A trim and toned Jarrod Freeman looks a changed man from the one given a quick battering from pillar to post on the national stage in Launceston earlier this year.
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Freeman debuted strongly for Hobart Hurricanes with 11 runs off his two overs.
Skipper Matthew Wade backed in the former Mowbray offspinner two nights later and threw the new ball within shot of Invermay Park.
Given a spell for an hour, the next one went for nine.
But a last-ball wicket for the night taught the George Town teen that slow bowling is all about persistence.
"It was a tough initiation," Freeman said on Thursday.
"It was pretty good down in Hobart against the Heat in that first game, but against the Strikers it was still a great learning curve for me.
"I've spoken to guys like Xavier Doherty since then, who have played so much Big Bash cricket. I feel I have learned a lot from him over the last couple of months."
Freeman looks to have his rhythm back during a series of preseason matches sweating in the heat of Darwin.
But the weight loss was through more conventional means amid a Hobart winter.
The ability to commit to a Cricket Tasmania preseason for the first time will free up the 19-year-old to earn a spot in all forms of the game.
"I've worked closely with the SNC [Scientific Nutrition Centre] and also a couple of dietitians, so it's been a main goal for me," Freeman said.
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
"We have chipped away at it and it's paid off heaps."
Freeman's rising star is unquestioned. George Bailey called on the unassuming allrounder months shy of his 18th birthday for a maiden Tasmanian Sheffield Shield appearance on the SCG.
It took another 12 months to play in cricket's gruelling four-day format.
Freeman does not want to wait so long this summer.
"I just want to play as many games as I can," he said.
"I just wanted to get fitter and with preseason rolling around I have been getting fitter, so that's been a huge positive so far. So hopefully that [weight loss] will have an impact on my game and I can play as many as I can."
Freeman has yet to have a conversation with Tigers coach Adam Griffith over his role for Tasmania amid all the accolades about his late-order power hitting.
But bowling more overs is already a personal goal.
"I haven't really talked too much about it," he said.
"At the moment, we're just focusing on my bowling. I think batting pretty much takes care of itself in a way."
But so is walking up to the UTAS Stadium bowling crease to make amends.
"I really love getting back home to Launnie," he said.
"The Launceston games are really the ones I want to hope and play."
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