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Following Fremantle’s straight sets exit from the finals there has been talk on The Roar of the Dockers’ premiership window being slammed shut.
It has become a well known fact after their loss to Port Adelaide that Fremantle have the oldest list in the AFL and it has been very well publicised that Fremantle’s three key pillars Matthew Pavlich (32) Luke McPharlin (32) and Aaron Sandilands (31) are nearing the end of their illustrious careers.
Sandilands has renewed his contract for another year and has been in great form and could realistically continue for another two years.
However, should Sandilands retire the dockers have readymade replacements in Jon Griffin and Zac Clarke as well as younger project players Jack Hannath and Micheal Apeness that could fill the giant boots of the big man.
It is also worth noting that Fremantle missed Sandilands for the bulk of the 2012 and 2013 seasons and coped fine with the likes of Griffin, Clarke and Hannath performing admirably.
The bigger issues are that of Pavlich and McPharlin. Pavlich has renewed his contract for one more year with many people predicting that 2015 will be the Pav’s last ditch effort at tasting the ultimate success, should that not eventuate Fremantle will need to plan for life after Pavlich.
They’ve shown they can do it as Pavlicj missed half of last year and the Dockers performed very well with Chris Mayne, Hayden Ballantyne and Micheal Walters carrying the midget sized forward line.
However, to achieve the ultimate success Fremantle will need a big key forward to replace Pavlich and these guys don’t come around too often.
Matt Taberner and Micheal Apeness are both young guys that look like they have a bright future, but if Freo are going to be a contender for the next couple of years they need a readymade replacement.
There are a couple going around at the moment. Paddy Ryder would be a perfect fit at Fremanlte, he can play as both a key forward and as a Ruckman which could fill whichever need is more important.
If Ryder does choose to leave Essendon, Fremantle will need to package a good deal to get him. Offer them Zac Clarke and Matt De Boer as well as their first pick perhaps?
If Fremantle cannot lure Ryder then Sam Reid would be a great pickup, he is right now playing fourth fiddle to the likes of Tippett, Franklin and Goodes and may be tempted by a move west.
Jarrad Waite and Mitch Clark have also been mentioned as potential candidates at Fremantle but both come with issues that will make Fremantle avoid them.
Waite is 31 years old and really isn’t worth it because he won’t last as long, struggles with consistency and is injury-prone.
Clark has been suffering with depression and would be a huge risk.
It is stating the obvious but getting a good key forward should be top of the list at Fremantle.
It has been rumoured that Fremantle are chasing James Frawley as a replacement to Luke McPharlin but I think Fremantle can cover McPharlin without dipping into their pockets to get Frawley.
Alex Silvagni did a great job against Lance Franklin and is very underrated. Meanwhile Zac Dawson and Micheal Johnson have shown they can do the job. Garrick Ibbotson and Paul Duffield can also play tall if they need to.
Apart from the lack of a key forward I think Fremantle are very well placed to continue to be right up at the top of the table for years to come.
They have one of the best midfield’s in the competition and also have some fantastic small forwards, and on their list have two players Nat Fyfe and Michael Walters who are still only 23 years of age and both have alredy shown that they are right up there with the best in the competition.
It is also worth noting that Fremantle lost to the best team to ever finish outside the top four – Port Adelaide are a seriously good football side who are a very good chance of winning the premiership this year.
If Fremantle had of been playing North Melbourne, Essendon or Richmond in the second week of finals I believe they would still be fighting for the premiership right now.
Here is what a Fremantle would look like with no Pavlich, Sandilands or McPharlin; still a very strong line-up that could challenge for the flag.
B: Lee Spurr, Zac Dawson, Alex Silvagni
HB: Garrick Ibbotson, Micheal Johnson, Paul Duffield
C: Stephen Hill, Micheal Barlow, Danyle Pearce/Anthony Morabito
HF: Lachie Neale, Chris Mayne, Hayden Crozier
F: Micheal Walters, Full Forward (eg: Ryder, Reid), Hayden Ballantyne
Foll: Jon Griffin, Nat Fyfe (c), David Mundy (vc)
Int: Ryan Crowley, Cam Sutcliffe, Nick Suban, Matt Taberner
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