside with my running."
Word got back to Freijah when Collingwood champion Nathan Buckley referred to him as the 'right-footed Bont' in March. You couldn't miss it on social media. He laughs when asked about it, succinctly responding: "There is only one Bont." Smart answer, smart player. Bontempelli is set to return on Easter Sunday night, but Freijah is cementing a spot in the Bulldogs' best 22.
The Western Bulldogs used pick No.45 on Freijah in 2023 after picking Sanders and father-son recruit Jordan Croft (No. 15) in the first-round. That pick looks like a very shrewd piece of recruiting by Sam Power and Dom Milesi. The Dogs also used the same pick in 2014 on Bailey Dale, who has since become an All-Australian half-back and was included in the squad again last year.
The Bulldogs have unearthed plenty of gold in the third-round across the past decade. Caleb Daniel was selected the pick after Dale and won the 2020 Charles Sutton Medal in the same year he collected a blazer. Bailey Williams was taken at pick No. 48 in 2016, while 2016 premiership wingman Lachie Hunter was a father-son selection at pick No.49.
"I think it doesn’t matter what pick you go in the end, I know people talk about it a lot but you soon come to the realisation that everyone has the same platform once you get in there," he said.
"That expectation [to play 10-plus years] is real for me. I've got a lot of self-belief and I'm very confident in my ability. I've got great support around me at the club. I'm really grateful to be at this club and I look forward to many, many more years to come."
For now, Freijah is keeping housemates Lachie McNeill and Lachie Jaques honest on the table tennis table every night. He will start a commerce degree next year at Deakin University. The confident kid wearing No.27 in the red, white and blue is a key part of not just the future at the Whitten Oval, but the present.
