PLAYING AFL can be daunting for a teenager, but the backing of his coaches and a couple of senior players has given Xavier Duursma the confidence to play his natural game on the big stage.
Duursma was the Round 6 NAB AFL Rising Star nominee after his 24-disposal, one-goal game against North Melbourne on Friday night.
The 18-year-old is Port’s second rising star nomination so far in 2019, and he says the influence of former skipper Travis Boak and mentor Steven Motlop has had a big impact on him.
“Boaky has been fantastic with the way he prepares and trains,” Duursma said at a press conference on Tuesday morning.
“He’s always the last one off the track and he’s just a fantastic player on and off the field.
“I try and model myself as much as I can off him because he’s been fantastic.
“Stevie has also been fantastic. He tells me to tuck the ball under my arm and take the game on, which is what he does.
“That’s been really beneficial to me to just take the game on and not leave anything out there.”
Midfield coach Jarrad Schofield on Monday backed Duursma and his fellow 2018 draftees to play with their natural flair, even if it meant sometimes making mistakes.
Duursma said he had formed a strong bond with the club’s other young players and was proud of how they had been able to slot into the Power side so far this season.
“For us boys to come in and do what we’ve done has been really good,” he said.
“Hopefully we can just keep that up throughout the year - it will be a really great achievement.
“The boys have done really well in the recruiting department and hopefully we can just make them proud.”
The Gippsland Power product says there was an unorthodox training method growing up that has allowed him to make an impact at AFL level so early in his career.
“I did dance for 16 years,” Duursma said.
“It did help me prepare for footy with balance, stretching and flexibility etcetera.
“My Mum is a dance teacher, has been for most of her life.
“I did lots of them - jazz, tap, ballet - all kinds, all kinds.
“Being able to have a strong core and build off that - blind turns and stuff to make you look pretty fancy out there.
“You get to practice of lot of that in dance.”
Duursma will be looking to build on his strong start to the season when Port heads to Marvel Stadium to take on Collingwood in a Friday night blockbuster in Round 7.
