Fremantle season 2025 preview: Eliza Reilly breaks down where the Dockers sit
Fremantle were a premiership smokey midway through 2024 before an unmitigated disaster struck. ELIZA RELLY identifies who needs to step up for the Dockers to make the leap.
Fremantle
Don't miss out on the headlines from Fremantle. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Halfway through 2024, the Dockers looked like a premiership threat. Come the end of the home and away season, they weren’t even in the finals.
With Justin Longmuir facing some pressure, can they make the leap in 2025?
SURPRISE PACKET OF 2024
Most Fremantle fans thought that Jye Amiss was a long-awaited reincarnation of Matthew Pavlich. But the Dockers treacherous quest to find a reliable key forward threw up a surprise last season when Josh Treacy took his game to another level in attack. Dubbed ‘Cyclone,’ the 22-year-old kicked 45 goals in 20 matches to finish fourth in the Dockers best and fairest. Treacy’s form was so good in 2024 that the Dockers essentially parked their interest in Sydney spearhead Logan McDonald and turned their attention to Shai Bolton instead. Don’t be surprised if Treacy becomes the AFL’s premier key forward next season.
INS AND OUTS
IN: Shai Bolton (trade, Richmond), Jaren Carr (No. 63 draft pick, father-son), Quinton Narkle (SSP), Charlie Nicholls (No. 34 draft pick), Murphy Reid (No. 17 draft pick), Aiden Riddle (Rookie Draft).
OUT: Josh Corbett (retired), Tom Emmett (delisted), Ethan Hughes (delisted), Max Knobel (delisted), Sebit Kuek (delisted), Ethan Stanley (delisted), Matt Taberner (delisted), Conrad Williams (delisted).
WHO’S PLAYING FOR A CONTRACT?
Neil Erasmus. The 2021 top 10 pick is out of contract at the end of the season and has been unable to break into Fremantle’s midfield, playing 23 games in three seasons. He played just four last season, three of which were as sub. The 21-year-old could’ve easily found a new home in the trade period but decided to remain at the Dockers and fight for his spot. If there is a role for just one big bodied ball winner in Fremantle’s midfield, the question becomes when does that spot belong to Erasmus and not Nat Fyfe? Time is ticking for the 2024 Simpson medallist as best afield in Peel’s WAFL premiership to take the next step.
LAST YEAR IN CONTRACT
Aiden Riddle, Alex Pearce, Andrew Brayshaw, Jack Delean, James Aish, Jeremy Sharp, Karl Worner, Liam Reidy, Michael Walters, Nathan Fyfe, Neil Erasmus, Odin Jones, Oscar McDonald, Quinton Narkle
POSITION THAT NEEDS TO BE FILLED AND WHO CAN FILL IT?
With Shai Bolton set to enhance Fremantle’s class and finishing capabilities up forward, the Dockers need to turn their attention to half-back. One of the missing pieces of the puzzle for Fremantle is a classy user who can get the Dockers out of trouble and find a target by foot. Jordan Clark had a breakout season with his dash and dare but his primary role is to gain metres. Corey Wagner leapfrogged James Aish as Fremantle’s other flanker by the end of the season and brought energy and bounce but he lacks polish. He might not start the season in the seniors but don’t be surprised if first round draft pick Murphy Reid is given a crack at the role given he was described as the classiest player in the draft. It’s also understood the Dockers have floated the idea of playing veteran Michael Walters behind the ball to give Fremantle some poise.
BURNING QUESTION
Will the Dockers return to finals? Fremantle was being talked up as a potential premiership smoky last season when the Dockers were sitting pretty in the top four with a month of footy to play. But in what can only be described as an unmitigated disaster, Fremantle lost its last four home and away games to crash out of the top eight and spend another September on the sidelines. The addition of Shai Bolton this off-season means that the Dockers will be top four favourites next season but the burden of expectation hasn’t been kind to Fremantle since it last made finals in 2022.
Originally published as Fremantle season 2025 preview: Eliza Reilly breaks down where the Dockers sit
Vote: Which AFL club has the best crop of young guns?
How are your club’s under-23 players tracking? GLENN MCFARLANE looks at the young guns across the AFL, have your say on who’s future looks the brightest.
‘Bit crazy’: Bonkers AFL contract signed until 2033
It could be a momentous statement of faith or an incredible blunder, but Fremantle now have the longest contracted player in the AFL after a staggering move.