Fremantle Dockers: 2019 fixtures, preview, list changes, every player and odds

Mick Stirling

Fremantle Dockers: 2019 fixtures, preview, list changes, every player and odds image

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)


 

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.

#Nat Fyfe

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.

Andrew Brayshaw

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.

#Aaron Sandilands

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    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)    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  28 Apr 1999  174cm 84kg Midfield
4 Darcy, Sean  15  12 Jun 1998  201cm 111kg Ruck
17 Dixon, Hugh  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  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  22 Apr 1998  203cm 105kg Ruck
16 Mundy, David  294  20 Jul 1985  192cm 91kg Midfield
24 North, Tom  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   189cm 74kg Forward
39 Switkowski, Sam  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    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


 


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

Bradley Hill

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.

#Ross Lyon

Mick Stirling