AFLW 2024 - Round 10 - Chat, game threads, injury lists, team lineups and more.
The local rag should have been writing articles like this all year instead of sitting around lazily coming up with ridiculous non-articles about Harley Reid. Articles like this encourage and reward a group of kids who are actually creating something for WA.The decisions, disappointments and deft moves that led Fremantle to its most talented list in club history
When Nat Fyfe speaks, people listen. Which is why his comments that this was the most talented list he’d seen at Freo resonated. ELIZA REILLY dives deep into how they’ve set themselves up for a maiden premiership.
15 min read
June 10, 2024 - 8:00PM
We don’t hear much from Fremantle champion Nat Fyfe these days.
But when he does speak, every word is earnest and calculated.
At the Dockers’ season launch in February, Fyfe told a room full of 700 players, coaches, staff and stakeholders that Fremantle’s current playing list is the most talented he’s been a part of.
The 32-year-old was about to embark on his 15th AFL season. In that span, he’s played alongside club greats like Matthew Pavlich, David Mundy, Aaron Sandilands, Luke McPharlin, Michael Johnson, Hayden Ballantyne and Michael Walters.
But when coach Justin Longmuir suggested that Fremantle had compiled a playing list that not only rivals but surpasses the club’s most successful era, Fyfe, having been a part of both, tended to agree.
Fyfe is part of a star-studded group at Freo. Pic: Michael Klein
“Comparisons are really difficult and we’ve had some great groups of players,” Fyfe said. “JL said early in the pre-season this is a more talented group than we had when we played in preliminary finals and the grand final, and I’ve reflected on that and think it’s accurate.
“We know that talent alone doesn’t get you where you want to go … What this group has is a real hunger.
“We’ve drafted well, we’ve got good character and calibre, and these guys are dog-hungry.”
Fremantle’s round 12 win over Melbourne was a sign of what may still be yet to come.
The Dockers were dominant, kicking their highest score under Longmuir en route to a 92-point win in Alice Springs.
The win catapults Fremantle into top four contention with half a season to play and keeps the club’s dream of a maiden premiership by 2025 alive.
Yet for the man who’s pieced the list together, the 2024 Dockers are far from the finished product.
Longmuir raved about the quality of his list before the season. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
“I’m happy with Fyfey saying it!” Fremantle list manager David Walls told this masthead. “It’s hard to assess.
“It’s what falls under talent too. Things like drive, motivation and work ethic. Does that fall under talent or character? I’m not sure.
“I feel like we’ve probably got the greatest combination of guys that are talented but also committed and have a strong work ethic. I think we’re in good shape.
“We’ve got to keep adding to the list but also it’s still very young. We’re the second youngest list each year and the third or fourth youngest side.
“I agree in a lot of ways but they’re probably not as proven as some of the other sides that have come through and the teams that we’ve had. But I do think they’ll get there.”
THE FLASHPOINT
The cliff came fast for Fremantle in 2016.
A year earlier, the Dockers finished the home and away season on top of the ladder. Fluctuating in and out of premiership favouritism throughout the year, Fremantle bowed out in a preliminary final against Hawthorn.
Many tipped Fremantle to be back there again in 2016 under Ross Lyon.
But the Dockers lost their first 10 games of the season, crashing from the summit to the sea floor.
Injuries played a part.
Fyfe, fresh off the first of his Brownlow medals, played the first five games before he was ruled out for the year, suffering complications from the broken leg he suffered the previous season. Sandilands and Mundy were also largely absent early in the year, robbing Fremantle of its starting midfield.
Down back, McPharlin’s retirement was compounded by Johnson’s soft tissue woes. Alex Silvagni was also dealing with calf and concussion problems.
Then there was Harley Bennell. The high-profile recruit was supposed to be the final piece in Fremantle’s premiership puzzle. Instead, he didn’t play a single game that season due to a calf issue.
The Dockers’ premiership window closed in 2016. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Premiership windows aren’t supposed to close that fast. So the Dockers did everything they could to extend theirs.
