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<\/p>\nMost recruiters liken the 191-centimetre midfielder to ex-St Kilda champion Brendon Goddard \u2013 for their similar height, role and versatility, but also overhead marking strength and penchant for attempting kicks others would not dare.<\/p>\n
Duursma, known as \u201cWorm\u201d to his siblings for reasons unknown to even him, also draws comparisons to sweet-kicking Fremantle star Hayden Young. He has his own take.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn terms of Zane and Xavier, I think I\u2019m a good mix of both, to be honest,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve got Zane\u2019s skill and polish, but also Xavier\u2019s hard work, determination and grit.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIf Xavier was bullying us or dominating too much; he\u2019d have to go onto his knees or use just one arm, to make it fair, but I\u2019d be getting pushed around pretty easily, so I was copping it as the youngest,\u201d Willem Duursma said. \u201cYasi would do her fair share of pushing me, so it was pretty funny.\u201d<\/p>\n
The battles did not always end well.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
But those games helped shape this richly talented quartet of siblings, who graduated from the backyard to Foster Football Netball Club then the MCG.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe like to say it\u2019s just in the tanks, up in Woorarra West, [near] Foster North,\u201d Duursma said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say we\u2019re pretty determined and hard-working. I think that\u2019s probably the main part. We\u2019ve got our fair share of skill and talent, but skill and talent can only get you so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t believe him, ask the coaches at Casey Demons.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Fancy footwork<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Duursma at the AFL national academy.Credit: AFL Photos<\/p>\n
Their mother runs a dance school, and one by one, her kids started lessons \u2013 from two years old. Duursma does jazz, tap, ballet and contemporary. He even competed. Tap dancing is his specialty.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a bit different [for a footballer]. It\u2019s actually a really good skill to learn, and I think dancing has been a pretty big part of me,\u201d the teenager said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think, as a taller midfielder, you\u2019ve got to be able to move well to stay in the midfield, and dancing is why I\u2019ve got really good footwork and agility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Susie adopts a Disney theme for her school\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Susie\u2019s husband, Dean, was a drama teacher before becoming a principal, so he helps with the acting.<\/p>\n
Their family used to load up their caravan and set off across the country in their trusty Toyota Prado.<\/p>\n
![\"Duursma](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ae31f024c3d630887db2e7c328e7bf4136951f41.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Duursma in his Victoria Country colours.Credit: via Getty Images<\/p>\n
To ward off the \u201cAre we there yet?\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a big bird nerd. I like carnivores, so the meat-eating birds,\u201d Willem said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d do trips around Australia in the car, and it was an unreal time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d have the bird books in the back, so every time you\u2019d spot a bird, you\u2019d tick it off. I\u2019d be sitting there with my bird book, looking out the window, and I\u2019d be like, \u2018Bang, that\u2019s that\u2019. I could probably name any bird I see in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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His older siblings\u2019 success added to the pressure on him to make it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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\u2019re just another number,\u201d Duursma said.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, there would be pressure, but I\u2019m pretty ready for that. I\u2019ve had pressure on me since under-16s, so I\u2019m used to it. Whether it happens or not, I\u2019m ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most recruiters liken the 191-centimetre midfielder to ex-St Kilda champion Brendon Goddard \u2013 for their similar height, role…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225495,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-225494","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}