FREMANTLE'S prized No.9 pick Liam Henry will make his AFL debut in Sir Doug Nicholls Round against Sydney on Saturday night.
The 18-year-old was presented his jumper from Docker Antoni Grover at training on Thursday.
The moment Liam found out ?? #foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/lWVnMIjDyU
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) August 20, 2020
It comes in the same week the excitement machine and product of the club's Next Generation Academy re-signed until the end of 2023.
"It hasn't sunk in yet but I'm excited to run out with the boys for the first time," Henry said.
"It's a special round of Indigenous Round and playing in front of a crowd will be different but I'm excited."
Grover designed the Dockers' guernsey for this week's clash which embodies the club embarking on a new era.
"The meaning around it is very powerful and I want to thank Antoni for the design and definitely can't choose a better round (to debut)," Henry said.
"Running out with teammates like Michael Walters and Stephen Hill it's definitely something special."
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Coach Justin Longmuir said Henry had put on 5kg to his light frame to better deal with a knee injury that plagued his start to 2020.
"He's earned his spot in the team. We were talking about him three or four weeks ago and (I) feel like we've made him earn it. I'm excited to see what he does on the weekend," Longmuir said.
"He's a really composed young kid who's wanted this for a long time. He's professionalism to get over his injuries and get back into the condition that's ready for AFL has been first class."
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Henry's unveiling follows the debuts earlier this season of fellow top-10 picks Hayden Young (pick seven) and Caleb Serong (pick eight) from last year's NAB AFL Draft.
Coach Justin Longmuir confirmed Jesse Hogan would again split his time between attack and defence this week playing in a reserves scratch match.
He added that Walters would continue in the forward role he resumed last week with the Dockers putting an emphasis on scoring as the 17th-ranked offensive side in the competition.
