So did I. It was a fair assessment if anyone had watched him train. There was one training session I remember he was kicking goals from the pockets with 50metre+ kicks off his non preferred left foot that was insanely good. Unfortunately not all payers reach their potential obviously but Josh had the potential to be as. good as Stephen.I remember when E-Shed talked up Josh Simpson as the second coming of Stephen Hill once…
-
AFLW 2024 - Round 9 - Indigenous Round - Chat, game threads, injury lists, team lineups and more.
Universal Love Welcome to Freo - Heath Chapman (Pick 14 2020 National Draft)
- Thread starter Snuffaluphagus
- Start date
- Tagged users None
wakojako
Norm Smith Medallist
- Nov 15, 2020
- 7,180
- 12,427
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
So are we going to waste time next year by sliding him straight into defense or are we going to give him a full preseason in the midfield. Despite all the shit talking on Hughes here, he is decent enough when the backline isn't getting flooded. With Henry looking like he is gone, Chappy would be the perfect replacement. He can literally replicate every part of Henry's game but improve it with his height, size and athleticism.
Not sure where Chappy fits next year.
But **** me we need to get Hughes out of this side pronto if we want to climb the ladder. The modern game is about positive attacking thrusts from defence with those players having dare and vision and it couldn’t suit any player in the entire AFL less than Ethan Hughes.
wakojako
Norm Smith Medallist
- Nov 15, 2020
- 7,180
- 12,427
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
We have had quite a few players look like their bodies aren't going to make it but have pulled through. Only way to find out is to give him a chance.
SHill Shall
Club Legend
No - Hughes is not.
- Oct 17, 2010
- 4,072
- 6,317
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
- Other Teams
- Washington Commanders, Black Ducks
Fremantle defender Heath Chapman opens up about horror year with injury, mental resilience, goals for 2024
After a horror run with injuries in 2023, a raw and honest Heath Chapman has revealed that the tough season taught him so much more about what it is to be a footballer, writes ELIZA REILLY.4 min read
December 7, 2023 - 7:14PM
For a brief moment, Heath Chapman let himself feel everything.
He felt the raw pain in his hamstring, the crushing anguish of another injury blow, the tears gliding down his cheeks.
And then he gathered himself as his teammates rushed to console him. Because it wasn’t anything that he hadn’t faced before.
Chapman’s AFL career to date has promised plenty but has been marred by injury.
In his debut season in 2021, Chapman dislocated his shoulder going back with the flight in defence and missed the rest of the year. In 2022, he played 17 games but missed five weeks with a hamstring injury.
In 2023, nothing went right.
Chapman, now 21, started the year in Fremantle’s AFL side. He played the first three games before suffering a regulation calf strain against West Coast.
Heath Chapman has opened up on his emotional battle with injuries in 2023, which limited him to just six games across the AFL and WAFL. Picture: Getty Images
Frustrating, he thought, but no real cause for concern.
After three weeks on the sidelines, Chapman was set to return via the Dockers’ WAFL affiliate Peel Thunder as Fremantle prepared to play Brisbane in round seven.
Then, during the final drill of main training, it happened again.
After undergoing a fitness test on his calf just minutes earlier, Chapman was cleared to take part in match simulation.
Desperate to prove his fitness, Chapman chased after a loose ball. But before he could reach it, he felt the fibres that held his left hamstring intact snap.
“I did get quite emotional,” Chapman told CODE Sports. “I was pretty motivated to get back from the calf.
“I felt it was a pretty big injury and knew it was serious right away. That emotion didn’t last for too long. I moved on pretty quickly to rehab and going into it with the right attitude.”
Chapman was able to avoid surgery but spent more than two months on the sidelines. A return to running came relatively quickly but everything else, from mobility to strength, was painstaking.
The West Perth product returned against his former side for Peel in round 12 of the WAFL season. Three games later, a fresh injury hell arrived.
Chapman’s AFL career to date has promised plenty but has been marred by injury. Picture: Getty Images
Chapman dislocated his shoulder during the third quarter of Peel’s clash with West Coast, ending his season. It was the opposite shoulder too to the one he injured in 2021.
“I’ve had a couple injuries in the past so it wasn’t as strong,” he said. “It was vulnerable I guess.”
On paper, 2023 yielded three AFL games, three WAFL games, and three injuries.
“Obviously not ideal,” Chapman admitted. “But I think there’s so much more I can get out of this year.”
There’s so much more to football than what you do on-field, says Chapman.
“There’s a lot I’ve learnt about myself which is priceless at the end of the day,” he said. “I did a bit of work on myself.
“I learnt pretty quickly this year that the game doesn’t owe you anything. Things can pop up, good and bad. You just have to attack it with the right mindset and keep a positive attitude.
“In the scheme of things, they were just football injuries.
