Fremantle recruit Marcus Drum will play his WAFL football at Perth under the guidance of former Fremantle player and assistant coach Simon Eastaugh after today’s WAFL allocation.

Drum was Fremantle’s first selection, number 10 overall, in the 2005 AFL National Draft and has lived up to his early selection with an impressive pre-season at the club. Smart and skilful, the 18 year old is capable of performing at either end of the ground but has shown a considerable liking for playing in the back six where he was a standout on the way to claiming the Murray Bushrangers best and fairest last season.

Fellow draftee Robert Warnock will play with West Perth while Garrick Ibbotson remains at East Fremantle after being selected from that club in the National Draft.

“We have worked very closely with the WAFL clubs to ensure our players are in a system that benefits their football growth,” said Fremantle’s Player Development Manager Stephen Malaxos.

Fremantle officials met with the WAFL clubs during the past month to discuss in detail Drum and Warnock and the needs of both parties. Malaxos said by taking a collaborative approach it has created a positive environment for everyone involved.

He also added that while the ultimate aim for all of Fremantle’s draftees is to play at AFL level the WAFL is an ideal learning environment and offers a consistently high level of competition.

“All three boys are at different stages of their development. Rob is a very raw young ruckman but has very good football awareness and will take a while to get his strength up. Marcus is pretty footy smart already and is continuing to work at becoming AFL fit and Garrick is a tremendous athlete and is continuing to learn about footy.

“They all have their slight differences but we are very pleased with them and in fact their dedication could not have been better than they have shown so far,” Malaxos said.

Drum and Warnock, who both hail from Victoria, will be put through an induction program that includes WAFL history and the origins of their respective teams.

The 2006 WAFL allocations including players from Fremantle and West Coast is as follows; (selections made in reverse order of the clubs finishing positions in 2005)

Peel Thunder - Shannon Hurn (West Coast)
Perth – Marcus Drum (Fremantle)
East Fremantle - Matthew Spangher (West Coast)
East Perth - Benjamin McKinley (West Coast)
West Perth – Robert Warnock (Fremantle)