“At the end of 2015, when we finished the home and away season on top of the ladder, it was ‘we need more talent, more talent,’” Walls said. “A lot of the heart and soul players were taken away when you look at guys like (Tendai) Mzungu, (Michael) Barlow, (Alex) Silvagni, Matt de Boer.
“Back then, we wanted talent and brought in guys like Harley Bennell.”
At the end of the year, Fremantle traded in Cam McCarthy (49 games), Brad Hill (54), Joel Hamling (68) and Shane Kersten (29). McCarthy played four seasons and devastatingly passed away earlier this year. Hill only lasted three before requesting a trade to St Kilda. Kersten walked out of Fremantle after two years. Hamling was cruelled by injury and now he’s set to see out his career at Sydney.
The Dockers did well in the draft though, picking up Sean Darcy, Brennan Cox, Luke Ryan as well as Griffin Logue who played 64 games before requesting a trade to North Melbourne. But Fremantle went back to the trade table the following year, bringing in Nathan Wilson and Brandon Matera.
FREMANTLE’S TALENT TURNOVER
2014
Pick 13 Lachie Weller (47 games)
Pick 32 Connor Blakely (78)
Pick 52 Ed Langdon (68)
Pick 68 Josh Deluca (0)
Rookie Ethan Hughes (107)*
Rookie Sean Hurley (0)
2015
Trade Harley Bennell (2)
Pick 27 Darcy Tucker (108)
Pick 38 Harley Balic (4)
Pick 55 Sam Collins (14)
Pick 61 Shane Yarran (6)
Rookie Matthew Uebergang (0)
Rookie Ryan Nyhuis (17)
2016
Trade Cam McCarthy (49)
Trade Brad Hill (54)
Trade Joel Hamling (68)
Trade Shane Kersten (29)
Pick 8 Griffin Logue (64)
Pick 38 Sean Darcy (103)*
Pick 41 Brennan Cox (103)*
Pick 66 Luke Ryan (144)*
Rookie Taylin Duman (45)
Rookie Luke Strnadica (0)
** still on Fremantle list
Of the 12 players the Dockers acquired via trade between 2015 and 2019, just one remains at the club today – James Aish.
“Now, it’s all about the draft,” Walls said. “It’s been a commitment by the club for a long time to go to the draft and do it the right way instead of looking for short-term fixes.“
Fremantle also committed to prioritising character over talent. The Dockers had been burnt by a series of off-field indiscretions. No matter how good a player may be, Fremantle won’t go near them if there was any history of nuisance.
“A lot of our time is spent interviewing players, getting references and psychology profiling,” Walls said. “Our strategy first and foremost is to bring in good people that are going to work hard.
“Talent attracts you to them. But sometimes you’re looking at some talented players and they have indiscretions or some question marks about them. We just avoid them.
“We’d love to pick from Western Australia where we can but we don’t care where they’re from. If it’s Tassie, where Alex Pearce our captain is from.
“We back the club and our culture in. We’ll turn the country upside down to find players.”
James Aish remains the only Docker on the list that was traded for between 2015-2019. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Fremantle hit the top end of the draft hard, bringing in first round picks Andrew Brayshaw, Sam Sturt, Hayden Young, Caleb Serong, Heath Chapman, Jye Amiss and Neil Erasmus in consecutive years.
The Dockers also unearthed several diamonds in the rough, turning to over-age players and prospective picks later in the pool like Ryan (pick 66, 2016), Sam Switkowski (pick 73, 2017), Bailey Banfield (rookie, 2017), Michael Frederick (pick 61, 2019) and Josh Treacy (rookie, 2020).
But sometimes even a ‘good bloke’ policy can’t save you from poor list decisions.
The Dockers have been criticised in recent years for letting established talent walk out the door.
It largely started when Lachie Neale, despite being from South Australia, requested a trade to Brisbane back in 2018. In the following years, Fremantle lost Hill, Ed Langdon, Hogan, Adam Cerra, Acres, Logue, Lobb, Tucker, Lloyd Meek and more recently, Liam Henry and Lachie Schultz.