“I’ve learnt that I’m a pretty resilient person. And whenever I’ve had a setback, I’ve looked to what’s next and tried to get straight back into rehab and try to get better.”
Chapman credits those in his inner circle for helping him navigate a cursed injury run. Three of his biggest supporters, fellow Dockers Tom Emmett, Liam Reidy and Matthew Johnson, also happen to be his housemates.
“I’d go to the club with them every morning,” he said. “I’d speak to them over dinner every night. We’re pretty open and honest.
“We talk about our feelings which is really nice. We have a really good connection.
“It (rehab) does become lonely at times.
“You’re either running out on the far side of the oval away from everyone or you’re inside in the cross-fit room looking out at all the boys training.
“It can be hard at times but you can’t get stuck comparing yourself to others. You just have to continue on your own journey.”
The off-season gave Chapman a much-needed chance to escape from football, undertaking a road trip through Spain and Portugal.
“Freshen up the mind, enjoy being a 21-year-old,” Chapman said. “Seeing all my mates travel during the year, you get a little bit jealous even though you have the best job in the world.
“I wanted to take my mind off footy for a little bit and look back at the year and what I could take out of it.”
He did see a hamstring rehabilitation professional while in Spain who gave Chapman confidence his soft tissue issues were only temporary.
“It was really nice to get some clarity that these hamstring injuries are preventable,” he said. “He simplified it a lot.”
It means that Chapman can finally dedicate his focus to football again.
And his goal for 2024 is that simple.
“Stay out on the park is the plan … giving myself the best chance by preparing really professionally to play footy,” he said. “I’ll look to progress my footy when I’m back playing.
“Everyone has their own journey and trajectory. Getting back into footy, hopefully playing some games, I’ll cherish those experiences a bit more because they haven’t come easy.”
Just don’t count on that football being played on the wing, despite list manager David Walls throwing up Chapman as a potential replacement for the departed Liam Henry.
“At the moment I’m training with the backs,” Chapman said. “I love playing under Boydy {Matthew Boyd) and with the boys down there.
“That’s up to the coaches. I’ll play wherever they put me.
“I’ll be grateful to be out there and kick the footy.”
- Dec 6, 2020
- 3,551
- 7,567
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
Looks like he’s staying in the backline for now, personally think we need him there with our current squad, let Sharp/NOD/Stanley fight it out for the wing position.
Plus we are still introducing Erasmus, Johnson and Jackson to some kind of midfield rotation.
For Chapman the focus needs to be on getting his body capable of surviving the AFL.
Troy Cooked It
Senior List
- Jul 3, 2020
- 235
- 865
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
As i have hoped, Chapman is staying with backs which also just confirms to me that Young is spending more time in the middle, lose nothing down back and gain a heap in the middle 
Chappy's injuries are a real concern. The talent is there, but he needs to get on the park in a more regular manner from 2024 going forward.
- Aug 18, 2009
- 1,978
- 4,888
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
- Other Teams
- Tottenham Hotspur
Young had several injury interrupted seasons to begin his AFL journey. I'm hoping Chappy will have the same level of trajectory once he starts stringing games together.
From day 1 I’ve thought Chappy’s reading of the play, positioning around contests and decision making were top notch.
If the body catches up to his footy brain we’re in for a treat !!
Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
If the body catches up to his footy brain we’re in for a treat !!
Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
King Huskii
Norm Smith Medallist
- Apr 19, 2022
- 8,095
- 12,113
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
He has so much natural talent
Ugh what have those campaigners ever done for us.
Docker4eva
Debutant
- Sep 27, 2015
- 63
- 105
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
- Nov 9, 2001
- 2,253
- 8,668
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
- Other Teams
- are listed below us on the ladder
It’s like that gag about the Irish bloke who rocks up to an interview at his local highschool for a handyman position. The interviewer asks if he has plumbing skills.
“No, no, I’m not particularly skilled in that particular area.”
“What about carpentry?”
“No, no, I’m not particularly skilled in that particular area either unfortunately.”
“Well, what about electrical work. Any experience there?”
“No. That’s not a thing I have done much of.”
“No carpentry. No plumbing. No electrical. What on earth gives you the idea you’re a handyman?”
“Sure, I’m only living just round the corner.”
“No, no, I’m not particularly skilled in that particular area.”
“What about carpentry?”
“No, no, I’m not particularly skilled in that particular area either unfortunately.”
“Well, what about electrical work. Any experience there?”
“No. That’s not a thing I have done much of.”
“No carpentry. No plumbing. No electrical. What on earth gives you the idea you’re a handyman?”
“Sure, I’m only living just round the corner.”
- Nov 29, 2011
- 4,050
- 7,633
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
- Other Teams
- Cockburn Doctors
plus he's only turning 22 next year. Few more years until he hits his prime anyway.
