Inside Fremantle’s strategic plan: Would a premiership in 2025 salvage missed targets?
Fremantle is set to fall short of some of the major targets set out in its strategic plan. But as ELIZA REILLY writes, a maiden AFL premiership might paint over the cracks.
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Hindsight will always be the ultimate judge of strategic plans.
Achieve the ambitious goals you set out and you are a visionary. Miss and you’re in strife.
Fremantle is destined to fall short of several key on- and off-field targets that were outlined in the club’s five-year strategic plan, which was unveiled in late 2021.
But the Dockers can still salvage their pursuit of success by ticking the most ambitious box – a maiden AFL an AFLW flag by the end of the year.
The pressure on Fremantle has steadily increased after missing finals in the last two seasons. Coach Justin Longmuir will transition to a full-time employee of the club at the end of the year, the Dockers desperate to detach him from the outside noise associated with coaches in their ‘contract year.’
Now, possessing one of the most talented lists in the competition, the expectation is that Fremantle’s time is now.
“I’m done talking, it’s time for action,” were president Chris Sutherland’s parting words at the club’s season launch last month.
But the Dockers aren’t shying away from the fact that it’s a make-or-break year.
How the AFL industry will view Fremantle’s season is intrinsically linked to whether the club can fulfil the most aspirational promise on its strategic plan.
Pressure or privilege?
“It’s definitely a privilege,” Fremantle football boss Joe Brierty told this masthead.
“The opportunity to win the first premiership for Fremantle and be a part of that is something everyone believes would be an amazing legacy to have.
“I’m lucky enough to have been involved in the development of the club’s strategic plan in my previous role as Chief Operating Officer and I think from a football standpoint, our members, fans, playing group and football department go into this season with a strong desire to win the club’s first premiership.
“That’s what we’re striving for. From a football perspective, it’s the way we go about it and the process we follow.
“We think we’ve got a really talented football department and playing list. For us, it’s about our consistency across four quarters across the entire season. It’s something we’re definitely striving for and to have that carrot this year is something the group is driven by.”
Maiden premierships are the sexiest benchmarks on Fremantle’s five-page strategic plan. But it’s not the only thing the Dockers set out to achieve.
Fremantle also wanted to achieve:
● At least three top-four finishes in AFL and AFLW
● 80,000 members
● 50,000 average attendance at Optus Stadium and 6,000 at Fremantle Oval
● Net profit every year from 2021-2025
● $5 million cash reserves
● Top three for sponsorship and advertising revenue in the AFL and 80 per cent sponsorship retention rate
As it stands the Dockers have failed to deliver three top-four finishes across both programs.
Fremantle’s membership tally currently sits at just less than 53,000 heading into Round 1 and the club has never had more than 62,237 paid-up supporters.
Dockers fans are passionate though. Fremantle’s average home crowd of 46,580 was akin to 75 per cent of the club’s membership tally. It’s the highest proportionate figure in the AFL but it still falls short of the 50,000 target.
Comparatively AFLW games at Fremantle Oval in 2024 had an average attendance of 2678, a season where the Dockers reached a semi-final.
Financially, the Dockers posted a statutory profit of $1.85 million, which includes $1.18 million in development grants. The club’s operating profit was $0.68 million, the fourth consecutive year Fremantle ended the year in the green.
Sutherland told fans in the club’s financial report the Dockers are “proud to be a financially healthy and independent club,” finishing the 2024 financial year with over $5 million in net cash reserves, ticking that box.
In December last year, Fremantle and Woodside Energy agreed to a two-year sponsorship extension, a partnership that has spanned 15 years despite pushback from some members regarding climate responsibility.
The Dockers’ other major sponsor is Bankwest, a four-year deal announced back in October 2022.
The club lists 23 sponsors on its website, including other big corporate partners DP World (premier) and Pirate Life (platinum).
Put simply, the club is in a strong position off-field. But more than anything, fans want on-field success.
When the plan was released at Fremantle’s members AGM in November 2021, Fremantle chief executive Simon Garlick conceded there was risk and ridicule attached to making the club’s bold targets public. At the time, the Dockers had missed finals six years in a row.
“We’d much prefer to set ourselves ambitious goals and do everything we possibly can to achieve them and put ourselves on the hook to do so, rather than quietly keep your head down and not attract too much attention,” he said at the time. “We think that’s a far better element, we’re going to go as hard as we possibly can to tick these off one by one and I’m sure there will be some that prove more challenging than others, but we’ll deal with those challenges as we go.”
Richmond is the gold standard when it comes to strategic plans. Unveiled by former chief executive Brendon Gale in early 2010, the aim was that within five years Richmond would make the finals three times, have zero debt, and reach 75,000 members. The vision was also that Richmond would be the top Victorian club and win three more premierships by the end of 2020.
There’s plenty of other examples.
In 2014, the Saints said they wanted a second premiership by 2020 and would have 10,000 members out of New Zealand by 2018. Hawthorn wants to win seven premierships by 2050. Carlton’s 2011 ‘Blue Print’ set out to win two flags in five years.
Four years on at Fremantle and with an AFL and AFLW season to come, Brierty remains an advocate for long-term ambition.
“It was a coming together of the key leaders in the organisation,” he said. “JL was fairly new to his role as senior coach as well as Simon Garlick as CEO and Dale Alcock in his capacity as president.
“It’s something that sets the North Star as an organisation to have a clear plan over a sustained period of time from an infrastructure perspective for our fans and football department.
“There’s always certain aspects you’re not going to hit when you set out a strategic plan but having said that, there’s a number of things that continue to set us up for the next generation.
“The financial strength of the club, what we’ve been able to do from a list build perspective over that period of time, getting consistent games into a cohort of players, we can see now the excitement that not only 2025 holds but the direction we’re taking.
“It’s a really important plan that’s set a platform for some exciting years to come.”
Along with the top-line goals, other measurable benchmarks include:
● 150,000 community participation
● 100 per cent regional membership growth including a ‘Drop Anchor’ campaign to grow the club’s brand
● Employee engagement survey score of 85 per cent
● Succession planning for key leadership positions
The Dockers celebrated their 30th anniversary last season but have yet to win any silverware since its founding in 1995.
Fremantle put themselves on the hook to deliver the ultimate by 2025. Even if the Dockers can’t salute this year, the current list is primed for a sustained premiership assault.
It’s why the club is committed to reviewing and renewing its strategic plan even if Fremantle fall short of its 2025 targets.
“It’s something that’s being worked through with the board and executive,” Brierty said. “It continues to evolve.
“We definitely don’t step away from the strategy we’re implementing in 2025 and change that completely going into 2026.
“Whether it’s a three-year plan or another five-year plan, I think it will evolve from the work we’ve done.
“There are areas we’ll look to focus on and prioritise that will enable us to contend for a consistent period of time.”
Originally published as Inside Fremantle’s strategic plan: Would a premiership in 2025 salvage missed targets?
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