Exciting new draftee Griffin Logue has signed a one-year contract extension with Fremantle, two weeks into his AFL career at the club.
The extension comes on top of Logue’s initial two-year contract after he was taken at No.8 in the NAB National Draft on Friday 25 November, will see the 18-year-old in Fremantle colours until at least the end of the 2019 season.
The young defender said he was delighted to earn an extension so early into his career, but stressed his focus was primarily on his preparations for 2017.
“I’m definitely stoked with the outcome and I’m just looking forward to it all really,” Logue said.
“I like to attack everything at full pace, so I don’t think (the contract) makes too much of a difference in terms of my training, but I’m just definitely happy with the outcome for sure.”
Logue has thoroughly enjoyed his short time with Fremantle.
“I think it’s just kind of getting to know everyone, meeting new people and getting into the swing of what it feels like to be an AFL footballer,” Logue said.
“The whole vibe down here at Freo is just great, and we’re all pumping and ready to go really.”
Despite his eagerness to be thrown into the deep end, Logue and his fellow draftees are being carefully introduced into full training, and Logue sees the moderated introduction as both necessary and frustrating.
“I felt blown up five minutes into the first day of training,” Logue said.
“It’s a bit different than the other training I’ve done, definitely much more intense, more drills and more ball handling skills. It’s a lot more enjoyable to be honest.
“We got to do a bit of running today, but we draftees got pulled out of drills early but that’s just in terms of the coaches managing us.
“It’s only for the best in terms of preserving our bodies for as long as we can.”
The first year draftees will be fully introduced into the group in the New Year, and Logue says he’ll be ready.
“It’s a different kind of fitness really, as you’re not used to non-stop running and going onto the next group and being expected to do the same thing,” Logue said.
“It’s sort of expected to keep pushing on. It’s just non-stop running.
“The other players have just said to train hard. You’ve got to prove to your teammates and the coaching staff that you can work hard and push hard. So they said to train hard, understand the drills and ask questions if you’re unsure.”
Fremantle’s general manager of list management Brad Lloyd said he was pleased to see Logue commit for an additional year.
“We’re really happy for Griffin to add the extra year to his standard two-year term for draftees,” Lloyd said.
“When we selected Griffin with pick 8, what we really liked about him was that he is a competitor and has outstanding character both on and off the field."
“He’s shown really good potential both at U18 and senior level and he’s got the ability with his body size to play a number of roles, and we look forward to seeing him develop his football with Fremantle.”
