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The biggest shock this season and probably one of the most talked about stories so far has to be the Fremantle Dockers’ fall from grace.
It’s startling to see last year’s minor premiers drop all the way to a 0 and 9 season and while their season is all but over, the next season is never too far away.
At this point in time Fremantle are looking to the future, they’ve stated this and we’ve been aware of it for some time now.
So I’m taking a look at their coaching staff, team list and recruitment to discuss what in my opinion needs to be done for there to be success in their future.
Coaching
One of the biggest talking points so far has been Ross Lyon’s contract. The fact that the coach of a winless team has a five-year contract could be seen as a point of major concern, but it does give a team a rare bit of stability.
If Fremantle where to terminate Lyon’s contract early the pay out would be way too much, and though there has been talk that he’s not the right person to coach through a rebuild, Ross Lyon has been one of the better coaches of the modern era and is a tactical genius. Which brings me to my major thought on coaching – Ross Lyon needs support.
We all know how good Ross can be defensively, perhaps with a replacement of forward line coach (and obviously a forward line overhaul, but we’ll get to that later) Fremantle could become a high-scoring team. With a healthy midfield, the forwards would get plenty of service.
Another area of focus needs to be development, with eight players over the age of thirty Fremantle are the oldest club in the AFL this season and need to have a focus on their youth going forward. The instant success model of Lyon has fallen over and it’s time to start planning for the future – the development of their rookies will be a key component.
Players
Fremantle have been massacred by injuries this year, I know this, but that doesn’t mean that the there is no room for improvement.
Lachie Neale, Nat Fyfe and Michael Walters are all bona fide superstars. Walters is explosive and has a great goal sense meaning he could easily be a two goal a game player while having a hand in many more, Neale is a contested beast who use racks up possessions and distributes well, and Fyfe, well, Fyfe is just Fyfe.
These players coupled with veterans such as Aaron Sandilands, Michael Johnson, and David Mundy means Freo’s core is strong but there depth is the issue. The drop-off from the best to their worst is dramatic, for example, Zac ‘Spud’ Dawson who somehow still manages to get a game in the starting 18.
The dead weight needs to be dropped – Dawson, Tendai Mzungu and as painfull as it might be Anthony Morabito are at this stage more of a drain on the payroll.
One of Fremantle’s biggest focuses needs to be the development of their young brigade, the more time the youngsters can spend on the field with the likes of Matthew Pavlich, Sandilands, Mundy and next year Fyfe, the better for their progression.
Players such as Matt Taberner and Alex Pearce among other youngsters have plenty of potential, and need to be treated as a precious commodity.
Recruitment
The most talked about possibility at this point has been Jesse Hogan and though he doesn’t come out of contract until the end of 2017, to be able to snap him up would be huge for the Dockers.
While Hogan should definitely be a future focus for them, they can’t bank on that happening, and with Pavlich likely to retire at the end of this season Freo are going to be pretty devoid of key position players let alone key forwards.
Targeting a player such as Ty Vickery who comes out of contract at the end of this season could be a good fill, considering they need a target up forwards and with Sandilands as unlucky as he is in the injury department, he could add some depth to the ruck division.
It might sound weird to have Vickery as a key prospect but he has the right components and potential to fill some big gaps in the Dockers list. Who knows, coming to the west might be just what Vickery needs to reach his full potnential.
They could also target players like Alipate Carlisle, Lachlan Hansen or Jackson Trengove, if they could lure any of them away they could again add some much needed depth in key positions.
As far as the draft coming up, it has been touted as more of a midfield draft and being low on key position players. At the rate they are going Fremantle will end up with a top three pick and at this point their best pick would be Sam Petrevski-Seton, A classy and dynamic player who could play small forward or midfield and would be an instant starter for them next season.
Their next pick, if still available could be Josh Rotham. Rotham has the ability to play forward or back and has strength and a great running ability.
Fremantle are bad this year, but don’t be surprised to see them shot back up the ladder sooner rather than later.
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