Young Fremantle forward Tobyn Murray has paid tribute to teammates Sam Switkowski and Michael Frederick for helping him realise his value and impact extends beyond the stat box.

The 20 year-old was a mature-age recruit from Geelong’s VFL program in the off-season after kicking 22 goals across 17 games last year and has approached his first pre-season in the AFL with a sense of curiosity.

While he is yet to make his Dockers debut, Murray’s stats at WAFL level with Peel have been up and down.

He kicked three goals from just 13 touches across his first two games with the Thunder, before a breakout game last weekend against Perth which featured two more goals and 23 disposals.

Against Subiaco on Saturday, he went scoreless and tallied 10 disposals as Peel went down by one point for the second week in a row.

But Murray said the likes of established AFL players like Switkowski and Frederick had been excellent sounding boards as he delves deeper into his understanding of his half-forward role.

“The role I play as a small forward, you can have games where you’re inconsistent, and bridging that gap is a difficult task, so I just work really closely with my coaches and bounce off the other players like Minario (Michael) Frederick and Sam Switkwoski,” he told The West Australian.

“They’re two very good people to bounce ideas off. I watch at training and how they go about it, and they’ve really instilled in me just to continue to learn, but also, some days as a high forward, you can have days where your stat sheet doesn’t look great.

“But if you’re doing what really matters for the team, judging yourself on how you’re doing your role and your trademark actions, rather than the stat sheet, you can go a long way. They’ve been super helpful.”

Murray, who was working part-time at a primary school as an education support teacher and studying business on the side before his AFL dream was realised, said his time in the VFL last season had well-prepared him for Fremantle — but he still had plenty to learn.

“It’s been a really easy transition for me. I know what I want out of myself, and I demand high standards of myself and the club have got a really good, premiership-standard thing we bring every single day.

“I want to be there; I’m curious, I’m learning. I want to be the best footballer and person I can be. For me, it’s living the dream.”

Murray said the off-field part of the game had been his biggest learning curve, but he was enjoying the education.

“From a maturity standpoint these last two years, I’ve really figured out what I want to be as a footballer and a person, and I think that’s really held me in good stead coming into my first pre-season,” he said.

“I’ve always been super professional before I was drafted, but it’s that next level of, it’s a full-time job, so you’re doing all the little things away from the club.

“It’s what you’re eating, everything away from the field. Everything on-field looks after itself in a sense, with the coaching and your natural ability to get better and work in all areas, but everything off-field makes you more of that professional footballer and takes you a further step.”