Nathan Freeman reflects on his journey and long-awaited debut

THE pace of the game struck Nathan Freeman first, with the Saints’ debutant’s head left “spinning” more than once but the injury-cruelled youngster is happy to now be a “normal footballer”.

Nathan Freeman is tackled by Josh Dunkley and Jack Macrae.

THE pace of the game struck Nathan Freeman first, with the Saints debutant’s head left “spinning” more than once.

It had been a five-year wait, which included a shift from Collingwood to St Kilda, to debut after he was drafted in 2013.

There had been countless hamstring injuries, surgery and radical treatments - plus training sessions on a few Christmases - but Freeman said that it was all worth it when he earned the opportunity to run out onto Etihad Stadium.

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And now, he just considers himself “normal”.

“It does (make the hard work worthwhile),” he said.

“Now you’re just playing and backing up week to week with games and you sort of forget about the journey and I’ve been reminded of a lot of different things during the week that I’d gone through.

Nathan Freeman is tackled by Josh Dunkley and Jack Macrae.

“It’s nice to get out there. I’m just a normal footballer now and backing up and trying to play every week. That’s the way I see it.”

St Kilda fell 35 points short of the Western Bulldogs - a result Freeman naturally would have rather seen reversed - with the winger gathering 19 disposals.

Not that he remembered them.

“In the first five or 10 minutes, my head was spinning a little,” he admitted.

Pretty crazy night but obviously not the result we wanted. To teammates, mates, family, coaches, physios and everyone in between thanks for the support along the way. Honour to pull the jumper on and finally get one under the belt, hopefully a few more to come yew 🔴⚪️⚫️ pic.twitter.com/T5zc3ovrLl

— Nathan Freeman (@nathfreeman9) August 5, 2018

“It was a really quick game, really up and back. They took us on with hands and we got left wanting in the end. It was a good experience, but it would’ve been good to get the win.

“The boys were really good, speaking to me out there and calming me down and getting me in the right spots and giving me the ball as well. It was a bit of a blur, actually, but good to get out there.

“(My game) was OK. It was a bit of a blur. I can’t really remember too many of my touches.”

Coach Alan Richardson said it had been a “massive week” for the 23-year-old, and that the step-up from playing VFL was a big one.

Nathan Freeman gathers the ball on debut.

“There were times when I’d imagine things were just zipping around him, and that was the case at times, but I was really pleased for him that he was able to get out and play,” he said.

Some had wondered whether it would ever happen.

Not his mum, Natalie.

“His determination is one of his biggest assets,” she told the Herald Sun.

“He has amazing resilience and his work ethic … he always did everything that was asked of him and never left any stone unturned. We’re just totally stoked but I never doubted that he would get here.”

There were nerves — that was obvious. For Natalie, too, who admitted she had been a “bit of a nervous wreck” on Saturday morning before getting it together for a surreal drive to the ground.

Nathan Freeman with his family before his debut.

“There was the realisation that after five years that he had finally gotten to what his goal was … it was the icing on the cake,” she said.

“He’s played his first game for the club he barracked for as a kid. He’s always been a Sainter. And I have, too.”

Freeman is out of contract at the end of this season and said there had been no indication of what his future beyond the next month holds.

“I’m under no illusions,” he said.

“I’m a bit of a realist — I know where we stand come the end of the year.

“I’ll just go out there and back up and play every week and hopefully put my hand up to get another gig next year. But I’ll just play and that will take care of itself at whatever stage.”

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