PART TEN: THE BEST OF THE BEST
After a long, hard look at every single list in the AFL, we have now arrived at the top of the tree. A place that this team has never been before. I know this team didn’t even feature in finals last season, but we know there’s always at least one team from outside the eight that makes a momentous jump, and everything I’ve seen from this list makes me fully believe in this club as I never have before.
List Analysis Part Ten: The Premiers.
FREMANTLE:
2025 Best 23:
B: Luke Ryan, Alex Pearce, Josh Draper
HB: Jordan Clark, Brennan Cox, Heath Chapman
C: Nathan O’Driscoll, Hayden Young, Jeremy Sharp
HF: Nat Fyfe, Josh Treacy, Shai Bolton
F: Sam Switkowski, Jye Amiss, Luke Jackson
RK: Sean Darcy, Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong
INT: Sam Sturt, Jaeger O’Meara, Brandon Walker, Michael Frederick, James Aish (sub)
ANALYSIS:
The Fremantle you last saw in 2024 wasn’t anywhere near what this team is capable of. I know it’s a common thing that the Dockers are football perennial underachievers, and we shouldn’t be surprised they crashed out spectacularly, but this time just feels different. And after analysing their list, when everyone across the competition is fit and healthy, and all teams are at their best, I feel comfortable in declaring that Fremantle’s best, is THE best.
But before anyone climbs onto their soapboxes and questions my opinion, let’s look at everything the Dockers have at their disposal. In every sense of the word, they’re stacked. They’re loaded, and they’re all young enough that the core group will be around for a long time, yet. I know it’s only my opinion, which carries less than no weight, and I don’t want to get Fremantle supporters’ hopes up if it doesn’t happen for them, but I can see something historic happening at the end of the season.
It’s very clear that to have success in this league, you need two strong key defenders. Some teams get away with just one, but more often than not, a brilliant defensive one-two punch is the most essential starting point when building a team.
Yet whenever anyone debates the best key defensive duo, the tandem of Alex Pearce and Brennan Cox barely rates a mention. And look, I can certainly understand why; both players have an injury list as long as the Gascoyne River. But when both are on the park consistently, and I use that word semi-flippantly, a deadlier key defensive tandem you will struggle to find.
Captain Pearce is the full-back tasked with curbing the opposition’s best key forward, and he rarely loses a one-on-one battle, whereas Cox is the contested marking centre-half back that can also take down the second tall forward if an opposition possesses such strength. This tactic is especially helpful for Josh Draper, who can use his height and agility to roam free in the backline and cut across the pack to take an intercept mark and rebound out of defence. Veteran journeyman Oscar McDonald provides good depth if/when this backline suffers an injury, and Hugh Davies and Ollie Murphy are long-term project players.
If Fremantle’s tall defenders don’t send shivers down the spine, their rebounding brigade sure will. Jordan Clark took his game to new heights in 2024, posting career-high numbers in disposals, marks, pressure acts and intercept marks, and he regularly used his speed to rebound from defence and set up Fremantle forward thrusts. More of this please, it’s exhilarating to watch.
Then there’s the underrated duo Brandon Walker and Heath Chapman. Both men found their niche and cemented spots in an already deadly backline (Walker played 19 games; Chapman had 16 after an early season hamstring injury). Walker is often tasked with curbing the opposition’s best small forward, but he is also capable of winning his own ball, and Chapman possesses deceptive height, can play both tall and small, and will be looking to further increase his output in disposals and marks, after posting career-best numbers in both categories last season.
James Aish will provide excellent leadership but may find it difficult to force his way back into a now star-studded backline. Aish played 20 games in 2024, but was relegated to the sub role late in the season, and it does feel that his younger teammates have started to go past him. Both Corey Wagner and Karl Worner have also shown glimpses, and like Aish, will give the Dockers adequate depth whenever required.