FREMANTLE'S TALENT TURNOVER
2017
Trade Nathan Wilson (74 games)
Trade Brandon Matera (43)
Pick 2 Andrew Brayshaw (135)*
Pick 5 Adam Cerra (76)
Pick 44 Hugh Dixon (1)
Pick 59 Mitch Crowden (42)
Pick 65 Tom North (0)
Pick 69 Lloyd Meek (15)
Pick 73 Sam Switkowski (77)*
Pick 75 Scott Jones (6)
Rookie Bailey Banfield (87)*
Rookie Stefan Giro (14)
2018
Free agent Reece Conca (46)
Trade Jesse Hogan (19)
Trade Rory Lobb (66)
Trade Travis Colyer (59)
Pick 17 Sam Sturt (20)*
Pick 32 Luke Valente (0)
Pick 57 Lachie Schultz (90)
Pick 59 Brett Bewley (25)
Rookie Tobe Watson (14)
Rookie Jason Carter (2)
2019
Trade Blake Acres (45)
Trade James Aish (93)*
Mid-season Dillon O’Reilly (0)
Pick 7 Hayden Young (69)*
Pick 8 Caleb Serong (92)*
Pick 9 Liam Henry (43)
Pick 61 Michael Frederick (67)*
Rookie Jarvis Pina (0)
Rookie Isaiah Butters (0)
Rookie Leno Thomas
2020
Pick 14 Heath Chapman (32)*
Pick 27 Nathan O’Driscoll (22)*
Pick 50 Brandon Walker (56)*
Pick 54 Joel Western (4)
Rookie Josh Treacy (48)*
**still on Fremantle's list
The Dockers would’ve loved to have held onto the likes of Cerra, Neale, Henry and Schultz. But they’ve privately conceded that the biggest list error they’ve made was thinking that Acres’s career-best 2022 season was an anomaly, not the new norm.
It’s hard not to think about what Fremantle’s list could look like now if it had been able to retain more players. But it’s easy to forget that the Dockers have turned those wantaways into high-end draft picks, enabling them to draft the likes of Amiss.
Neale has won two Brownlows since leaving for Brisbane. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
“I think every recruiter in the land has skeletons in the closet,” Walls said. “We’re no different.
“You just have to learn from them. There are ones you look at where you think ‘We could’ve done that differently.’ But a lesson that we’ve learnt is just to make consistently good decisions, rather than trying to do something spectacular every time.
“There’s no magic or silver bullet. It’s just a matter of making sound decisions at the trade table and the draft. With our recruiting team now, what we do pretty well when we’re looking at players to bring in, it’s okay well what is that going to cost us at the trade table? Who do we think we’ll be able to get at the draft? We balance up everything.”
Sacrifices have been made.
If you’d have asked Longmuir at the end of last year whether he’d like to hold Schultz to his contract given that he was coming into the final year of his, most coaches would have been selfish. You could say the same about trading out Lobb given he would’ve been the perfect foil for a developing Amiss. Or Acres, forcing the Dockers to replace yet another wingman.
But Longmuir has consistently taken a long-term view to the list, even if it’s been to his own detriment.
Schultz left for the Pies at the end of 2023. Pic: Michael Klein
“It would’ve been better for Justin and the playing group to have him this year,” Walls said. “But we got what we would consider to be a very good deal at the trade table that allowed us to pick Cooper Simpson.
“We could’ve taken Collingwood’s first pick for Lachie. But we weren’t 100 per cent comfortable with the draft and where our order was.
“We’d identified Cooper Simpson as a player that we really wanted. Had we had pick 19, we probably would’ve picked him there. But we knew that we could get him later in the draft in the 30s so we were happy to say ‘Nah we’ll probably end up picking the same player.’
“So long-term, I think the club’s in a much better position from making that decision. Justin has been very good at buying into that. The club has been committed to the course and has not deviated based on attitudes and behaviour. It’s been a consistent approach.”
