LUCKLESS delisted midfielder Nathan Freeman believes he can still reach prime form and fitness, revealing the taste of senior football he received this year is motivating him to win a spot on another AFL club’s list.

Freeman, whose stints at both Collingwood and St Kilda were plagued by soft-tissue and shoulder injuries, was told on Tuesday night that the Saints wouldn’t offer him a contract for the 2019 season.

However the 23-year-old broke through for an AFL debut late this season, playing two games against the Western Bulldogs and Essendon respectively before being dropped again.

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Finals Week 1

Despite the consistent setbacks over a frustrating five-year AFL stint, Freeman said he still had plenty to give and his best result would be to “get rookied somewhere” by a third AFL club.

“I still hold out hope that I’ll still get to that stage (of optimum health and fitness). I’m only young,” Freeman told SEN’s Whateley on Wednesday.

“I still feel like the prime of my body and my health is still to come, so fingers crossed it turns out.”

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Freeman said he would consult his manager Paul Connors, as well as friends and family about what to do next.

“At the moment, it’s still pretty raw … I’ll just let the dust settle, consult many people and find out if I still have the ticker — and I think I do — that I want to play on, wherever it may be.

Nathan Freeman wants to play on at another AFL club. Source: Getty Images

“I think I’ve still got the chance to regain my weapons and my tools. If I get back to that, I think I’ll be a pretty great player.

“This year especially, I’ve actually just loved going out and playing. Game day has been the best two hours of the week for me this year.”

“I still feel I’ve got a bit to give. Even if I don’t regain all of my weapons … I’ve still got to give a bit to give in that space. What I’ve lacked in some areas, I’ve definitely improved in a lot of other areas.

“I feel like my game, as a whole, has become more rounded.”

After being taken with Pick 10 in the 2013 draft, Freeman failed to play a game for Collingwood before being traded to St Kilda in 2015. It took almost another three years before he would play a senior game due to persistent injuries.

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Freeman said he had no regrets over leaving Collingwood to join St Kilda, while he still loves the game and holds no bitterness towards the Saints and coach Alan Richardson.

“A lot of injuries, a lot of setbacks, a lot of comebacks, a lot of injuries, a lot of setbacks — it’s been rinse and repeat for the last five years,” Freeman said.

“But I’ve left no stone unturned, I’ve had a crack, I’ve done all the right things and hopefully that’s held me in good stead.”

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While Freeman beforehand wasn’t sure of what the outcome would be from his “short and sharp” exit meeting with Alan Richardson on Tuesday, he admitted he “could see the writing on the wall”.

“Obviously it’s not great to hear the news, but you sort of read the tea-leaves and see that it was coming a little bit,” Freeman said.

Luckless St Kilda midfielder Nathan Freeman. Picture: Michael Klein Source: News Corp Australia

“I thought I was prepared for it either way … but it was obviously pretty emotional and a bitter pill to swallow.”

While he would’ve liked to have played the final two games of the home and away season, he added that he could understand Richardson’s reasoning behind his surprise Round 22 axing from the senior team to play Hawthorn.

“I always felt hugely supported by everyone at the Saints … but I think there were question marks on my durability and my power and my penetration in my kicking, which is completely understandable given my history,” Freeman said.

“Their mind may have been made up after those two games and I found myself out now.”