What Will He Bring: Joel Freijah

After securing both Ryley Sanders and Jordan Croft inside the top 15 of Monday night’s National Draft, most would have been forgiven for thinking that the Bulldogs had done the bulk of their recruiting by the end of the first night.

But with five list spots still up for grabs, a great deal of intrigue surrounded the Western Bulldogs ahead of Night Two of the National Draft, with respect to what part of the field they were looking to bolster with their remaining picks.

Despite already adding young talent to the midfield brigade with the selection of Sanders, the Bulldogs again went looking through the list of midfielders still available when their turn came at Pick 45, and walked away with Joel Freijah, a tall winger who caught the eye on numerous occasions throughout 2023.

THE PLAYER:

Joel Freijah

Height: 190cm Weight: 88kg Position: Wing Club: GWV Rebels/Vic Country

WHAT THEY SAID:

“A wingman who has real composure, is clean below his knees and distributes the ball very well. He holds his width when playing on the wing which provides his team with an outlet option with its ball movement. Had a consistent year at club level and finished third in the best and fairest while playing in all four matches for Victoria Country” – AFL Talent Manager Kevin Sheehan

"His running as a winger is outstanding.

“He'll push back really hard in the (defensive) 50 to support. He'll get forward to be on the end of the chain. And his hands out of traffic are pretty good.

“He's easily the best (winger) we saw this year.". – Western Bulldogs National Recruiting Manager Dom Milesi

2023 SEASON:

It wasn’t until Round 4 in the Coates Talent League season that Freijah properly announced him as a potential draft candidate, although in fairness, 26-disposals, six-goal performances from the wing have a tendency to do that. It was a showing that displayed the very best of everything that Freijah offers; a hard-running winger who moves well and uses the ball clinically. It was the crowning moment in a season where Freijah cemented himself as one of the best pure wingers in the draft, averaging 19.6 disposals and a goal a game across 14 appearances for the GWV Rebels, being lauded in particular for his athleticism for his size, and for his ability to hold his position on the wing. His form was strong enough for him to be included in the league’s Team of the Year.

He also featured in the U18 Championships for Vic Country, playing every game and averaging 12.6 disposals across the tournament. Freijah also performed strongly at the Draft Combine, running a time of 2.98s in the 20m sprint, and completing the 2km time trial in 6:13, demonstrating his capacities as an athlete in addition to his footballing prowess.

WHAT WILL HE BRING:

Every few years, a new on-field position comes into vogue, and it feels like every club is on the hunt to find the next big thing in that area of the ground. Right now, it’s the wingman. The Bulldogs have been desperate to find a winning combination in that area of the ground for a few seasons now. Until his departure, Lachie Hunter played the role exceptionally well, and in more recent times the likes of Oskar Baker and Caleb Poulter have been afforded opportunities in the role. But the Bulldogs clearly weren’t satisfied with their stock on the wings and have gone about bolstering it further with the acquisition of Freijah.

Picking apart everything that Freijah has done both on the field and at the recent Draft Combine, it’s fair to say that he has all the tools needed to become a fine winger. His size for a player in that position gives him an obvious physical advantage over his contemporaries, he has the athletic capacity to play in arguably one of the most demanding positions on the field, and he also possesses the positional intelligence to be able to play on the wing. Both Talent Manager Kevin Sheehan and the club’s National Recruiting Manager Dom Milesi both noted Freijah’s capacity to be able to hold his width on the wing, which allays fears of him getting sucked up into the contest. His ability to know where to be makes him a dangerous option on the wing, and he has demonstrated over the course of the year that he makes good decisions with ball in hand. It’s now just a matter of being able to develop that craft and piece it all together at AFL level.

At this stage, he’s probably a fair way behind the pecking order of the Dogs’ current wing options. Baker and Poulter both showed promise in 2023, and you would expect they will continue to be given first opportunity in that area of the ground next year. But Freijah was one of the youngest players in the draft pool this year (he turned 18 only a week before the draft), so there is still a lot of improvement left in him, and he’ll at the very least provide important depth in a crucial area of the ground.