DEVOTED DOCKERS
Not only is Fremantle’s current playing list they most talented it’s assembled. It’s also the most dedicated.
The Dockers currently have 11 players signed up until 2027 and beyond, making Fremantle the second-most committed club in the competition behind Sydney (12) and equal with Essendon.
Fremantle has a further seven players contracted up until 2026. And with Brayshaw in talks to sign an extension later this year, there’s no reason why the Dockers can’t draw level with the Swans for 2027+ contracts and match Greater Western Sydney and Hawthorn on 20 players signed beyond 2026.
Walls said the unprecedented level of commitment was a symptom of the club’s grand ambition.
COMMITMENT TO THE CAUSE
Players committed until 2026 and beyond per club
Adelaide: 15
Brisbane: 16
Carlton: 15
Collingwood: 15
Essendon: 15
FREMANTLE: 18
Geelong: 6
Gold Coast: 16
GWS: 20
Hawthorn: 20
Melbourne: 18
North Melbourne: 15
Port Adelaide: 14
Richmond: 10
Saints: 12
Sydney: 17
West Coast: 9
Western Bulldogs: 11
Players committed until 2027 and beyond per club
Adelaide: 4
Brisbane: 7
Carlton: 5
Collingwood: 9
Essendon: 11
FREMANTLE: 11
Geelong: 2
Gold Coast: 7
GWS: 5
Hawthorn: 6
Melbourne: 7
North Melbourne: 7
Port Adelaide: 6
Richmond: 5
Saints: 6
Sydney: 12
West Coast: 1
Western Bulldogs: 4
“They’re motivated by success,” Walls said. “Part of it is being part of ‘the first,’ being the first Fremantle premiership.
“I reckon that drives a lot of the guys and they’re all on the same page about how special it would be.
“I talk to a lot of player managers and it does go through different stages. They’re trying to make the best decisions for their players and their long-term careers but a lot of managers are saying to me that Fremantle is a great place to be at the moment.
“They’re happy to send players to us through the trade period but they’re also happy to commit longer-term because they believe in the place.
“It’s a happy environment. It’s a great place to come to work each day and get better. They’ve got great coaches and resources around them.”
When sitting down with players to negotiate contract extensions, Walls said that the difference between signing a short and long-term deal hinged on various player movement milestones.
“Everyone looks at free agency,” he said. “They want long-term security but that’s balanced out with when a player is going to be a free agent.
“It is a lever. It does give them leverage to negotiate when you’re free to explore what’s out there. If you sign to take yourself past free agency, you want to be very settled and comfortable with where you’re at.
“Tasmania is also coming into the competition and historically with Gold Coast and GWS, they’ve had access to uncontracted players in those years. So the more we’ve got signed up, the more that are off the table.”
Brayshaw should be the next Docker to commit for the long haul. (Photo by Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Some long-term deals are driven by the club, some by the players’ management and some by a combination of both.
“You always want to lock down who’s going to be part of your premiership core and push them out as far as you can,” Walls said. “Sometimes we will negotiate a two-year extension and say ‘look, we believe in the player but he’s a little bit hard to value at this point.’
“If everyone is seeing eye-to-eye, we’re quite open to doing longer-term contracts for the right players.”
That’s despite some sections of the industry vehemently opposing long-term contracts.
The AFL even sent a memo to clubs late last year warning about the perils of ‘high-risk player contracts. It stated that any contract lodged of six years or more must now come with written club President and CEO approval to prevent buyer’s remorse.
Walls said that Fremantle operates on a case-by-case basis but has no reservations about signing players up for the long haul.
