Rookie draft duo

The East Fremantle Football Club is delighted to congratulate Luke Strnadica and Cameron Zurhaar on their selection in the 2016 Rookie Draft.

18-year-old Zurhaar will be heading east to North Melbourne, selected at pick number 11, while Strnadica (also 18) will remain in his home town after being selected at pick number 21 by the Fremantle Dockers.

The boys make up one of the most successful draft periods for WA, with a total of 15 players taken in the national and rookie draft.

After playing junior footy at Melville, Zurhaar made his way through East Fremantle’s talent pathway as a 14-year-old, before playing his first game of colts as a 16 year old in season 2014.  After two years of playing First XV111 with Wesley, Zurhaar came in to the 2016 season on a more permanent basis and was a member of the WA State Academy’s summer training program.   A couple of solid early season performances saw him added to the State 18’s list, however an ankle injury in round 4 saw Zurhaar miss a number of games.  With strong determination and dedication to his rehab program, he managed to get himself up for the championship fixtures in the middle part of the year.  Zurhaar managed 10 games for East Fremantle’s colts, booting 8 goals and collecting 166 disposals. Renowned for his strong attack on the ball and excellent marking skills, Zurhaar by season’s end showed his versatility by playing up forward, but also through the midfield.  He was then offered a National Combine positioned where he placed third in the running vertical jump. 

Strnadica has been a part of the AFL Academy over the past two years after showing huge promise as a 16 year old coming through the East Fremantle talent pathway.  After playing junior football at Winnacott, Strnadica was a member of the Sharks’ 14s development squad.  However due to growth related injuries he missed the following 12 months. A talented cricketer, he was a part of the emerging Warriors squad, but at the start of 2015 turned his full attention to football, especially given the AFL Academy position he held.  The 200cm Strnadica, who has well developed game sense and excellent skills for a young man his size, showed that he can play both as a key, but in the ruck.  In 24 games of Colts football over the past two seasons he has kicked 50 goals and taken just under 6 marks per game.  Like Zurhaar, Strnadica was a member of the WA State 18’s program and earned a State combine position at season’s end.

Best of luck to our Sharks in their AFL endeavours.