Anything and Everything Fremantle
New Recruits
Menegola happy to be home
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Sam Menegola is ecstatic to have a footy home again after Fremantle selected him with pick 44 in the AFL Rookie Draft today.
The 19-year-old said the main emotions he had experienced since hearing the news were relief and excitement.
“Relief that the off-season is over and I’ve found a home, and excitement because I can get stuck into it,” he said.
“I can’t wait to put my head down and work really hard and try and play some really good footy next year.”
Menegola was hoping to be a Freo Docker one year ago when he trained with the club during the pre-season.
But Hawthorn threw a spanner in the works when they selected the East Fremantle colt with pick 19 in the Rookie Draft – one ahead of Freo at pick 20.
After a season with the Hawks, Menegola was delisted, leaving him on Freo’s radar once again.
Schloithe pumped to be a Freo Docker
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Haiden Schloithe, a member of South Fremantle Colts’ premiership winning team this season, said he had no idea Fremantle was going to pick him in the Rookie Draft, but that he was excited when the club called out his name.
“I was pretty pumped,” he said.
Schloithe rates his contested ball-winning ability as the strongest part of his game.
“I’m also good at getting forward and kicking a goal.”
But the 18-year-old also acknowledged he had a few areas he still needed to work on to play at AFL level.
“I need to work on my fitness and my ability to kick on my opposite (left) foot,” he said.
Schloithe also represented WA in the NAB Under 18s carnival this season.
Freo mature-agers a Spurr for Lee
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Fremantle’s first selection in the 2012 AFL Rookie Draft is hoping he can be the club’s next mature-age recruit to make it at the top level.
Twenty-four-year-old Lee Spurr has nominated for all the drafts in the past three years without any success, but Fremantle today gave the SANFL star the chance to realise his dream.
“I was absolutely pumped when Freo mentioned my name,” he said.
“I was stoked to go pretty early in the draft which put my mind at ease a bit.”
Spurr said watching the likes of Michael Barlow and Nick Lower succeed at AFL level after enjoying solid VFL and SANFL seasons respectively, coupled with Fremantle’s faith in its rookies in recent years was heartening.
“Those guys were given their opportunity by the club and they took it,” he said.
Fremantle finalises squad
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Fremantle has finalised its 2012 playing squad by adding six players at today’s Pre-Season and Rookie Drafts.
As expected, Zac Dawson was selected with the club’s only pick (No. 10) in the Pre-Season Draft, while a further five players were picked via the Rookie Draft – an avenue the likes of Michael Barlow, Alex Silvagni, Nick Lower, Matt de Boer and Greg Broughton have taken in previous seasons.
Mature-age SANFL star Lee Spurr (pick 8), South Fremantle’s Haiden Schloithe (26), Sam Menegola (44), who was delisted by Hawthorn, and Darwin’s Jordan King-Wilson (61) all had their names called out by Freo General manager of player management Brad Lloyd.
Clancee Pearce made the most of his opportunity to remain and train with the team following his delisting at the end of the season. He was re-rookie listed with the club’s final pick (75) after an impressive pre-season campaign.
Dawson joins the club after three seasons with St Kilda in which he played in three Grand Finals (2009, 2010 and 2010 replay).
Rookie Draft – Pick 75: Clancee Pearce
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After three season with Fremantle, Clancee was delisted at the end of the 2011 season but stayed on to train with the team. After an impressive performance during 2012 pre-season training he has been re-rookie listed by the club.
Rookie Draft – Pick 61: Jordan King-Wilson
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Jordan’s played a stack of footy over the last 12 months. He has had to split his footy commitments with the Darwin Buffalows, Northern Territory Under 18s, NT Thunder, Rostrevor College and North Adelaide Reserves/Under 18s. Jordan has played both through the midfield and as a small rebounding defender and has played well in both roles. He plays the game with great intensity and really high energy. His repeat efforts around the ball in particular are a highlight. Jordan is a real competitor and has great intent at the contest. He averaged 19 possessions per game at the national carnival and over 20 per match at SANFL Under 18 level. He also tested very well at the National Combine; 2.98 20m, 8.52 agility, 24.89 repeat speed and a 10.45 3km.
Rookie Draft – Pick 44: Sam Menegola
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Sam was rookied by Hawthorn in 2010 after doing a pre-season with Fremantle. As a lead-up forward, he dominated at WAFL colts before being drafted, booting 46 goals from his 22 games with East Fremantle, however he will likely develop into a midfielder/wingman at AFL level. Sam struggled a bit with injury in 2011 and only managed the three senior VFL games in 2011. However, he showed good signs during the 2011 NAB Cup at Hawthorn, where his class and running ability stood out. Sam’s main weapon is that he has elite endurance, running a 15.6 beep at the state combine last year and he demonstrated this over pre-season at Fremantle Football Club in 2010. He’s a good size at 188cm and has a lot of physical development/upside left in him.
Rookie Draft – Pick 26: Haiden Schloithe
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Haiden Schloithe is a hard nosed inside 50 forward who has the potential to develop into a midfielder once his endurance improves. Strong overhead for his size and clean below his knees, he is genuinely tough and loves contested footy. He is a ferocious tackler and puts a lot of pressure on the opposition (he averaged 7.3 tackles per game at colts level this year). He played a few league games this year and didn’t look out of place at that level. He ran a super impressive 2.80 20m at the state screening as well as an 8.49 agility and a 24.33 repeat sprint time.
Rookie Draft – Pick 8: Lee Spurr
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Lee Spurr is a 24-year-old old former Queenslander who has spent the last five seasons playing for Central Districts in the SANFL, winning three premierships. He has been a very consistent performer at SANFL level over the last few years. He is a super courageous player who is very strong overhead. He has the ability to gut run and find plenty of the ball across half-back and has also impacted on games as a midfielder and at half-forward. He is an outstanding character. Lee averaged 22.3 touches and 7.3 marks a game at SANFL League level.
What the Dockers say
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In summary
Fremantle saved a spot on its senior list for former St Kilda and Hawthorn defender Zac Dawson, and the club faced no final hurdles in securing the 25-year-old, who has been training with the club. That selection addressed a lack of key defenders on the club’s list, while the rookie draft was used to select the best players available. Interestingly, no key position players were taken in the rookie draft, with Fremantle continuing to stockpile versatile utility types. Clancee Pearce will return to the club’s rookie list as expected for a fourth year.
What the recruiter said
“Getting Zac Dawson was really important for our list management, to get that key defender to add some depth to our backline. Once we knew he was secured the next step was to take the best players available in the rookie draft. We’ve got around 240 games out of our rookies over the last three or four seasons, so our rookies have been really important for us.” – Fremantle general manager of player management Brad Lloyd.
