His twin brother was rookied by Port last year
Martin Frederick
"Port Adelaide considering drafting Woodville-West Torrens wingman Michael Frederick – twin of Power rookie Martin Frederick"
Matt Turner
The Advertiser
Thursday, 28 November 2019 11:45AM
First it had the Cornes brothers, Burgoynes and Murrays. Then the Westhoffs and Butchers. Now Port Adelaide is considering drafting the twin of another one of its current players.
The Power is understood to be considering swooping on skilful Woodville-West Torrens wingman/half-forward Michael Frederick – the twin of rookie-listed half-back flanker Martin Frederick.
Michael emerged as a draft prospect after starring in the Eagles’ run to the under-18 premiership, including gathering 21 touches and kicking three majors in the semi-final and winning the Alan Stewart Medal for best afield in the grand final for a 20-disposal, one-goal performance.
The 19-year-old has come from the clouds this year, 12 months after playing mainly for division two college CBC and just three under-18 SANFL games.
Port is unable to secure the youngster of South Sudanese heritage as a Next Generation Academy (NGA) prospect because he has not come through that system.
But the Power remains interested and may grab him as a late national draft pick on Thursday night or in Friday’s rookie draft.
Hawthorn is one of two other clubs in the mix for Michael.
In a twist, the man who has driven the Hawks’ interest, their SA, WA and NT recruiting manager Geoff Morris, has since returned to Alberton to become a development coach for 2020.
Woodville-West Torrens talent manager Darren Hams was hopeful Michael, who received a late invite to last month’s state draft combine, would get a shot at an AFL club.
“Michael was a long way off it last year, to be honest,” Hams told The Advertiser.
“Michael was a really tiny kid and he was unable to get his hands on the footy but over the last 12-18 months he’s grown seven or 8cm, closer to 10, and gained confidence in his size and ability.
“He obviously produced it in the grand final and on semi-final day.”
Port rookie-listed Martin 12 months ago as an NGA selection and he went on to play 20 games for the Magpies this year, including their losing grand final.
The twins have different traits – Michael’s kicking and decision-making is considered better but Martin is quicker and takes the game on more.
At 180cm and 65kg, Michael is 2cm taller and 9kg lighter than Martin.
“Michael’s always been an elite kick,” Hams said.
But Michael was not considered a draft prospect until late this year.
He started the season slowly, registering just five touches in the under-18s’ opening round, then showed promise when he kicked 6.3 and 5.0 against Central District and Norwood.
Michael also played two reserves games for the Eagles in 2019.
Last month he impressed at the state draft screening, recording the fifth-best time on the day in the 20m sprint with 2.94 secs and also ranked fifth in the yoyo endurance test at level 20.8.
Port has a history of recruiting brothers of players already on its list.
It paired Shaun and Peter Burgoyne, Kane with Chad Cornes and Derek and Allan Murray at the 2000 national draft, Matthew with Justin Westhoff in 2007, then Danny and John Butcher in 2011.
