South Mandurah premiership colts star turned Peel Thunder colts captain Jarvis Pina will have a new home next season, after being snapped up by Fremantle in last Friday's Rookie Draft.
The small defender achieved his dream of being selected to an AFL list when the Dockers nabbed him with the sixth pick in the draft.
"(I'm) stoked, absolutely stoked. Over the moon," Pina told fremantlefc.com.au after being picked.
"All of my mates and all my family are blowing up my phone right now.
"It's something I've always wanted, and now I finally get the chance to have it so I'm going to take it with both hands."
Pina's AFL berth comes on the back of an outstanding 2019 season, where he put in stellar showings for both Peel Thunder's colts outfit and the victorious WA side at the Under 18s National Carnival.
The young gun opened his season for Peel with a bang, collecting 32 disposals and hauling in eight marks against West Perth in round one.
Some of his other outstanding performances included round 14 against East Perth (33 disposals, five marks, five tackles) and a semi final clash versus Claremont (25 disposals, nine marks).
He also acclimatised well during his four games at the league level for Peel Thunder this season, and was a force for WA at the National Carnival, contributing to the side's winning campaign.
Before his prolific showing at Peel Thunder, however, the running machine plied his craft as a budding star of the South Mandurah Football and Netball Club.
His efforts in the 2017 Peel Football and Netball League colts grand final had him tracking towards higher levels at a rapid rate, and current Falcons president Gred Barnard had nothing but praise for Pina.
"From everyone here at the Falcons, we wish (Pina) all the very best, and we can't say enough how proud of him we are," Barnard said.
"In every sense of the word he is a fantastic role model for other young players coming through the system, and we're rapt to have someone from South Mandurah reaching so high."
Barnard described Pina's on-field presence as "huge", highlighting his running capacity as a feature of his game.
"He's a running machine, he just keeps moving all day," he said.
"He trains the house down and works exceptionally hard."
Pina will now head into his first AFL pre-season with Fremantle.
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
