Forget diamonds and pearls – Fremantle is working on uncovering the Kimberley’s next great export.
The Kimberley region is one of a handful allocated to Fremantle’s Next Generation Academy, which engages multicultural and indigenous footballers across Western Australia.
The NGA works through two phases. The participation phase engages boys and girls aged 11-16, while the talent phase focuses on boys aged 14-18 and is designed to give participants the best preparation to make it through to the AFL.
Through the Kimberley, Fremantle have exclusive access to developing and signing indigenous players from an area renowned for its football talent.
There are already a handful of players from the Kimberley forging their way in the AFL, including Fremantle defender Joel Hamling, as well as Carlton’s Sam Petrevski-Seton.
One member of the academy is 17-year-old Jason Carter, who joined the program in January and trained with the club for a two-week period.
Carter hails from Wyndham, more than 3000km north of Perth near the WA/NT border, and is currently completing year 12 as a border at Aquinas College.
Known for his pace, Carter was named in the All Australian team at the 2016 under-16 national championships, where he turned heads with a running goal from half back against South Australia.
Carter said the most valuable part of being part of Fremantle’s NGA was the education.
“I was born and bred a Freo fan and I’ve always looked up to the players, so getting the chance to train with them has been great,” Carter said.
“It’s been amazing, just having coaches like (development coach) Roger Hayden pass his knowledge on to me, it really helps me move forward with my career in football.”
Jason Carter at Fremantle training in early 2017
With a dream of making it at AFL level, Carter was sent to boarding school by his parents, and is hopeful that Fremantle’s NGA can help facilitate more opportunities for talent in the region.
One of these opportunities came on Saturday 20 May, when Fremantle hosted a talent day in Broome where more than 150 boys and girls aged 11 to 14 years were showcased to Fremantle’s talent scouts.
Carter spoke highly of the football talent in his region.
“Ever since I was a little kid I’ve always wanted to play AFL and my parents could see potential there,” Carter said.
“They made the decision to move me down to boarding school, both for my football career and to help get an education.
“There’s some great talent coming through now and some of the younger kids that are down (in Perth) for school are really putting themselves out there.
“The academy will definitely help give them a chance to showcase what they’ve got.”
Fremantle’s NGA isn’t just for the Kimberley region, with the club also working on developing players from multicultural backgrounds all around the State.
The AFL has allocated five WAFL club regions to Fremantle’s NGA, including East Fremantle, South Fremantle, Peel, West Perth and Claremont, as well as the Mid-West, Lower South-West and Wheatbelt districts.
Two players who are already under Fremantle’s wings are 14-year-olds Chris and Brandon Walker.
The twins are part of East Fremantle’s development squad and were thrilled to come down to Fremantle to train with Bradley Hill and Brady Grey.
“It’s great being at Fremantle, it’s a huge club and they can really help you improve,” Brandon said.
“We can watch them as they go about it and to think that one day we could be doing what they do.
“It’s inspiring knowing that if we keep pushing we might be able to use these facilities and become as good as them one day.”
The Walker brothers at an NGA training session at Fremantle's elite training and administration facility.
The pair were born in Ghana and moved over to Australia when they were four.
Brandon said he enjoyed playing football with the NGA, with different playing styles coming together from a variety of backgrounds.
“It’s great because everyone can show a lot of different skills and tricks, some that you haven’t seen in the game before,” Brandon said.
“It’s amazing to think that maybe one day we can be doing this at AFL level and inspiring kids of all backgrounds to take up the game.”
The pair shone in Fremantle’s NGA Derby against West Coast in April, where Freo notched a 13.13 (91) to 11.3 (69) victory in the Carlton Draught Derby curtain raiser at Domain Stadium.
