Fremantle outlook: What does 2021 hold for the Dockers?
Jesse Hogan’s time at Fremantle didn’t go to plan but the Dockers are looking forward with an exciting batch of youngsters.
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It’s been a long haul since the 2013 Grand Final, but things are finally beginning to look up for Fremantle.
The Dockers will be looking to build on a promising first season under new coach Justin Longmuir in 2021.
Rebecca Williams combs their 2021 outlook and floats a different role for superstar Nat Fyfe.
INS: Heath Chapman (pick No.14), Nathan O’Driscoll (pick No.27), Brandon Walker (pick No.50), Joel Western (pick No.54), Josh Treacy (rookie draft), Bailey Banfield (rookie draft)
OUTS: Isaiah Butters (not retained), Jason Carter (not retained), Hugh Dixon (not retained), Jesse Hogan (trade), Brandon Matera (delisted), Cameron McCarthy (delisted), Thomas North (not retained), Dillon O’Reilly (not retained), Jarvis Pina (not retained)
COACH STATUS
In the first year at the helm as senior coach at the Dockers, former Collingwood assistant Justin Longmuir steered the Dockers to seven wins in a shortened season for a 12th-place finish. It was the Dockers’ highest finish since they finished third under Ross Lyon in 2015. Longmuir has been praised for the game style he has instilled and the development of the club’s youngsters. Brisbane great Jonathan Brown argued in September Longmuir was the coach of the year outside of the top eight.
GAME PLAN
Expect the Dockers to fine tune a game plan implemented this year where defence and containing opposition was top of the agenda. This didn’t come as a surprise as Longmuir was Collingwood’s backline coach in 2018-2019. The Dockers’ defensive mindset was reinforced with No.1 Champion Data rankings for opposition points from defensive half chains and opposition scores per inside 50 (percentage). The Dockers’ transition, territory and offensive connection remain an issue. Fremantle was the third-worst scoring team, was ranked 17th in the league for scores per inside 50 and 15th for points from turnovers.
Fremantle fans should be excited about the club’s on-field direction. The Dockers were rock solid defensively, all the while losing the third-most games to injury from their best-22 and rolling out the third youngest and fourth least experienced team each week. The next step is to add the layer of offence heading into 2021.
TRADE TABLE REPORT
The Dockers had wanted to off-load forward Jesse Hogan and succeeded, sending him to Greater Western Sydney in return for a third-round pick (54). It was Fremantle’s only major play during the trade period, but a priority. Hogan’s move to the Dockers hadn’t panned out as expected after the Dockers lured the West Australian home from Melbourne at the end of 2018, effectively for picks 6 and 23 at the time. A number of off-field issues and injuries meant the Hogan experience was a bust. That was their only play in the trade period, but they followed that up with delisting Brandon Matera and Cameron McCarthy to make way for more youth.
THEIR 2020 DRAFT HAUL
Fremantle continues to invest in the future. And its list grows more exciting by the year. The Dockers had four selections in the national draft and stuck with local talent for every pick. The Dockers took defender Heath Chapman with their first selection at No.14 overall from West Perth, while Perth’s Nathan O’Driscoll (No.27) is a good inside-mid prospect. East Fremantle defender Brandon Walker (pick No.50) and Claremont small forward Joel Western (pick No.54) were both members of Fremantle’s next generation academy.
PLAYERS THEY CAN REINVENT
He’s already a dual Brownlow medallist as one of the league’s top midfielders but Nat Fyfe could be redefined as a permanent forward for the Dockers late in his career. He is the size of an old-fashioned centre-half forward and knows where the goals are, booting 10 this year. As Dockers coach Justin Longmuir commented this year: “He (Fyfe) wants to play forward. We want him to play forward … the thing about Nathan when he goes forward is that he draws a good defender. He makes that defender play on him which helps all the other forwards around him and he gives a really strong contest like he does in the midfield.”
Rory Lobb is another Longmuir project. He often plays his best football as a mobile ruckman, but Lobb needs to hold down a deep forward marking position for the Dockers to kick winning scores. He is capable, but let’s see if he can deliver.
READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP
The Dockers have some exciting youth. Sam Sturt has speed and booted three goals on debut before a syndesmosis injury hampered his season. Forward Brennan Cox is set to continue his development. Longmuir is also looking towards a young midfield of Caleb Serong, Darcy Tucker, Andrew Brayshaw and Adam Cerra to become consistent, potentially match winning, stars that can control the stoppages whenever Fyfe is forward. The underrated Matt Taberner emerged as one of the pre-eminent key forwards and will be pushing for the All-Australian centre half-forward position this year.
THE BEST 22 IN POSITION
B: Reece Conca, Joel Hamling, Griffin Logue
HB: Luke Ryan, Alex Pearce, Nathan Wilson
C: Adam Cerra, Nat Fyfe, Blake Acres
HF: Michael Walters, Matt Taberner, Liam Henry
F: Lachie Schulz, Rory Lobb, Sam Sturt
R: Sean Darcy, Caleb Serong, Andrew Brayshaw
Int: David Mundy, Darcy Tucker, Hayden Young, James Aish.
CHAMPION DATA SAYS
Good: Defence was rock solid across 2020. The Dockers ranked in the top-four sides for points conceded from stoppages, opposition scores per inside 50 and points against.
Bad: Fremantle averaged just 50.9 points per game – ranked 16th and below the AFL average of 60.6. They also ranked in the bottom-four sides for points scored from both stoppages, turnovers and scores per inside 50.
FINISH THE LAST FIVE YEARS: 2016: 16th (four wins), 2017: 14th (eight wins), 2018: 14th (eight wins), 2019: 13th (nine wins), 2020: 12th (seven wins)
TAB PREMIERSHIP ODDS: $51, Top 4: $7, Top 8: $4
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