Delisted Fremantle Dockers midfielder Connor Blakely believes he is still able to perform at an AFL level.
It was announced on Tuesday that the 26-year-old would not be offered a contract for the 2023 season, with Fremantle also delisting fellow midfielder Joel Western.
Blakely played 78 games for the Dockers since his debut in 2015, however did not play a senior game this year.
Despite this, he told SEN WA Breakfast that he believes he can contribute to another side.
“Everyone’s got to back themselves in, if you don’t back yourself in then no one else will, so I definitely still had the opinion that I was good to play at AFL hence why I’m pretty keen to see what else is out there on the clubs point of view,” Blakely said.
“The last few years have definitely been a challenge, I would’ve loved to have had more opportunity than I did, but these things happen in footy and all you can do is have a that good positive mentality about it and move on.
“I still am a young man, I’m only 26 so I’m hoping my career isn’t over yet from an AFL point of view
The midfielder believes that his ability to win the contested football is his best skill that he can provide to a future club, however has also been working to refine all aspects of his game.
“From an on-field perspective, I believe that my ability to win the ball is something that’s always held me in good stead.
“I’ve worked on my fitness over the years, just bringing other teammates into the game with my ball use and hands and stoppage work around the contest.
“I’ve definitely worked on my kicking over the years, I did a lot of close work with Robbie Wiley (WA Football Hall of Famer) through a couple of preseasons there and off-seasons.”
With Blakely being aware that his time at Fremantle was coming to an end from an early point this year, his camp didn’t waste time contacting clubs about potential opportunities.
“It was definitely on the horizon… at the start of the year I was playing some decent footy in the WAFL and unfortunately in the Derby and games like that early on they decided to play like Neil Erasmus and a few other lads ahead of me, like a Nathan O’Driscoll, so I sort of thought from that point onwards - without forecasting exactly - that my time was done.
“My manager’s working really hard, Paul Connors and Robbie D’Orazio are talking to basically every club to see if I can fit on their list somewhere.
“The good thing about it is I’m a delisted free agent now, so basically I don’t have to get traded, I can just get added on to the back end of a list whenever they see fit.
“I’m actually going over to Melbourne this weekend to watch the AFL Grand Final which will be great and Robbie’s in the pipelines of organising a couple of meetings with a couple of clubs, so hopefully seeing them in person will help my case.
“At the same time, if plan A of going onto another list doesn’t work out then I’ve got plan B and plan C and things like that in place, so I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket… but I’m hoping that I can still continue on.”
Blakely last appeared in an AFL game in 2021, averaging 8.9 disposals across 13 games for Fremantle that year.