Those names listed provide a solid foundation for a strong defensive unit, but perhaps the best, and most important figure in the Dockers’ backline is also the most versatile. Because at 187cm, and (at last measurement) 92kg, Luke Ryan possesses all the physical tools to be one of the most useful defenders in the league. He can play on the resting ruckman and is equally as good at curtailing the influence of even the most elusive small forward. Ryan can do all of this, while also averaging 24 disposals, nine marks, and over 500 metres gained in yet another season in which the durable veteran played every match. Having just turned 29, Ryan is still in his career peak, and if/when one of Pearce or Cox sustains an injury, the Dockers have the luxury of plugging the hole with Ryan, without losing any of his attacking attributes.
Don’t ask Kane Cornes, but Fremantle has undoubtedly the best ruck division in the AFL. They spent big money to form this partnership, and while it hasn’t quite paid off as much as the Dockers would like, it’s only a matter of time before it gels. Then, look out!
And the reason I think it can work so well is that Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson are two completely different styles of ruckman. While Darcy is the immovable oak tree that throws his weight around, Jackson is the athletic, mobile runner. It’s this juxtaposition that makes it very difficult for opposition coaches to fully prepare for the barrage. You could have a game plan to stop one, but then the other just utilises their other strength, and that’s all she wrote.
Both have proven to be handy when resting in the forward line, providing another string to Fremantle’s now potent front half (and we’ll get to that later), but the biggest concern is staying on the park, as Darcy just can’t seem to get his body right, and is always carrying a soft-tissue injury or two (he will miss the first few weeks of the season thanks to his troublesome ankle). Jackson has shown that he can thrive as the stand-alone big man, Liam Reidy has got some experience under his belt (although that Indigenous All-Stars match didn’t do him any favours), and young Aiden Riddle is the longer-term prospect waiting in the wings.
When talking about the superstar youth in Fremantle’s squad, it’s the midfield where this truly comes to fruition. Because the Dockers have at least three, and possibly even more, game-changing midfielders that would be any other club’s brightest diamond. And even as I’m writing this, I can’t decide which of the trio to start with, as all can mount a case for being Fremantle’s best midfielder.
We’ll begin with the most tenured, Andrew Brayshaw, who looks set to sign a contract extension with the Dockers. Brayshaw has averaged 29 disposals across his last four seasons, and the beauty is that he has tucked 146 games of experience under his belt at just 25 years of age. This is a player that could have over 200 games left in him, and all he needs to do is maintain the superstar level that he has already proven, and he could become Fremantle’s greatest-ever player.
But don’t sleep on Caleb Serong. I know no one actually will, but take everything I said about Brayshaw and apply it to Serong, who has now fully broken out to become one of the game’s elite midfielders. If 2023 was his breakout season, 2024 was the coming out party, tallying career-best numbers in disposals, tackles, and goals, which led to a podium finish in the Brownlow medal count. The sky is the limit for this dynamic duo.
But wait, there’s more! After cutting his teeth as a smooth-moving half-back, Hayden Young made the full-time move into this incredible midfield, and he never looked back, posting career high numbers in disposals, contested possessions, tackles, clearances and inside 50s, as well as being able to go forward and contribute on the scoreboard with 13 goals, after kicking just two in his previous four seasons.
Each of the trio possesses their own skills that differentiate from each other, with 189cm Young bringing his exquisite ball skills, 185cm Brayshaw the contested strength, and 180cm Serong the smooth-moving run. Young did suffer a recurring hamstring injury that rules him out for Round 1, and potentially longer, but as you’ll see, the Dockers have more than enough midfield stocks to cover his absence.
And the midfield stocks behind the terrific trio have enough upside to provide the perfect support. Jeremy Sharp and Nathan O’Driscoll are the two incumbent wingmen and will contribute plenty of dash and precise ball movement for the next decade-plus. Matthew Johnson has the size and strength of the modern midfielder and will continue to develop after a career-best 2024, Will Brodie is the contested ball winning piece that has dropped away since his arrival, but he can still provide moments of brilliance, Murphy Reid showed in the pre-season that he is AFL ready and a strong bet for the Rising Star award, Neil Erasmus can be relied on to gather the hard ball, although his disposal lets him down and Jaeger O’Meara is the veteran presence every midfield needs
I’ve just named a 10-man midfield group that can be one of the best in the competition if it isn’t already, and I haven’t even got to a dual Brownlow medallist. But such is the strength of this group that I’m not even sure we can call Nat Fyfe a midfielder anymore, he’s now known as a full-time half-forward. After several injury-interrupted seasons, the return of Fyfe was a luxury for the Dockers, who employed the former skipper in a variety of roles. Sure, his numbers were below his lofty averages, but he doesn’t need to be that anymore. He doesn’t even need to play every game. As a burst player, Fyfe still provides the Dockers with everything they need.
