'Flagmantle' at last? Here's why 2023 will be the year of the Docker

The Fremantle Dockers are in a great position to achieve the ultimate AFL success in season 2023. 

In a year where no less than nine clubs can consider themselves a chance at glory, a considerable portion of the AFL community have deemed the Dockers as a team likely to slide, fighting for a finals spot in a difficult-to-predict top eight.

Perhaps we’re too far removed from 2022 to remember specifics. Maybe too much is placed on shaky pre-season moments.

Fremantle was half a game off finishing in the top four last season and conceded the second-fewest points.

This is a team that conceded more than 85 points on just one occasion despite losing the inside 50 count in 13 of their 24 games.

The 2022 version of the Dockers was built to absorb and it resulted in clearly, the most efficient defensive display across the season, conceding a goal with just 19.4 per cent of opposition entries, better than Melbourne (20.49%), Sydney (21.61%), Geelong (21.83%) and Collingwood (22.24%).

Of course, we cannot spend too much time dwelling on the past, but perhaps it addresses the elephant in the room; the reason why there are many who believe the likes of Richmond, Carlton and Brisbane are guaranteed to leapfrog Fremantle, while existing contenders remain where they are.

Eleven teams scored more points in the 2022 home-and-away season than the Dockers, a team that ranked first for disposals, yet eleventh for inside 50s. Couple that with the loss of leading goalkicker Rory Lobb and on paper, Fremantle is an easy target.

Though despite the offensive issues, this is a team that lost just seven times and was able to develop players and give them experience whilst doing so.

In fact, the Dockers are in a far better space as an overall playing group than they were at the end of 2022, despite a couple of rough patches in practice games that have seemingly overshadowed a strong list. Blake Acres, Griffin Logue, Rory Lobb, Darcy Tucker and Lloyd Meek left the club, yet Fremantle had no issues in allowing them to leave. It checks out too.

Rory Lobb has left the Dockers. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Lobb’s a good player, a relieving ruckman with excellent height that worked well on a wing as a bailout option and as a forward with far too much reach for his opponents. Part of the failure in Fremantle’s offensive play in 2022 was the desire to be more mobile, yet Lobb’s natural game tends to attract packs around him, such is his stature as a target.

Logue will be a very good addition to North Melbourne in a secure, guaranteed role, but as a swingman, his impact was more of a “vibe” than anything lasting.

Individually he was excellent when in defence, yet in the four games he defended more than two one-on-ones, as good as he was, the Dockers lost three times. His approach reverted to ultra-defensive, whereas his strengths really lie as a secondary defender who can intercept and counter-attack, as will be shown this season.

However, with the way the Dockers want to play in 2023, maybe only Acres’ two-way running and defensive commitment on the wing will be a real loss, one that might’ve been underappreciated by the hierarchy at the club.

That’s because this Fremantle team will be successful by combining its existing defensive prowess with the personnel that suits the offensive style of play Justin Longmuir is desperate to implement.

We know the elite half-forwards that exist at the Dockers. Sam Switkowski and Lachie Schultz combined for 41 goals and 132 tackles in 37 games last season and are the best set of flankers in the league, with their ability to work high up the ground.

Michael Frederick can’t be forgotten about in that area either.

Now, Longmuir can maximise the space created by having such a great set of hard-working players up front.

With a forward mix consisting of Matt Taberner, Luke Jackson, Nat Fyfe and either Josh Treacy or Jye Amiss, the Dockers have strong marking players who are excellent lead-up types with a fitness base to work up and down the ground tirelessly.

These are all above average contested marking players, but Fremantle also wants to create pockets of space inside the 50 to drop the ball into, while creating chaos with crossing leading patterns. They want their complementary forwards to push high up the field and beat their opponents back towards goal.

Matthew Taberner (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Media/Getty Images)

By pushing James Aish and Jaeger O’Meara into the centre square, there’s a clear directive from the coaching staff to solidify the two-way running of the midfield with extra players who can hit low-cutting passes.

If some like to use preseason matches to rule teams out of contention, then we can look at the first quarter of the Adelaide practice game to see just how effective this new forward line could be.

Upon winning the clearance, the half-forward flankers pushed up onto a wing and the half-backs pushed forward to create a half-field press. We saw Nat Fyfe leading into the 50-60 metre range centrally, while Treacy led onto a flank. It created space for Taberner to control his leads inside the 30 and get no less than three scoring opportunities in the first 15 minutes. Luke Jackson’s aerial ability was shown on the goal line, but his efforts at ground level also stood out as a versatile key option.

There is simplicity in Fremantle’s desired approach, but it has the potential to be extremely effective and far more damaging than when Lobb was in the attack, due to the versatility that comes from rotating different options through the forward line.

Geelong won a premiership in 2022 with an abundance of forward and back flankers who could rotate through the midfield and on the wing, while holding their own at either end of the ground. It’s the exact same strategy Fremantle has been working on under our noses.

Also, consider the fact that in a successful season with a finals win included, Fremantle gave regular, meaningful game time to the likes of Nathan O’Driscoll, Heath Chapman, Jordan Clark, Hayden Young and Brandon Walker, while the likes of Neil Erasmus, Matt Johnson, Sam Sturt and Karl Worner are smashing the door down.

Don’t sleep on Josh Corbett or Tom Emmett either as a couple of unassuming medium forward types who fit in perfectly and will deliver when the opportunity arises.

Put simply, the Dockers are a serious contender, despite what negatives are pulled from meaningless preseason games, or the warning signs earmarked by some in the media.

Nat Fyfe (Photo by Carson/AFL Media/Getty Images)

We know exactly what to expect from the defence, which is arguably the best in the league.

The midfield group has been strengthened considerably while coverage on the wings from the likes of O’Driscoll, Henry, Hughes and a bevy of hard-working flankers is more than enough.

Offensively, the players available to the club now more than ever fit the mould and have the ability to execute plans far better than we saw in 2022.

Moreover, the camaraderie and clear togetherness of the playing group with confidence instilled by coach Longmuir went a long way to a successful season previously and will hold this group in good stead going forward.

There’s a massive opportunity for the Dockers to start well this year, giving them confidence to deal with two difficult blocks in the fixture – between Rounds 9 and 13, they play Sydney, Geelong, Melbourne and Richmond and between Rounds 16 and 21, it’s the Bulldogs, Carlton, Collingwood, Sydney, Geelong and Brisbane.

This is a team that can get on a roll and with no obvious weaknesses, a coach with excellent tactical nous and a fair share of belief, there’s no telling what can happen this year.

Prepare for the purple haze to descend over the competition, the Fremantle Dockers will be there at the pointy end of September.