By Beth Newman
Surfers young gun, Harrison Fraser, showed his talents against Noosa on Saturday, earning him the AP Cup Player of the Week.
Fraser, who has played a number of games for the SUNS reserves this season, played with plenty of composure in his debut game for the Demons.
The teenager, who turns 18 in September, said he had set his sights on making the senior side from the start of the year.
“I’ve kind of had in my mind that I wanted to make it into the 22 and just try and cement it as long as I can,” he said.
“I’ve played a few games with the SUNS reserves and I’ve got my opportunity and now I’ m just looking to cement my spot.”
Fraser said he had taken a lot out of his time at the SUNS academy in pre-season as well as playing in the NEAFL, heading into his first Allied Pickfords Cup game.
“With the SUNS, it’s so much harder so when you come back here you’ve got that mental ability to think whatever gets thrown at you, you’re fine,” he said.
“You’ve got that confidence in you to back yourselves in every time.”
In his first senior game for the Demons, Fraser said the biggest challenge was the mental side of the game.
“Learning to play with more mature men is just a huge learning curve,” he said.
“It just raises your footy and you have to be on your game non-stop, there’s no mental break.”
After playing junior footy at Coolangatta, Fraser switched to the Demons at 16 and said he had really enjoyed his time at the Demons so far.
“It’s a really good environment, the club’s great,” he said.
“Everyone wants to be here, it’s a good culture.”
Surfers Paradise coach, Beau Zorko, said Fraser had surprised him with his defensive efforts against the Tigers on Saturday.
“He’s been one of our better- represented players at the SUNS this year so he’s learned a lot from those experiences,” Zorko said.
“He’s a very neat player but his defensive work rate lifted to a level that I hadn’t seen before so I was really pleased with him.”
Fraser, who missed out on selection in the Queensland under-18s, said he was simply focused on staying in the Demon’s senior side and continuing his good run of form.
“I just want to keep cementing my senior spot and keep playing as many NEAFL games as I can with the SUNS and keep playing good footy.”
