FREMANTLE draftee Matthew Johnson has joined the Dockers with a point to prove to the rest of the competition, declaring the decision by several clubs to overlook him in the first round of the NAB AFL Draft would add "fuel to the fire".
Tipped to be a top-10 draft pick last Wednesday night, Johnson slid to Fremantle's pick No.21 after several clubs that had expressed significant interest in him opted for other options in the second half of the opening round.
WHO DID YOU PICK? Every club’s selection for the 2021 NAB AFL Draft
Armed with the first pick of the second round on Thursday, the Dockers turned down overnight trade offers to pounce on the athletic midfielder, with Johnson describing it as a perfect result after touring the club with his fellow draftees on Monday.
"I had a few clubs say that they were really keen on me and I expected to go in the first round, but having those clubs turn me down added a bit of motivation I suppose," Johnson said.
"It just adds fuel to the fire. I took a lot of positives out of draft night and it's definitely going to motivate me going forward."
Johnson received encouragement from coach Justin Longmuir at the draft venue after being overlooked on Wednesday night, with Freo midfielder Caleb Serong also sending the 18-year-old a message ahead of the second round the following day.
"That was a bit out of the blue for me, I'd never spoken to him (Serong) before, but he reached out to me just before I was drafted to Freo and just said keep your head up and I'm sure you'll be alright," Johnson said.
"That was really good of him. From that moment I knew that Freo had a really good culture around the club.
"From what I've seen early on, it seems like a great fit for me, and I'm really excited by the opportunity … all the players are really driven to play really well next year."
Fellow draftee Eric 'Roy' Benning arrived at the Dockers as a member of the club's Next Generation Academy, moving to Perth in February from Kununurra in Western Australia's far north.
The ruckman/forward is brother of Adelaide forward Shane McAdam and Collingwood tall Ashley Johnson, leaning on both this year for advice.
"Just before my games I would give them a call or a text and ask them for as much information as I could get, just to get better on and off the field," Benning said.
The athletic tall, who is agile and clean below his knees for a big man, heard from Indigenous Dockers' leader Michael Walters soon after being drafted and was looking forward to tutelage from Longmuir.
The Dockers' draftees will ease into training on Tuesday before elevating their involvement on Wednesday, five days before the rest of the squad is due back on December 6.
Experienced players, including Walters and defender Luke Ryan, are already back in training, with roughly 25 players completing a solid two-hour session on Monday morning.
A trimmed down Connor Blakely and lively forward Liam Henry stood out, while Walters trained at a high intensity and set an example during full-ground ball-movement drills and skills work.
Forward Sam Sturt, who underwent knee surgery in May, ran laps late in the session, while key defender Brennan Cox ran hard after his 2021 season was ended by hamstring surgery.
There was a familiar face on the track, with West Coast premiership forward Mark LeCras returning to the Dockers as a part-time specialist coach for the pre-season.
LeCras, who held a similar role in 2019 and 2020, spent 2021 as a training assistant with West Coast but has returned to Fremantle and will work closely with the club's small and medium forwards.
