It would be hard to find a more stagnant year in football than Fremantle’s 2018, finishing with the same win/loss ratio and poor percentage as the previous year and leaving little after the final round that would give fans a glimmer of hope for the future.
And not all the disasters were inside the arena. Ross Lyon was caught up in a messy sexual harassment scandal that dragged on, Harley Bennell spent his season in the front pages of the paper rather than the sports section, and the year ended with the less-than-happy forced retirements of Michael Johnson and Danyle Pearce.
However, the Dockers have played the post-season a damn sight better than they did the season-proper, possibly motivated by arch-enemy West Coast’s unexpected flag win.
If Lyon can get everyone’s heads back into the game things may turn around quickly, and the annus horribilis of 2017 can be consigned to the dusty top shelf of history.
List changes
In
Travis Colyer (Essendon), Reece Conca (Richmond), Jesse Hogan (Melbourne), Rory Lobb (GWS Giants), Sam Sturt (Dandenong Stingrays), Luke Valente (Norwood), Lachlan Schultz (Williamstown), Brett Bewley (Wiliamstown)
Jesse hitting the reduced-weight treadmill 🏃♂️ #foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/CeQ9VPSNnH
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) November 26, 2018
Rookies
Ethan Hughes (Fremantle), Tobe Watson (Swan Districts), Ryan Nyhuis (Fremantle)
Out
Lachie Neale, Brady Grey, Lachie Neale, Tommy Sheridan, Luke Strnadica, Cam Sutcliffe, Michael Apeness, Michael Johnson, Danyle Pearce, Lee Spurr
Best Brownlow chances
Nat Fyfe $8, Michael Walters $151
2015 winner Nat Fyfe declared at the beginning of last season he intended reclaiming his mantle as the best player in the game, then came out on fire and was Brownlow leader after seven rounds. Missing seven games saw his season stall, but there’s no doubt the Dockers skipper has still got what it takes to again be crowned the league’s best.
Players to watch
Jesse Hogan, Andrew Brayshaw
The Dockers have been crying out for a key forward and finally got the man they’ve been chasing for years when Jesse Hogan chose to head home. Having Rory Lobb next to him, and relieving Cam McCarthy of the pressure of being the number-one forward, should see Freo’s attack take on a much more foreboding look in 2019, but if Hogan doesn’t fire then the whole set up could stall. The 23-year-old has failed to kick 50 goals in a year despite playing 20+ games in three of his four seasons, and was passed by former backman Tom McDonald as Melbourne’s number-one target in attack in 2018. Add some lingering injury concerns and there’s no certainty Hogan will be the answer to all Fremantle’s scoring concerns.
Taken at number two in the 2017 draft, Andrew Brayshaw’s debut season finished up being remembered for the Andrew Gaff hit that ended it early rather than for the excellent football he played. Brayshaw averaged 16 disposals and 4.4 tackles a game, showing a level of class and tenacity that will make him invaluable to the Dockers’ midfield, and the most likely candidate to move into the big hole left by Lachie Neale’s departure.
A last chance to watch?
Aaron Sandilands, Harley Bennell
There’s been few players in the history of the game with a physical presence the equal of Aaron Sandilands’, but the purple behemoth can’t go on forever and, managing just 27 games through the last three seasons, 2019 will almost certainly be the last time we see ‘Sandi’ casting his shadow across a football field. He may be the biggest man to ever grace the game, but Sandilands’ legacy is greater than his size, as two best and fairest awards and four All Australian blazers will testify to.
Where Sandilands has made the most of every opportunity since being drafted as a rookie in 2002, Harley Bennell has done the opposite. The second overall choice in 2010, Bennell had the AFL at his flashy feet from the beginning but has blown his chances, first at Gold Coast and now seemingly beyond repair at Fremantle. The fact Peter Bell recently tried to trade Bennell to anyone willing to take him – with no interest shown – would suggest Harley’s lives have been used up.
