MELBOURNE has secured classy Fremantle youngster Viv Michie for its fourth round draft selection (No.54). 

The 21-year-old is an agile, versatile player, capable of playing in the midfield, up forward or down back. He is strong, good overhead and impressive in the stoppages. 

Michie, who is 185cm tall, was originally selected by Fremantle at No.44 in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft.

National recruiting manager Jason Taylor said he was confident Michie could make a genuine impact at the Demons.

“He fits us for the right age and the right player type, as far as an inside midfielder, who can support, where we’ve got a void,” he told melbournefc.com.au.

“He comes in, after not a lot of continuity with his pre-seasons at Fremantle, due to some injury, but we feel that with some pre-seasons under his belt, he’ll really develop as a quality AFL midfielder.

“He was a required player by them (Fremantle), but we feel we can give him opportunities in terms of where our midfield sits and he can really come on in years to come.”

He was drafted from Fitzroy Juniors/Oakleigh Chargers, having represented Vic Metro in the 2010 NAB AFL under 18 championships.

In his first season with Fremantle, Michie was on the cusp of selection, when he was an emergency for its opening round clash against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba.

But his 2011 season was soon halted significantly, when he missed 12 matches with a foot injury.

He missed six matches on two separate occasions during the season.  

In 2012, Michie missed the entire year, when he suffered a second stress fracture in his foot.

But Michie made some strong progression in 2013, after two injury-marred seasons, making his AFL debut against Geelong at Simonds Stadium in round 14 this year. Michie came into the side as a late replacement for Lee Spurr. He started as the substitute and came on to win 13 disposals in a half of football.

He also had an outstanding season in the WAFL, playing 16 games to win Peel Thunder’s best and fairest award.