“One of the smartest young forwards I’ve seen”: High praise for Docker tipped to explode in 2023
Young Fremantle forward Jye Amiss has just become one of the most intriguing Dockers for the 2023 season following comments by a coach and a former club star.
Amiss, 19, managed just three games in his debut season after being taken with pick eight in the 2021 National Draft, but is destined for a marked improvement in the upcoming season.
The key forward showed enough to impress with four goals in his three appearances. Two of those came games in Fremantle’s finals, with Justin Longmuir putting his faith in the 196cm product.
That faith is seemingly improving within the club, based on comments from assistant coach Matthew Boyd.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on the young man but he’s certainly got a lot of really strong attributes in terms of his forward craft,” Boyd told SEN WA The Run Home.
“I think he’s one of the smartest young forwards I’ve seen in a while in terms of his ability to set up his opponent and get into the right spots and work the right areas and use his body.
“He’s only a slight build at the moment, he’s got a frame he can build into, but his ability to use his body and use his craft is quite exceptional for a young man.”
While Boyd warned that Amiss was still building to full fitness less than two months out from the start of the season, he added that the top-10 draft pick had already shown enough on the field to suggest good things for the future.
“He’s probably had a little bit of an interrupted start to the pre-season and he’s starting to build back into some good work now,” Boyd said.
“He’s exciting, he’s probably one of the players I get most excited about on our list, to be honest, with what he’s capable of doing.
“We saw he was able to have an impact forward for us in the couple of the games he did play… when you think about, it, what he did in the first final against the Dogs, he missed that first shot but his composure to go back and kick a steadier for us just before half-time and put himself in the right areas was impressive.”
Amiss could share the forward line with fellow talls Matt Taberner, Luke Jackson and reportedly even Nat Fyfe, but former Dockers star Paul Hasleby is still tipping him for a breakout season.
“I think he can kick 40 (goals). It’s a big call given we’ve only seen him play a few games. While it sounds like a lot, I reckon he only needs 65 shots,” Hasleby declared while naming Amiss as the club's most important forward.
“His technique is (spot on), I think if they play him right closer to goal, he could be that one with a few other good players around him… I wouldn’t be surprised if he averaged two (goals) a game.”
Amiss will hope to start in Longmuir’s best 22 when Fremantle starts its season against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on March 19.