Fremantle Dockers’ 2019 list
| Number | Name | Games | Date of birth | Height, weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballantyne, Hayden | 168 | 16 Jul 1987 | 173cm 79kg | Forward |
| 41 | Banfield, Bailey (R) | 20 | 26 Feb 1998 | 188cm 88kg | Midfield |
| 13 | Bennell, Harley | 83 | 2 Oct 1992 | 185cm 85kg | Forward |
| 34 | Bewley, Brett | 0 | 186cm 85kg | Midfield | |
| 19 | Blakely, Connor | 46 | 2 Mar 1996 | 188cm 90kg | Midfield |
| 8 | Brayshaw, Andrew | 17 | 8 Nov 1999 | 184cm 84kg | Midfield |
| 35 | Carter, Jason (R) | 0 | 185cm 76kg | Midfield | |
| 5 | Cerra, Adam | 21 | 7 Oct 1999 | 186cm 81kg | Midfield |
| 33 | Colyer, Travis | 87 | 24 Aug 1991 | 175cm 79kg | Midfield |
| 6 | Conca, Reece | 104 | 12 Aug 1992 | 181cm 83kg | Defender |
| 36 | Cox, Brennan | 26 | 13 Aug 1998 | 193cm 96kg | Forward |
| 12 | Crowden, Mitchell | 9 | 28 Apr 1999 | 174cm 84kg | Midfield |
| 4 | Darcy, Sean | 15 | 12 Jun 1998 | 201cm 111kg | Ruck |
| 17 | Dixon, Hugh | 0 | 26 Oct 1999 | 194cm 95kg | Forward |
| 44 | Duman, Taylin (R) | 10 | 18 Apr 1998 | 192cm 79kg | Defender |
| 7 | Fyfe, Nathan | 153 | 18 Sep 1991 | 190cm 92kg | Midfield |
| 42 | Giro, Stefan (R) | 10 | 10 Mar 1999 | 175cm 71kg | Midfield |
| 21 | Hamling, Joel | 63 | 9 Apr 1993 | 194cm 90kg | Defender |
| 9 | Hill, Bradley | 127 | 9 Jul 1993 | 181cm 78kg | Midfield |
| 32 | Hill, Stephen | 203 | 1 May 1990 | 183cm 81kg | Midfield |
| 11 | Hogan, Jesse | 71 | 12 Feb 1995 | 195cm 100kg | Forward |
| 15 | Hughes, Ethan (R) | 29 | 7 Dec 1994 | 187cm 88kg | Defender |
| 40 | Jones, Scott | 5 | 20 May 1995 | 203cm 115kg | Ruck |
| 22 | Kersten, Shane | 66 | 15 Mar 1993 | 191cm 90kg | Forward |
| 26 | Langdon, Ed | 46 | 1 Feb 1996 | 182cm 78kg | Midfield |
| 37 | Lobb, Rory | 74 | 9 Feb 1993 | 207cm 104kg | Forward |
| 2 | Logue, Griffin | 13 | 13 Apr 1998 | 193cm 95kg | Defender |
| 3 | Matera, Brandon | 119 | 11 Mar 1992 | 173cm 74kg | Forward |
| 23 | McCarthy, Cameron | 57 | 1 Apr 1995 | 192cm 92kg | Forward |
| 30 | Meek, Lloyd | 0 | 22 Apr 1998 | 203cm 105kg | Ruck |
| 16 | Mundy, David | 294 | 20 Jul 1985 | 192cm 91kg | Midfield |
| 24 | North, Tom | 0 | 14 Feb 1999 | 184cm 84kg | Midfield |
| 43 | Nyhuis, Ryan (R) | 12 | 6 Sep 1996 | 188cm 88kg | Defender |
| 25 | Pearce, Alex | 42 | 9 Jun 1995 | 200cm 98kg | Defender |
| 38 | Ryan, Luke | 31 | 6 Feb 1996 | 186cm 88kg | Defender |
| 31 | Sandilands, Aaron | 265 | 6 Dec 1982 | 211cm 118kg | Ruck |
| 28 | Schultz, Lachlan | 0 | |||
| 27 | Sturt, Sam | 0 | 189cm 74kg | Forward | |
| 39 | Switkowski, Sam | 2 | 20 Nov 1996 | 178cm 70kg | Forward |
| 20 | Taberner, Matthew | 62 | 17 Jun 1993 | 199cm 97kg | Forward |
| 18 | Tucker, Darcy | 48 | 23 Jan 1997 | 183cm 83kg | Midfield |
| 29 | Valente, Luke | 0 | 187cm 82kg | Midfield | |
