How does this team rebound back into the top eight?
The fact Justin Longmuir needs his side to improve despite losing depth and quality in the off-season is the biggest issue facing the under-fire coach, who may need to play in September just to keep his job.
Lachie Schultz and Liam Henry are both big losses in the forward pocket and wing respectively and are the first two places to look for replacements.
Matt Johnson could be the man to step up and play every game in 2024 after showing good signs in the midfield this season, having been drafted back in 2021.
Heath Chapman will also spend time on the wing from half-back, while Tom Emmett will hope to be the long-term successor for Schultz.
Emmett, a mature age recruit, took his chance late last year in playing the final two games and looks to be up against Sam Sturt for the final spot inside 50.
But outside of replacing the departed, Fremantle is unlikely to have any club debutants in Round 1, 2024. The Dockers didn’t recruit any new players in the trade period, while they also had no selections in the first 34 in the National Draft.
Longmuir’s backline was a strength in 2023 and that’s set to continue. The back seven is all but locked in to remain on, with Corey Wagner tipped to improve again next season.
The midfield oozes talent but two big questions linger. Firstly, what will Fremantle do with Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson? The latter is clearly a better forward than the former, but he might be a better ruckman as well. The combination took some time to gel last year and Jackson demonstrated All-Australian form as a ruckman when Darcy missed the last six games of the year. How do the Dockers maximise one asset while not losing out on the other?
The second prompt revolves around Nathan Fyfe. Anything could happen for the dual Brownlow Medallist in 2023, but now that the Dockers finally have some targets ahead of the footy, 2024 is the time for him to get back in the middle.
But can the 32-year-old get his body right? It might be a question that determines Fremantle’s fate in 2024.
Speaking of potential options forward of the ball, Jye Amiss proved as the season wore on that he will command the forward 50 for years to come.
He’ll have a combination of Darcy/Jackson to help him, as well as one of Josh Treacy or Matt Taberner. It’s unlikely both of those talls can play in the same team with the players already locked into Fremantle’s best side.
Jaeger O’Meara retains a spot on the bench but could secede that to talented youngster Neil Erasmus if he continues on his upward trajectory, but for now the 19-year-old can be pencilled in as the sub, having filled that role six times in 2023.
Hayden Young too will command a spot and is more than an apt replacement in the midfield alongside the stars of Andrew Brayshaw and Caleb Serong if Fyfe can’t fire.
SEE THEIR BEST 22 BELOW
FB: L. Ryan, A. Pearce, B. Walker
HB: J. Clark, B. Cox, H. Chapman
C: J. Aish, C. Serong, M. Johnson
HF: S. Switkowski, L. Jackson, M. Frederick
FF: M. Walters, J. Amiss, T. Emmett
Fol: S. Darcy, A. Brayshaw, N. Fyfe
INT: H. Young, C. Wagner, J. Treacy, J. O’Meara
EMG: N. Erasmus (sub), E. Hughes, M. Taberner, S. Sturt
Overall thoughts: Fremantle was set to move into the top four this year, but instead took a big step back. Coaches rarely survive two disappointing seasons in a row, but on paper, the team in 2024 will be a weaker one than the year prior.
The only thing in Fremantle’s favour is it’s a young team with multiple first round draftees, all with decent scope for improvement. At least a few of them need to take big strides forward to send the Dockers back into the top eight, meaning summer might be the most crucial season of the year for the club.
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