Nathan Freeman Biography

Nathan Freeman will trains with Gold Coast as one of four players in the hunt for a spot on the Suns' list as a pre-season supplemental selection.

Nathan Freeman will undergo a medical with Gold Coast, with the Suns weighing up whether to sign the luckless midfielder as a delisted free agent.

"Like many clubs we would like to add some pace, and Nathan has that," Suns list manager Craig Cameron said.

"He will have a medical ... clearly it is well known he has had problems over his time in the AFL system, but he also played a lot of football this year in the VFL and then the two AFL games at the end of the season."

Nathan Freeman is delisted by St Kilda after just two AFL games.

"Nathan's (Freeman) journey has obviously been well-documented, and it was a really proud moment for everyone involved in his career to see him debut this year," St Kilda football boss Simon Lethlean said in a statement.

"He has left no stone unturned to overcome persistent hamstring issues, and his positive influence on the group despite his injuries is testament to his character."

Nathan Freeman makes his AFL debut for St Kilda at Docklands Stadium with 19 disposals (7 kicks and 12 handballs), a mark and 3 tackles in a 35-point loss to the Western Bulldogs.

Nathan Freeman gets through his long awaited AFL debut unscathed, gathering 19 disposals on a wing in the Saints' loss to the Bulldogs.

"It was a bit of a blur but good to finally get out there," Freeman said.

"I always knew I had the ability but (when) it's your first game I think anyone would be pretty nervous going into it, whether you've waited five years or six months."

On the eve of his long-awaited debut, Nathan Freeman says he never gave up hope in his determination to overcome his persistent injuries.

"I've been to Germany, been to Munich a couple of times, been up to rural Victoria in Donald to see some blokes up there, been up to the AIS in Canberra, down to Rye to see 'Dr Death'," Freeman said.

"Over the journey, blokes have reached out to me and said 'Why don't you give this a try?'. I just don't want to leave any stone unturned.

"If I didn't make it, it wasn't through lack of trying."

On his 1718th day as an AFL player and after countless hamstring injuries, injury-cursed St Kilda midfielder Nathan Freeman will finally make his debut against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium.

Nathan Freeman appears unlikely to make his debut this week, despite finally stringing some continuity and good form together in the VFL.

The 23-year-old has now played six consecutive games with the Saints' VFL affiliate side Sandringham, and recorded 29 disposals, seven marks and a goal in Sunday's 66-point loss to Richmond.

"He's physically right to go, but just has to be completely confident in his body and just let himself go," Saints coach Alan Richardson said.

"[He needs to] get to another level in terms of his dynamic play, which is his 'one wood', and he's not quite there yet. But, he's getting closer."

Nathan Freeman edges closer to an AFL debut after starring in VFL over the last few weeks.

After struggling with injuries throughout his career, Freeman is now physically fit, with any potential selection to be based solely on his form.

Nathan Freeman remains in the hunt for an AFL debut this season after avoiding surgery for a shoulder injury suffered in the VFL on the weekend.

Injury--plagued Saint Nathan Freeman’s quest to make an elusive AFL debut has hit another snag after the speedster suffered a shoulder injury in the VFL.

In the first quarter of Sandringham’s clash with Richmond at Beaconsfield, Freeman was crunched by Tigers hard man Steven Morris and had to be taken from the field.

It wasn’t long before ice was applied to the injury, effectively ending Freeman’s afternoon.

Luckless St Kilda midfielder Nathan Freeman says he believes his troublesome hamstrings will hold up as he presses his case for senior selection.

"(With) the sum of all the rehabs that I've done, mentally I know what works now and physically I know what works. We've got the utmost confidence in my body and my skills," Freeman said.

Luckless Nathan Freeman makes a stunning return from his right hamstring surgery, racking up 31 disposals in Sandringham's 64-point loss to Box Hill.

Nathan Freeman's wretched luck has continued, with the youngster needing more hamstring surgery.

"He won't be running for about four weeks and then from that point there he will need to work into fitness so it could be about round four or five before he comes back in the VFL," CEO of St Kilda Matt Finnis said.

The Saints are refusing to give up on the prospect of Nathan Freeman making his AFL debut, despite the luckless wingman suffering another hamstring setback that may require surgery.

"This setback cruels him a little bit but we're confident he'll keep working away and hopefully this year he gets there because he certainly deserves it," Saints football manager Simon Lethlean said.