| 10 | Walters, Michael | 129 | 7 Jan 1991 | 177cm 75kg | Forward |
| 45 | Watson, Tobe (R) | 0 | |||
| 14 | Wilson, Nathan | 98 | 7 Jan 1993 | 185cm 82kg | Defender |
#nkotb #foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/7fEH0sFP1y
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) December 3, 2018
Fremantle Dockers’ 2019 Fixture
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunday 24 Mar 3:20pm | North Melbourne | Optus Stadium |
| 2 | Sunday 31 Mar 3:40pm | Gold Coast | Metricon Stadium |
| 3 | Sunday 7 Apr 3:20pm | St Kilda | Optus Stadium |
| 4 | Saturday 13 Apr 6:10pm | West Coast | Optus Stadium |
| 5 | Saturday 20 Apr 1:45pm | GWS Giants | Canberra Oval |
| 6 | Saturday 27 Apr 6:10pm | Western Bulldogs | Optus Stadium |
| 7 | Sunday 5 May 4:10pm | Adelaide | Adelaide Oval |
| 8 | Sunday 12 May 3:20pm | Richmond | Optus Stadium |
| 9 | Saturday 18 May 7:25pm | Essendon | Marvel Stadium |
| 10 | Sunday 26 May 3:20pm | Brisbane | Optus Stadium |
| 11 | Saturday 1 Jun 1:45pm | Collingwood | MCG |
| 12 | BYE | ||
| 13 | Saturday 15 Jun 2:35pm | Port Adelaide | Optus Stadium |
| 14 | Saturday 22 Jun 1:45pm | Melbourne | MCG |
| 15 | Sunday 30 Jun 3:20pm | Carlton | Optus Stadium |
| 16 | Saturday 6 Jul 6:10pm | West Coast | Optus Stadium |
| 17 | Saturday 13 Jul 2:10pm | Hawthorn | UTAS Stadium |
| 18 | Saturday 20 Jul 6:10pm | Sydney | Optus Stadium |
| 19 | Sunday 28 Jul 1:10pm | Western Bulldogs | Marvel Stadium |
| 20 | Saturday 3 Aug 2:35pm | Geelong | Optus Stadium |
| 21 | Sunday 11 Aug 1:10pm | St Kilda | Marvel Stadium |
| 22 | Saturday 17 Aug 6:10pm | Essendon | Optus Stadium |
| 23 | TBC | Port Adelaide | Adelaide Oval |
Games played on
Friday: 0
Saturday: 13
Sunday: 9
Teams played twice
St Kilda, Port Adelaide, Western Bulldogs, West Coast, Essendon
2019 Preview and premiership odds
They may not be the expected ‘bolter’ of 2019, but the Dockers’ premiership odds of $51 are similar to those of Collingwood, Richmond and the Western Bulldogs at this stage of the past three seasons, providing a glimmer of hope for fans.
An inability to score that has seen them in the bottom three in the points-for column since 2015’s minor premiership has been addressed and the positive energy has been pumped back into the club.
Freo turned gun midfielder Lachie Neale’s demands for a trade into a massive positive, filling the previously woeful forward line with enough talent and potential to suggest things could turn around on-field sooner rather than later.
Of course, troubles came on both sides of the fence in 2018 and Ross Lyon will need to sort out more than the name plates on his magnetic board if the Dockers are to get back to the dizzy heights of just three years ago, but the signs are good and there’s plenty of reasons to be positive for those in purple as they head into the new year.