When Matthew Pavlich retired at the end of 2016, the Dockers searched high and low for his successor for the next five years. It’s fair to say, no one worked. Matt Taberner, Rory Lobb, Cam McCarthy, Jesse Hogan. They all failed.
But in 2021, Fremantle finally found the two forwards that will take them into their next phase of success. They grabbed Jye Amiss at pick 8 in the national draft, and with pick 7 in the rookie draft, brought in Josh Treacy. In the seven seasons before Amiss and Treacy took control, no Fremantle forward could manage over 40 goals (Michael Walters got to 40 goals in 2019), and in the last two years, Amiss kicked 41 in 2023, before Treacy managed 45 in 2024.
21-year-old Amiss is the more traditional stay-at-home full forward, while 22-year-old Treacy is the more bullocking centre-half forward, but both have shown the potential to each contribute 60-plus goals. Depth is not too much of an issue given what we’ve already spoken about in Fremantle’s ruck division, but if the Dockers do decide they want to continue using two proper key forwards, Patrick Voss has shown some potential, and rookies Odin Jones and Charlie Nicholls are still new to the system and will take time to develop.
In the absence of a proper tall forward line, Fremantle has had to rely on a small forward brigade to get the job done, and this has done wonders for these players’ development. But until the recruitment of Shai Bolton, the Dockers’ small forwards were criminally underrated, both collectively and individually.
For instance, Michael Walters looks on his last legs at 34 years old, but he can still produce moments of brilliance. Bailey Banfield is the player first omitted, yet he is one of the most reliable players in the competition for simply playing his role week in and week out. Sam Switkowski is another who can always be counted on to play his defensive small-forward role, and his pressure often assists his teammates in hitting the scoreboard. Sam Sturt forced his way into the line-up mid-year and took his opportunity with both hands, kicking 21 goals from his 13 matches, and cementing his spot as the third marking forward. Michael Frederick should be getting more of the ball, but he has still contributed just over a goal a game over the last three seasons. Quinton Narkle comes in with AFL experience, and Cooper Simpson, Jaren Carr, Jack Delean and very recently SSP-signed Isaiah Dudley will all keep developing in the WAFL.
But it’s the recruitment of Shai Bolton that should vault the Dockers into premiership contention. Sure, it’s a lot of pressure to put on one player’s shoulders, but remember that at his best, Bolton is one of the most damaging small forward/midfielders in the competition. Bolton had checked out of Richmond midway through last season, yet he still managed to lead their goal-kicking for the season, and in the three seasons before 2024, he averaged 1.5 goals a game and just under 20 disposals. If he can bring anywhere close to this best to the Dockers forward half, Fremantle has yet another superstar on its books.
At Round 20 last season, Fremantle were sitting pretty. At 12 wins, six losses, and a draw, everything was ticking along nicely for the Dockers to make a big run in the finals. But a late-season catastrophe saw them lose all four games in the run home and flame out spectacularly.
That won’t happen again. Whereas injuries killed any chance the Dockers had last year, this group is now a year older, has yet more superstar talent on its books, and most importantly, knows the pain of flaming out.
Fremantle fans, I understand why you are a little wary of getting too invested. But remember, Richmond were no good until they suddenly were. Melbourne took a while, before exploding with success. Believe in miracles, because with the team you’ve assembled, anything is possible.
MATT OMAN’S PROJECTED 2025 LADDER
1 – Fremantle
2 – Greater Western Sydney
3 – Brisbane
4 – Geelong
5 – Sydney
6 – Carlton
7 – Hawthorn
8 – Melbourne
9 – Adelaide
10 – Port Adelaide
11 – Gold Coast
12 – Collingwood
13 – Western Bulldogs
14 – North Melbourne
15 – Essendon
16 – West Coast
17 – St Kilda
18 – Richmond
