AFLW 2019 preview: Fremantle Dockers

In the short history of the AFLW, there are few hard luck stories as hard and unlucky as that of the Fremantle Dockers.

Western Australian women’s football was the most advanced in the nation, and everyone expected a WA team to be a powerhouse.

But then many of the big stars left for interstate, and now the junior pipeline currently looks sluggish compared to the talent-producing powerhouses of Victoria and Queensland.

And when that junior pipeline finally produces a new young star in McKenzie Dowrick, she goes and nominates for the Queensland draft so she can be with her childhood bestie Arianna Clarke.

All of which raises the question of whether the Dockers’ situation is entirely bad luck, or whether it includes a large dose of bad management as well.

On the one hand, there is legitimate bad luck — their first year marquee pick Kiara Bowers still hasn’t played a game due to injury, last year’s star acquisition Kellie Gibson missed most of the season with injury, and thin midfield stocks weren’t helped by Kirby Bently’s knee injury, to name a few instances.

On the other hand, the endless exodus of Western Australian players can’t all be bad luck, though that probably has more to do with dissatisfaction in the WAWFL than with the Dockers.

Either way, Western Australia is currently struggling to support one AFLW club, let alone two, and if the bleeding isn’t stopped soon, the next few years could be grim for Dockers and Eagles fans alike.

Having said all of that, the prospects for a dramatic turnaround in fortune under a new coach aren’t entirely far-fetched.

The Dockers are filled with fast, athletic players, as a glance across their midfield shows — Kara Donellan is a typical mid-sized midfield star, and Dana Hooker, Stephanie Cain and Haley Miller are all tall and quick.

Evie Gooch and Ebony Antonio are lightning coming out of the halfback line, new draftee Sabreena Duffy will give them some more hard running in the middle, and Kellie Gibson was one of Adelaide’s fastest and best when she was there.

(Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images)

The players above are a physically impressive bunch, and though the Dockers haven’t won many games, teams have had to play hard against them.

Where it’s been falling apart for Fremantle is in their disposal and general skill level. Their 2018 stats make intriguing reading — the Dockers actually led the league in average clearances per game, and also in average bounces taken per game. This fast midfield likes to run and win the ball, and is good at it.

On the other hand, the Dockers were last in disposal efficiency, and last by a mile in contested marks (two per game, while even the ‘never kick to a contest’ Bulldogs averaged 4.6).

So while they like to run, they can’t hit targets, and lack key position players to take big grabs… and probably couldn’t hit those key position players even if they had them.

So the Dockers will need an emphasis on basic skills this year if they’re to climb out of the cellar. Perhaps last year’s Bulldogs could be a template — a fast, athletic team that chose to short-kick whereever possible instead of running and gunning and getting into trouble they lacked the skills to effectively bail out of.

I won’t pretend to know if the Dockers’ new crop of mature age WAWFL players could provide the required extra skill, but Fremantle’s record there is patchy — what they need is great kids from the draft, and there just aren’t enough of them being produced at present.

Of those that have been produced, one in particular — star junior forward Kate Bartlett — has given up on the Dockers after being overlooked last year, and been snapped up by the Bulldogs instead.

If she turns out to be a good player at the kennel, the pressure will swing back on Fremantle’s coaching staff to explain themselves.

Speaking of which, young forward Emily McGuire has been delisted despite promising signs last season, and veteran forward Amy Lavell has retired.

Ashley Sharp is apparently still there (despite being missing from the Fremantle website) and Kellie Gibson can kick goals, but aside from them, the Dockers seem notably short of forwards.

The coaching staff have bet that some of those WAWFL recruits will make better forwards than McGuire. We’ll see if they’re right.

Prediction: 10th.