Proud Royal Freddie books name on famous No. 21 lockerSaturday, May 30, 2015 - 2:33 PM - by Chris Pike

FREDDIE Clutterbuck always dreamed of playing with East Perth and now will realise a dream this Monday reaching his 100th match against West Perth as he continues to follow in the footsteps of Royals stars both whom he has played with and watched from afar.

Clutterbuck will return to the East Perth line-up this Monday for the WA Day derby against West Perth at Medibank Stadium and there would be no better occasion for the 24-year-old to reach his 100-game milestone and to book his name onto the No. 21 locker with the Royals.

Clutterbuck grew up dreaming of playing with East Perth and has amassed 99 matches since making his league debut back in 2010, has been part of the leadership group since then and could be on track to take over from the outstanding leaders he has played under so far.

However, first things first and it's his 100-game milestone to celebrate this Monday in the derby and he could think of no better occasion to bring up the mark on, and he couldn’t be more proud to now reach the century mark with the club that means everything to him.

"Ever since I was a boy I wanted to play WAFL footy and play for East Perth. It's been a dream come true to even play one game, so to play 100 games at this great club; they have been great to me and loyal to me," Clutterbuck said.

"So to be able to repay them by playing 100 games, it's fantastic for me. I would just like to thank the club and thank all the people involved in my time in footy. I've really enjoyed it and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family either so this is a good chance to thank all of them."

The No. 21 locker is a famous one at East Perth as well making Clutterbuck even more proud to soon be able to see his name positioned underneath Jack Sweet, Jim Washbourne, Paul Seal, Glen Bartlett and Jeremy Barnard.

"Having the name on the locker is going to be a huge thrill for me and I'll get to show all the boys when they come in after the game forever now," he said.

"It's a great honour and there are a lot of other good players on the locker like Jeremy Barnard and a close family friend in Paul Seal. It's a locker with a lot of history and I feel very lucky to be about to have my name there."

Clutterbuck got his first taste of league football with the Royals in 2010 and then by 2011 had cemented himself a position in the team on the wing, and that's where he has remained ever since.

Aside from the 2013 grand final loss to West Perth, Clutterbuck has scarcely missed a game since up until the loss to Claremont prior to the State game bye after he hurt a quad in the defeat at the hands at West Perth.

That durability in his body is something he takes pride in and it's something that hard not to do having seen the example set by inspirational co-captain Craig Wulff who doesn’t miss a game unless it's absolutely necessary.

Clutterbuck is also proud to have cemented a role in the team on the wing because he wasn’t quite sure where he would fit in when he started his career.

"When I got my first game, I didn’t know where I would belong and I didn’t know what role I'd be best suited to at league level but I've been able to get my place out on the wing there, and a bit in the midfield," Clutterbuck said.

"It's been good there I've been able to work on my game and I have become a lot fitter and a lot stronger, and worked on my footy. I'm pretty happy with how my game has grown over the years.

"I’ve been lucky enough with injuries touchwood and I seem to only get injured at the important times like that grand final, but I've been very lucky with my body and it usually allows me to get out there every week.

"It's obviously learning from the example from blokes like Craig Wulff that helps with that because he doesn’t miss many games either. Hopefully it continues for however long I play."

Clutterbuck has been part of East Perth's leadership group ever since 2010 now and in that year he captained the Royals to the reserves grand final as well, and has continued to emerge as a leader in a group that is now seeing him start to become one of the more experienced players in.

Having played under captains such as Luke Webster, Michael Swan and now Wulff and Brendan Lee is something that Clutterbuck has no doubt has helped him develop his leadership skills as well over the years.

"I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by some great captains in my career so far. Craig Wulff, Brendan Lee and Michael Swan are all outstanding men and leaders, and for me even Luke Webster was someone I learned a lot from early in my career," he said.

"Their commitment and passion to play for East Perth is something I have tried to emulate. In terms of me being a leader, I was voted into the leadership group before I had played any games, so that was a great honour for me as well.

"I've been there five years now and it's a great honour to be able to help lead the boys. I suppose my talk is my strong area, I always like to be able to tell the boys what they are doing right and wrong and try and get the boys up and about on game day, so that's probably where I see my strengths as a leader."

While the premiership remains the ultimate goal for Clutterbuck especially after East Perth has lost the last two grand finals, he has already had some career highlights along the way and he has no doubt this Monday will provide him with another one.

"The prelim final win against Claremont was probably the best game we have played in my time. Obviously that was soured a bit for me in the last quarter when I tore my hammy and had to miss the grand final. Winning a few derbies up at Joondalup is another highlight of my career as well as my debut and now getting to 100 games will always be up there," Clutterbuck said.

"A premiership is the No. 1 thing obviously and all the boys have set themselves for this year, which isn’t going to plan so far but the season is young so hopefully we get that back on track. Now that I have reached the 100 haven’t thought too much further than that.

"I will just play out the rest of the season and see how that goes, and then reassess and see how the body is, see how the mind is and see if the club still wants me after that. I haven’t set many goals going forward, I just love playing for the footy club and I'd play for East Perth and in the WAFL forever if I could."