(Photo courtesy of Dave Savell)<\/p>\n
Starved of team success in his junior years and now with the bitter taste of narrow finals defeat, Sandringham Dragon\u2019s Nathan Freeman knows that it is time to make a mark when it counts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty tough losing the prelim by only four points, and also going down in semi by two. There\u2019s definitely a bit of fire in the belly this year though\u201d Freeman said. \u201cIt was certainly exciting, the only couple of finals I\u2019ve really played in. We had a great group last year with a nice spread of top and bottom age boys which is certainly important, and we have that again this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
After winning the flag in 2011 and reaching the penultimate weekend in 2012, the culture and depth of talent at the Dragons has them pushing for the Premiership again, in what is emerging as a very even TAC Cup competition in 2013.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith two wins and a draw from the first four it\u2019s been a mixed start, it really seems that there is such evenness throughout the completion, anyone can knock off anyone this year\u201d said Freeman who knows the importance of sustaining momentum, especially when integral players must miss games due to Associated Public Schools (APS) football commitments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started well but we really need to keep up that form when a few of the boys go out for APS footy, we\u2019re certainly aiming for a strong position and the coming weeks are pretty important.\u2019<\/p>\n
While thriving in his footy on field and subsequently winning a starting spot on ball in Vic Metro\u2019s state squad, Freeman is relishing the opportunity to develop his leadership through the TAC Cup system. As a second year player, Freeman has taken a more senior role with both hands in 2013.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou learn a lot off the older blokes, in communicating well with the bottom age boys, it\u2019s pretty daunting coming in as a bottom age player into such an elite program\u201d he said. \u201cI think as a top ager you need to be there to support the younger boys and get around them and show them the way to go. It\u2019s our responsibly to make them feel welcome and bring them up in that professional environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
On his selection into the state squad, one of ten from Sandringham, Freeman knows it\u2019s a rare and coveted opportunity. Missing out on the traditional under 16 championships pathway due to a serious leg injury a couple of years ago has only compounded his desire to compete at the state level.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be named with such good company it\u2019s definitely a privilege. I haven\u2019t played for Vic before; I had a fractured leg during under 16\u2019s\u201d he said. \u201cThis year I certainly want to take my chances and take my opportunities, as it\u2019s the first and last time to be able to represent your state.\u201d<\/p>\n
And with the strong presence of Dragons boys donning the big \u2018V\u2019, Freeman certainly acknowledges it bodes well for the strength and talent of the Sandringham squad. \u201cThere\u2019s about ten of us in the squad which is good. It\u2019s very reflective of the quality of our top age boys, and it\u2019s a good spread of forwards, mids and back, which is what you want from a team perspective\u201d he said. \u201cIt no doubt shows how we have a lot of talent down at the Sandy at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
While unassuming and humble in talking about his own game, Freeman has made a name for himself in his second TAC cup season as a powerful athlete with first class breakaway speed from the contest. Freeman\u2019s pace, agility, finishing and ability to break the lines put him in the top echelon of dual midfielders in the competition and there are no surprises who he models his game on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really enjoy Paddy Dangerfield and Luke Shuey\u2019s work, the more power based speed type players, I watch a lot of what they do and how they go about it\u201d Freeman said. \u201cSpeed is probably my number one strength, I try to use that and my break away speed to really impact games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Freeman also had his take on teammate and early front-runner for the Bound for Glory News Rising Star Medal in Max Hayes, who currently sits second in our inaugural award for the best TAC Cup player. \u201cHe\u2019s really surprised me, he\u2019s stepped up his game a lot\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s really playing with a lot of confidence at the moment and is obviously one of the key big men going around this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
On whether he has the scope to continue the hot form and be one of the competitions premier players, Freeman was also bullish. \u201cHe loves to crash packs and has a great size, if he keeps playing with the confidence that he has now he\u2019ll definitely be one of the best bigs in the comp.\u201d<\/p>\n
With school footy disrupting a considerable portion of his season and limiting his TAC games, the Dragons critical play maker is keen to get back at the pointy end of the season make an impact come finals. \u201cI\u2019d love to get back there this year and go one better, to have a crack at the grand final and win is certainly the goal, I think we\u2019re capable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(Photo courtesy of Dave Savell) Starved of team success in his junior years and now with the bitter taste of narrow finals defeat, Sandringham Dragon\u2019s Nathan Freeman knows that it is time to make a mark when it counts. \u201cIt was pretty tough losing the prelim by only four points, and also going down in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":4831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[770,855,1236,1327,1584,1672,51],"class_list":["post-4825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-freeman","tag-hayes","tag-max-hayes","tag-nathan-freeman","tag-rising-stars-2","tag-sandringham","tag-tac-cup"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}