Adam Cerra to Carlton
Written by Zac Assouni
Where it all began
Adam Cerra found his way to Fremantle through pick 5 in the 2017 AFL draft. Coming out of Norwood in Victoria and soon enough becoming part of the young Fremantle engine room containing guys such as fellow young gun Caleb Serong as well as Andrew Brayshaw who was drafted at just three picks ahead of Cerra at pick 2. Cerra made his AFL debut in Round 2 of 2018 and eventually that lead to a NAB rising star nomination later that season. Soon enough he’d be included in the 22under22 side for both season 2020 and season 2021 as well.
Where he fits in
It's safe to say that the main focus when it came to the trade period and free agency was to address midfield depth and to have guys to help carry the load around the stoppages. With George Hewitt coming in as a free agent from Sydney the blues weren't done with pursuing Adam Cerra to add a touch flair to the Carlton midfield. It’s been a habit of the blues, especially in the last few years to rely on guys like Cripps and Walsh to carry the load by themselves and as we’ve seen it really doesn't work nor does it sustain in a match. For example, when you look at a team like Melbourne with superstar players such as Clayton Oliver , Max Gawn and Christian Petracca we still constantly see the role players in the side such as James Harmes , Jack Viney and Alex Neal- Bullen pull the load and do their job to get the team over the line. While Cerra certainly has potential to turn into a star player for Carlton it’s still important that we see constant effort from guys like Ed Curnow and Matthew Kennedy to get the boys over the line on game day .
Season 2021
After being traded for a top 10 pick it’s safe to say that you must’ve done something right and Adam Cerra certainly did that helping the young Fremantle side to within a few places of the top 8 for a side that not many people predicted would be in the hunt for finals. As is always the case with younger guys they need a veteran presence to look up to and learn from and the advantage for Cerra at the dockers was that he had a guy like David Mundy who’s veteran presence especially in midfield must’ve certainly helped shape Cerra as a player. Speaking of veteran players , it’s no secret that there is a Mark Murphy shaped hole at the blues, the role of a classy midfielder that can hit a target which Adam Cerra can certainly do. In season 2021 Cerra had an above average 23.1 disposals a game with 68.9 disposal efficiency, 2.6 tackles , 0.3 goals , 15.2 pressure acts and 5.2 marks. A stat that surprised me was that 51% of his disposals were in the defensive half of field for the dockers showing that even though he is a flashy midfielder as we know , he can also track back and still have a decent impact on the game.
