West Coast’s secret weapon in their bid to retain Harley Reid could be a tap-dancing, bird-spotting, comic-loving teenager from South Gippsland, who is preparing to act as Flynn Ryder from Disney’s Tangled.
Willem Duursma is also the prohibitive favourite to be the No.1 draft pick next month – and will become the fourth member of his family to be on an AFL/W list, behind siblings Xavier, Yasmin and Zane.
Willem Duursma is firming as the likely No.1 draft pick.Credit: AFL Photos
The Eagles own the first two selections, so there’s a strong likelihood he is heading west. Two years ago, they made Reid, another Victorian country boy, the dux of the 2023 class.
The much-hyped Reid has re-signed until 2028 despite Victorian clubs trying to lure him home.
Willem Duursma is light on his feet.Credit: AFL Photos
“I’ve been pretty close to Harley since he was in the under-12s playing with Zane,” Duursma said.
“He’s a good man. He’s a lot more mature than when he started in the AFL. He’ll be a good leader eventually. It’d be nice to play with him … he’s certainly been asking me to try and come over, but we’ll see what happens.”
The family factory
The newest Duursma on the AFL scene is not your ordinary 18-year-old, which extends to his off-field interests. But more on those later.
Most recruiters liken the 191-centimetre midfielder to ex-St Kilda champion Brendon Goddard – for their similar height, role and versatility, but also overhead marking strength and penchant for attempting kicks others would not dare.
Duursma, known as “Worm” to his siblings for reasons unknown to even him, also draws comparisons to sweet-kicking Fremantle star Hayden Young. He has his own take.
“In terms of Zane and Xavier, I think I’m a good mix of both, to be honest,” he said. “I’ve got Zane’s skill and polish, but also Xavier’s hard work, determination and grit.”
The Duursmas grew up playing against one another in their Foster North backyard. A friend of their dad Dean used a digger to carve out a field on their property, complete with pipes for goal posts.
It was always Yasmin and Zane versus Xavier and Willem. Those matches continued until Xavier reached under-16s and was viewed as a legitimate AFL prospect.
“If Xavier was bullying us or dominating too much; he’d have to go onto his knees or use just one arm, to make it fair, but I’d be getting pushed around pretty easily, so I was copping it as the youngest,” Willem Duursma said. “Yasi would do her fair share of pushing me, so it was pretty funny.”
The battles did not always end well.
A seven-year-old Duursma split his head open one day after Zane shoved him into a log. Their mother, Susie, a renowned dance teacher, gave Zane an earful afterwards.
But those games helped shape this richly talented quartet of siblings, who graduated from the backyard to Foster Football Netball Club then the MCG.
“We like to say it’s just in the tanks, up in Woorarra West, [near] Foster North,” Duursma said.
“I’d say we’re pretty determined and hard-working. I think that’s probably the main part. We’ve got our fair share of skill and talent, but skill and talent can only get you so far.”
If you don’t believe him, ask the coaches at Casey Demons.
Duursma was unhappy with the amount of skill work he fit in across this past pre-season, and felt his kicking was not up to its usual level, so he contacted the Demons, asking if he could start joining in on training on Tuesdays.
Fancy footwork
The Duursma siblings share another commonality on their journey to elite football. Scott Pendlebury and Christian Petracca famously have a basketball background, whereas the Duursmas have dance.
Duursma at the AFL national academy.Credit: AFL Photos
Their mother runs a dance school, and one by one, her kids started lessons – from two years old. Duursma does jazz, tap, ballet and contemporary. He even competed. Tap dancing is his specialty.
“It is a bit different [for a footballer]. It’s actually a really good skill to learn, and I think dancing has been a pretty big part of me,” the teenager said.
“I think, as a taller midfielder, you’ve got to be able to move well to stay in the midfield, and dancing is why I’ve got really good footwork and agility.”
Susie adopts a Disney theme for her school’s end-of-year concerts. This time, she has roped in her youngest son to perform the key role of Flynn Rider, a charming thief who falls in love with Rapunzel in the 2010 film Tangled.
Susie’s husband, Dean, was a drama teacher before becoming a principal, so he helps with the acting.
Their family used to load up their caravan and set off across the country in their trusty Toyota Prado.
Duursma in his Victoria Country colours.Credit: via Getty Images
To ward off the “Are we there yet?” questions, Susie and Dean gave their kids a bird book each, where they would tick off a species if they spotted them out the window.
“I’m a big bird nerd. I like carnivores, so the meat-eating birds,” Willem said.
“We’d do trips around Australia in the car, and it was an unreal time.
“We’d have the bird books in the back, so every time you’d spot a bird, you’d tick it off. I’d be sitting there with my bird book, looking out the window, and I’d be like, ‘Bang, that’s that’. I could probably name any bird I see in Australia.”
Being a Duursma has meant having a public profile since he was young, and helped him prepare for the expectation of being the No.1 pick-elect.
His older siblings’ success added to the pressure on him to make it.
“It would be pretty big to go No.1, but I think as the year goes on, and you start to mature a bit more, you understand that you’re just another number,” Duursma said.
“Obviously, there would be pressure, but I’m pretty ready for that. I’ve had pressure on me since under-16s, so I’m used to it. Whether it happens or not, I’m ready to go.”
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