Former Horsham Demon Ryan Kemp has re-signed with Werribee in the VFL for a second season, but the 2018 Toohey medallist also has his eyes on a larger prize.
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Kemp was unexpectedly invited to a testing day with AFL club Fremantle after an impressive debut season in the VFL.
Kemp was put through his paces by the Dockers ahead of the AFL National Draft and Rookie Draft, held at the end of November.
"I got a call one day from their draft manager, and he invited me down," Kemp said.
"I didn't expect it - I got off the phone with him and looked him up, and I was like, 'is this a stitch up?'"
Kemp impressed at the screening last Saturday, but said he had not spoken to the club since.
"There were probably 20 to 25 blokes there. Five or six were VFL players, the rest were (under-18 competition) NAB League players," Kemp said.
"Hopefully they thought I went alright."
Kemp played 13 games with Werribee last season, improving immensely as the year wore on.
"I was a bit shaky at the start, and I was pretty hard on myself," Kemp said.
"But I feel comfortable with the team now. If I can get a full pre-season in and not jump around between a few different clubs, hopefully, I can settle in and have an even better year."
Kemp played the final seven games of the season for the Tigers, including two finals. Playing predominantly as a small forward, he booted two goals in Werribee's three-point semi-final loss to Essendon.
"I think playing two finals, that definitely helped put me on show," Kemp said.
"I snagged a couple of goals in the final so that definitely wouldn't have hurt my opportunities."
Kemp said he had significantly changed his game in order to adapt to the VFL, adopting a more defensive mindset than he had playing in the Wimmera Football League.
"It was hard to start to get into that more defensive side in the step up to the VFL. Back home, everything I did was just offensive," Kemp said.
"But now that you've got A Grade opposition, you've got to change your game.
"Clubs are looking for small forwards not necessarily kicking goals, but putting pressure on. That's what I emphasised, chasing, laying tackles and just being a pest.
"I've learnt so much; hopefully, if I can get a good pre-season in, I can go even better."
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