Wil Powell doesn’t care if anyone scoffs at his ambition. 

He wants to be like Nat Fyfe. 

The 19-year-old knows there’s a long way to go, but is also well aware that Fyfe was once just a skinny Claremont colts player, too. 

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“I’m looking forward to seeing how much of a presence he is and how much he brings to a football team,” Powell said ahead of their first meeting, when Gold Coast host Fremantle at Metricon Stadium on Sunday. 

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“I grew up watching him play and I’ve seen how much he’s grown as well, given how skinny and underdeveloped he was when he got into a footy club. 

“You look at him now, he’s one of the biggest, strongest and best midfielders in the competition.  It’s definitely something I aspire to.” 

Powell was a shock first-round draft pick by Gold Coast in 2017 after missing selection for WA’s under-18 championships team. 

The former Scarborough junior was the Suns’ first selection at No.19 overall — one spot higher than Fyfe eight years earlier. 

He weighed just 67kg wringing wet. 

In the past 18 months, 185cm Powell has added 11kg of muscle.  Yet he is still 18kg lighter than 192cm Dockers wrecking ball Fyfe. 

Camera Icon Wil Powell in action for the Gold Coast Suns.  Credit: AAPIMAGE

“I focused on getting stronger and worked really hard on my core strength,” Powell said. 

“One of the most important things in modern-day football is to have that strength through the hips.  It comes with every situation, whether you’re in the air or on the ground. 

“When you’re going for a ground ball, you need to be strong over the footy and not get knocked over so easily.” 

Gold Coast insiders believe the sky is the limit for Powell, who snapped a sensational goal with his first kick in the AFL last year. 

“It’s good to have an inspiration like Nat for any young player,” Suns assistant coach Ashley Prescott said, having worked closely with Fyfe as a Fremantle assistant from 2011 to 2013. 

“There might be some sort of Claremont connection there, too.  He’s still growing and where he ends up, who knows? 

“But I know he does aspire to great things and he’s got high ambition and a high appetite to work and improve. 

“They’re certainly qualities that I also saw in Nat as a young player.” 

Gold Coast showed their faith in Powell by signing him up for an additional two years, through to the end of 2021, before he had played a senior game. 

He managed seven matches in his debut season and was a standout with 23 possessions in the narrow defeat to St Kilda in round one last Sunday. 

It was his best haul to date and included a goal that put the Suns in front before two late Saints behinds proved the difference. 

“You could see signs towards the latter part of last year and I think getting some games into him to give him a taste of it and an appreciation for the pre-season he needed to put in to develop himself was a good thing,” Prescott said. 

“As he develops there’s no reason he can’t become an inside mid. 

“We want him to build a body that’s capable of playing hard AFL footy week in, week out. 

“That’s our priority, that he develops his body and learns great habits. 

“But he’s a massive competitor and he’s really unconditional with his attack on the ball, both in the air and on the ground. 

“They’re the features that stand out.” 

Plenty of talent has walked out of the Gold Coast exit door in recent years, but Powell will not follow. 

His parents and two sisters moved to Queensland last month and the family have opened up their new home to teammate Jez McLennan. 

Youngest sister Natasha has even taken up under-11s football at Southport, following in the footsteps of her brother. 

“I’m absolutely loving it up here and I don’t see my time finishing up here unless the club wants to move me on,” Powell said. 

Far from disheartened by the first-up defeat to St Kilda, Powell said the result had fuelled the fire in the belly. 

And the childhood West Coast fan admits there’s a little extra motivation this week. 

“I’d love it if we could beat Freo,” he said.  All the boys are very hungry for a win, especially knowing that we should have won on the weekend.  We can taste a bit of blood and we’ve analysed Freo pretty well. 

“We know what they’re going to try to do, so hopefully we can get on top of them early.” 

- Watch: Gold Coast vs Fremantle, 1.30pm Sunday live on 7