"He's a much-loved player down here and a resilient kid, and we're looking forward to really supporting him and getting him back on the track as soon as possible."

St Kilda coach Alan Richardson says he is excited about Nathan Freeman's potential to improve his midfield in 2018.

"His speed is now as high as it's been in two years, so he's starting to back himself and trust his legs," Richardson said.

"He's in really good shape and mentally he's still really positive. I've never met someone as strong as him mentally.

"I've been really impressed by him and I really want him to have a bit of luck … our whole group does. He's a really popular person and I'm really optimistic for 'Freezer' now."

Nathan Freeman will miss up to six weeks after injuring his right ankle in the VFL against Geelong.

Freeman, 22, was hurt when a teammate fell into his leg in the opening quarter at Simonds Stadium.

"Nathan hurt his ankle in a tackle early in the VFL game on Saturday. He doesn't require surgery, but is likely to miss the next four to six weeks with the injury," Saints football manager Jamie Cox said.

"It's been a really positive year for 'Freezer'. He's played 13 games in the VFL plus a few in the pre-season, so it's been a big step forward for him."

Nathan Freeman will miss at least two weeks with a right ankle injury he suffered in the VFL last week against Geelong.

Freeman, 22, will have further scans this week to determine the full extent of the injury.

The speedster suffered the injury in the first quarter when a teammate fell into his leg. He did not play the rest of the game and finished with two disposals.

Nathan Freeman emerges unscathed after playing his first match in two months for Sandringham.

The former Collingwood midfielder spent most of his time on the wing in what was a relatively quiet performance. He spent time on the field in every quarter and was restricted to a total of 80 minutes on the field.

Nathan Freeman's troublesome hamstring has flared again with the former Pie being withdrawn from Sandringham's VFL reserves team.

Freeman was expected to play in the clash against Coburg but tightness in the muscle at training on Friday meant he was pulled out of the team.

He will have scans in the coming days.

"He's had a couple of mishaps, we certainly won't pretend that hasn't happened, but we knew that would happen," Saints coach Alan Richardson said.

"When you don't play footy for two years, it's unlikely you're going to come in and just hit the ground running and not have interruptions."

St Kilda coach Alan Richardson has conceded recruit Nathan Freeman may not play senior footy this year.

“This year was all about bullet-proofing his body so he’ll have a long and successful career for us,” Richardson said.

“He was a player with two years of hamstring issues. He’s going to take a while, and that’s proven to be the case.”

Nathan Freeman has suffered a minor setback in his recovery from multiple hamstring injuries and will be kept in cotton wool for another week.

"Nathan experienced some awareness in his hamstring last week during training," St KIlda football manager Jamie Cox said.

"Due to his history we’ll slow him down a bit and we'll put him back into training for a week or two and really build him back up to play again hopefully in a couple of weeks."

Saints coach Alan Richardson says Nathan Freeman won't be seen in the AFL for some time yet.

"We would expect him to be in the VFL for a while," Richardson said.

"He needs to make sure that he's at the speed and at the level before he comes into the AFL team.

"I wouldn't want to put a time on that but it will be an extended period – that would be my early call on how long he's there."

Nathan Freeman is struck down again with a hamstring strain.

"The strain involves his right hamstring, which he has had some previous trouble with, although it involves a different area of the muscle," St Kilda general manager of football Jamie Cox said.

"He will need to pull back from training for a while to give it time to recover although we don't see it as a major problem."

Nathan Freeman will remain on a modified training program until Christmas but the St Kilda recruit is confident he can put a horror run of hamstring injuries behind him in time to play round one next season.

"I'm on a pretty tailored program at the moment, (doing) a lot of strengthening, a lot of agility and conditioning," Freeman said.

"So the plan is to get all guns blazing by round one."

Freeman said the Saints medical team was confident he could overcome his hamstring troubles "pretty quickly".

St Kilda has secured Nathan Freeman from Collingwood in exchange for a future second round selection, and a switch of picks in the 60s from this season's draft.

Collingwood received this year's pick No.63 from St Kilda and gave the Saints selection No.68.

"We have a young playing list that has generated a lot of excitement," St Kilda chief operating officer Ameet Bains said.

"Nathan is a quality young player with excellent character who we have followed very closely ever since he was coming through the junior system and we are delighted to have him join us."