FREMANTLE'S TALENT TURNOVER
2021
Trade Will Brodie (29 game )*
Trade Jordan Clark (59)*
Pick 8 Jye Amiss (36)*
Pick 10 Neil Erasmus (22)*
Pick 21 Matt Johnson (29)*
Pick 55 Eric Benning (0)
Rookie Karl Worner (5)*
2022
Trade Josh Corbett (5)*
Trade Luke Jackson (35)*
Trade Jaeger O’Meara (32)*
Mid-season Sebit Kuek (0)*
Pick 33 Hugh Davies (0)*
Pick 41 Tom Emmett (13)*
Pick 42 Max Knobel (0)*
Pick 57 Corey Wagner (11)*
Rookie Liam Reidy (0)*
Rookie Josh Draper (11)*
Rookie Conrad Williams (0)*
2023
Free agent Oscar McDonald (1)*
SSP Jeremy Sharp (12)*
Mid-season Ethan Stanley (2)*
Pick 35 Cooper Simpson (2)*
Pick 41 Ollie Murphy (0)*
Pick 60 Jack Delean (0)*
Rookie Odin Jones (0)*
**Still on Fremantle's list
“It all gets factored into every deal,” he said. “But you know the player.
“You know their work ethic, their character, how they’re performing. Durability is a risk. But there are also factors in there that can safeguard you from career-ending injuries.
“We think that if the player is doing the right thing, we’re prepared to reward them. It shows too that it generally ends up working well for both parties.
“They can get security and be locked in long-term but also as the TTP rises, you’ve protected yourself.”
Cooper Simpson recently signed on. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
The Dockers have also been able to lock away first-year players using performance incentives, recently re-signing draftee Cooper Simpson for a further two years until 2027 after playing just two games.
“With someone like Cooper, you can use what’s happened previously in the draft as a benchmark,” Walls said. “You can also do contracts too where the player gets the security, but it’s not huge guaranteed money that they get.
“There’s incentives in there like numbers of games played, BnF results, different levers you can pull where if they’re performing at a certain level, the contract grows with that as well.
“So the players aren’t getting really good guaranteed money but there’s an incentive for them to perform and get rewarded.”
THE ONE WHERE THE DOCKERS DON’T HAVE ROOM FOR TWO RUCKMEN
When we talk about Fremantle’s list, it’s hard not to mention the two elephants, or more aptly termed giraffes, in the room.
Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy are both incredible players in their own right. But critics have regularly panned the Dockers for going so hard after Jackson when they already had an established A-grade ruckman.
They also say that the duo stunt each other. And that the Dockers should ditch one of them.
Darcy and Jackson have played 20 out of a possible 35 games together. And Walls is adamant that there are plenty more to come.
“I think if you ask any coach or any club in the land ‘do you want two A-grade ruckmen?’ I’m pretty sure that the answer would be yes,” he said. “If Luke played as a permanent forward, I’ve got no doubt that he’d be a 40-50 goal a year key forward.
“His pure size too means you have to go to him. I feel like he frees up Jye Amiss and Josh Treacy to do their thing a lot more when he plays forward, rather than them getting the number one defender.
“He’s so agile. And he’s so young too. I think we forget that sometimes. He’s a few years off hitting his prime.
“They’re different ruckmen too. Like against Richmond, Sean Darcy was really suited against the Nankervis type. It’s horses for courses. I think they can coexist and benefit each other. I don’t see it being an issue with Luke’s versatility.”
Darcy has returned to the side, claiming the main ruck role. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Darcy recently signed a six-year contract extension that will see him remain a Docker until at least 2030. Jackson is too believed to be on a long-term deal and combined, the pair are speculated to be chewing up a significant chunk of Fremantle’s salary cap.
Given Darcy’s injury history, Walls said it was money well spent.
“One, no one knows exactly how much money is tied up in it,” he said. “It’s only speculation.
“But Luke is so versatile and can play a number of roles. It’s not like you’ve got two guys that are just rucks and that’s all they can do. Luke gives you the flexibility.
“Rucks do tend to get injured a bit as well. You’re not always going to have two out there as well so you need to be equipped throughout the season for different ruck combinations but also who you’ve got playing any given week.”
The reality is that the Dockers would’ve drafted Jackson back in 2019 if they were able.
