Rugby union: Wildfires breakaway Donny Freeman keen to tackle familiar faces at NSW Waratahs

The Wildfires, Western Sydney and West Harbour will each play 20 minutes against the Super Rugby outfit.

Freeman joined the Wildfires from Easts, but it is a few of his former Australian Schoolboy teammates who the 21-year-old is keen to lock horns with.

"Max Douglas (lock), Jeremy Williams (lock), Will Harris (No.8) were part of the 2018 Aussie side," Freeman said. "There is fair swag of them at the Waratahs.

"Unfortunately I got injured two days before the first test against Tonga and also missed the trip to Ireland and the UK. I did my hamstring pretty badly. We were doing a ruck drill and it went pop.

"I'd obviously love to be at the same level as those boys now. The dream is to make a career out of rugby. I don't mind where it is at.

"I have taken a bit longer to develop than those boys. I just have to stay patient, keep my head down and put one foot in front of the other.

"I'm really looking forward to Saturday. It will be an enormous challenge, especially being our first hit-out since playing half a season last year [due to COVID].

"There will be a lot of blowing the cobwebs out. We just have to give it a red hot crack and see how we go."

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After two years living in Sydney and playing at Easts, where he started in colts and was fast-tracked up to second grade, Freeman was keen to escape the rat race.

His older brother Billy Freeman lives in Newcastle and played for University and Merewether, before a serious knee injury last year.

"I wanted to get out of Sydney and I thought it would be a step forward for my footy," he said. "It has been more than I expected.

"I reckon it is a better environment than where I was at. It is a really professional set up. Everything is there."

Freeman is among five or six Wildfires coach Scott Coleman believes are capable of going to the "next level".

"Donny is an on-the-ball seven and just a real goer," Coleman said. "Everything he does is at 100 per cent. He has a strong skill set, a great work ethic, good engine ... he plays a similar type game to Michael Hooper.

"There are five or six - Donny, Phil Bradford, Ngarhue Jones, Lona Halaholo, Tom Watson, Will Feeney, Winchester, Connor Winchester - who I believe could push for that next level if they give it a good crack."

The Wildfires will also play Western Sydney and West Harbour in 25-minute periods.

"We are way underdone in terms of unit work," Coleman said. "We have done some basic team structures, patterns and exits. Against the other Shute Shield teams it is a chance to see where we are at.

"I just want them to express themselves, and I want them to have fun. We have eight weeks before the competition to fix anything. We had eight weeks in total last year."

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