St Kilda has confirmed its interest in luring Nathan Freeman from Collingwood but admits there is still plenty of work to be done before the explosive midfielder becomes a Saint.

"We were an interested onlooker as Collingwood and his management group tried to navigate a contract situation with him," St Kilda's chief operating officer Ameet Bains said.

"In the last couple of weeks there was an opportunity to get involved and speak to Nathan. It's culminated in his decision to want to leave Collingwood."

Nathan Freeman's manager Paul Connors insists that there's more than money behind the youngster's request for a trade from Collingwood.

"The offer [from Collingwood] we thought was unreasonable … don't get me wrong, he hasn't played a game so it's not like we were after that [much] – it's how that makes you feel," Connors told SEN.

"That made him feel that he wanted just to have a think about his position. He hasn’t played for two years so he's frustrated and that's what brought it on."

Tyson Goldsack admits he was surprised when he found out talented youngster and Magpies teammate Nathan Freeman had requested a trade to St Kilda.

"I'm not going to lie, it caught me by surprise a little bit," Goldsack said.

"It's hard for me to say because I don't know how he feels or how it's gone for him the last two years.

"But if he wants to go then we probably don’t want someone at the club who doesn't want to be there 100 per cent."

Out-of-contract Nathan Freeman has requested a trade after two injury-riddled years at the Magpies.

Hamstring problems have prevented the No.10 pick from playing a senior game with Collingwood after being taken in the 2013 NAB AFL Draft.

After playing against Geelong at Simonds Stadium in the first NAB Challenge game for 2014 he missed the rest of the season due to a hamstring problem.

He then played just four VFL games early in the 2015 season before once again suffering hamstring problems that ruled him out for the rest of the season.

St Kilda has shown interest in Nathan Freeman according to his manager Paul Connors.

Freeman is out of contract at season's end and the Magpies have been unable to reach a suitable deal as yet.

"There's a chance (he'll move from Collingwood). He's not contracted and the season's over but there's still a long way to go," Connors said.

"But I met with Collingwood [on Friday]. He's not gone."

Nathan Freeman's problematic hamstring has forced him into an early off-season.

"His hamstring's not too bad but we've decided he won't play for the rest of the season, we'll just work on getting that right," Magpies director of foorball Neil Balme said.

"He's had a terrible run but we're sure we'll get him right for next year."

Freeman has managed just four VFL games in two seasons because of issues with his hamstring, after being drafted with pick No.10 overall nearly two years ago.

Nathan Freeman has undergone successful hamstring surgery to rectify a problem that has plagued him since the pre-season.

Although it was not a new injury, scar tissue was found on the tendon that he injured last year and was causing the young midfielder some discomfort.

"He wasn't injured and he could have played on but he was having a little bit of trouble just getting fully comfortable with his hammy, it was giving him a little bit of trouble," Collingwood director of football Neil Balme said.

"Once he has recovered from the surgery, he should be able to go flat out.

"What happened before, when he gets a bit fatigued he feels as though he is not as strong as he should be and it's concerning him.

"We feel as though we have solved that problem for him."

Nathan Freeman will have exploratory surgery on his hamstring this week as Collingwood searches desperately for a solution to his ongoing problem.

"Nathan's been having a bit of trouble with his hamstring that kept him out of most of last year and hasn't quite been able to get up to full speed regularly," Collingwood's director of football Neil Balme said.

"There may be some scar tissue, there may be some (other) issues that are holding him back. We'll have a go at that and see how he goes. It will certainly be medium term in recovery from that surgery. It's disappointing but I think it will be the best thing for Nathan."

Nathan Freeman says he has put his injury concerns behind him this pre-season after recovering from one of the most severe hamstring injuries Collingwood's fitness staff had seen in a young player.

"I've let the handbrake go and freed my mind. It's as much a mental battle as much as a physical battle, coming off such a severe injury," Freeman said.

"I've definitely turned the corner mentally and physically, so all eyes are looking towards next year."

Collingwood youngsters Tim Broomhead and Nathan Freeman will spend up to a month on the sidelines after suffering injuries in the Magpies' two-point NAB Challenge loss to Geelong.

Broomhead broke a bone in his hand, while Freeman – the club's first-round draft pick from 2013 – injured his hamstring.