Luke Valente Biography

Luke Valente retries after injuries prevented him from making his AFL debut.

"Unfortunately, I have come to the realisation that physically I am unable to make the progress required to play at the elite level," Valente said.

"It was an incredibly difficult decision to make but after a long period of reflection, including discussions with the club, my family, friends and management, I believe that, in terms of my long-term health and well-being, it is the right thing to do."

Luke Valente is prepared for expectations on him to rise after accepting Matthew Pavlich's No.29 jumper.

"Pav being a champion of this club, being a South Australian boy and a champion of the AFL is someone that I've looked up to a fair bit," Valente said.

"Maybe there's pressure from the outside, but I'll be keen to put my own mark on the number as well and take what Pav's done and create my own legacy hopefully."

Fremantle select Luke Valente with pick No.32 in the 2018 National Draft.

"He's a school captain, he was captain of South Australia and the MVP (SA) at the carnival this year and we know that was a star-studded line-up," Dockers head of football Peter Bell said.

"(He's an) outstanding character, we think he's got a lot to offer, he's got really good neat disposal by foot, we can't wait to bring him in and hopefully he's ready to go."