Would the media be asking the same questions if Fremantle had used its own draft pick on Jackson instead of waiting three years to trade away two first-rounders and a future second?
It’s hard to say. But when the ‘Unicorn’ became available, the Dockers were prepared to move heaven and earth to bring him home.
Jackson has been a handy forward. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
“We’ve loved him going back to his East Fremantle days,” Walls said. “He was in the AFL Academy and he’d come and train at the club as well.
“We put a bit of time into him when he’d have club week at Fremantle when he was 17. He impressed everyone with his attitude.
“He’d play forward at East Fremantle and he’d kick goals. He’d go into the ruck. His numbers were off the charts in terms of a young ruck/forward coming through. We hadn’t seen anything like it for years.
“We tracked him when he got to Melbourne and what he was doing at Casey then eventually for the Demons.
“We’ve spent years, after Pav, looking. There was Jesse Hogan, there was Rory Lobb, there was Michael Apeness, Jack Anthony … then we saw Luke. He’s not Pav as a player but he can play that role.
“Tall guys who can do what he can do are so hard to find and so rare. So when one is available, you make sure that it happens.”
SO WHAT’S NEXT?
Fremantle’s premiership window is well and truly open. Now it’s question of who else the Dockers can convince to climb through it.
Armed with three first round picks in this year’s draft after trading for Port Adelaide and Collingwood’s selections, Fremantle is the envy of the competition, especially given what could still eventuate for the Dockers on-field this year before the wheeling and dealing begins.
Walls said that the Dockers would keep an open mind on how to make the best use of their capital. But he hinted that the trade doors that the picks opened may be too good to refuse.
“We’re not going to commit to anything,” he said. “We’ll explore everything.
“It could be that we trade all three. It could be that we use all three in the draft or it could be a combination of both. We’re looking at everything and we’ll do our best to get the club the best result from the three.
“It’s a nice position to be in. There are players out there and we’ve got the capital and collateral to do it. There may not be another year when you have three first round picks to be able to get a fair bit done at the trade table.”
It might be time to watch out for the Dockers. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
The ship has just about sailed on Sydney spearhead Logan McDonald thanks to the emergence of Josh Treacy.
The Dockers are in a two-way fight with West Coast to win the signature of Richmond vice-captain Liam Baker if he decides to return home.
They’d be remiss not to ask the question of Baker’s teammate Shai Bolton. And there are rumblings that the Dockers will make a play to bring Swans star Chad Warner home if Sydney wins the premiership this year.
The most talented list in club history might be on the verge of getting even better.
Even with that in mind Hawthorn is not finishing top 4 it's ludicrous. There are 7 teams with at least 1 more win than Hawthorn in front of them and fourth on the ladder, 4 with 1.5 wins or more and some with a game in hand. If they make the finals it's a minor miracle let alone the top 4.
Yeah, but it's a bit of a sugar but that will prioritise spreading fluffing up various of the Vic fanbases.
Well if it was just that he could start with the Dogs, who at the very least don't don't need to make up 20 % points as well as two wins.
Love it!Good to see King & Whately has managed to seed all of Essendon, Carlton, Collingwood, & even Brisbane & Hawks as being more likely to finish top 4 than us. Despite us being one game out with a game in hand.
#notbiasedatall
Only thing I'll say to that is I hope their form drops off before we play them.
They're also played one more and caught some teams at great times with Port, GWS, Bulldogs and Brisbane being mid-dip in form.
Equally true is saying they’ve lost 3 more games than us.
I think it's power seedings/who's going best now, not who's likely to finish top 4. Ratings would trump insight too.
Longmuir has the wood over Mitchell so far (in fact that's one thing that annoyed me is Mitchell being lauded for being a genius, where as Longmuir has extracted much more from an almost equally young squad). So pretty comfortable with that match up. They're in our age bracket too, so we're generally well motivated to take them on.
Yep, Wheatley even says Hawks are only there because he promised someone he’d put them in if they beat GWS, he doesn’t think they will make the top 4, just in the seadings this week.
