Christmas came early for Fremantle fans like myself this year, with the club announcing Pat Voss has extended his stay with the Dockers until 2030 on Wednesday afternoon.
It’s an extension we’ve been eagerly awaiting, leaving Sam Switkowski (and to a lesser extent Corey Wagner) as the club’s only best-23 players without a contract at the conclusion of next season.
Voss burst onto the scene this year gaining fame as a cult figure. The brutish behaviour of the “Prancing Pony” struck a chord with the national media mastheads, and caught the eye of fans outside of Freo circles, which is no easy feat for a Dockers player.
But by the end of the season, Voss showed his potential to be much more than a flash-in-the-pan cult hero. He went from “this bloke’s a fun watch” to staking his claim as one of the competition’s most promising young key forwards.
We latched onto the storyline of him being cut by the Bombers after winning their VFL best and fairest award (because who doesn’t love a good redemption arc?), and he, himself, leaned into the “nobody believes in me” theory.
He used his brute strength to bully opposition defenders, he antagonised opposing crowds, and most importantly, he kicked goals.
Combine him with fellow tall forwards Josh Treacy and Jye Amiss, and it became evident Fremantle had stumbled into one of the best young forward combinations in the league.
So, with all of this in mind, you get a clear picture of why I was so excited to read he would be a Docker for the next five seasons.
But this is just a snapshot, so let’s dive a little deeper.
Here are all the reasons this was a very important signature for the Dockers, and why I am excited to watch his growth next year.
- We don’t talk enough about Voss’ production
It’s the most important job of any key forward: Kicking goals. And that’s exactly what Voss did last season, but I’m not sure people realise just the high a clip he kicked them at once he had established himself in the team.
When you read that Voss kicked 34 goals for the year (and a further three in an elimination final loss to the Suns), it doesn’t sound mind-blowing. Impressive, sure, but not exactly among the elite.
But when you recall he was basically a non-factor for Justin Longmuir in the early part of the season, all of a sudden his tally becomes a lot more respectable.
Voss only featured in four of Fremantle’s first nine games, where he was called up to help fill the role of the injured Luke Jackson as a rotating forward/ruck.
He only kicked three goals in those four games, and was sent back to Peel Thunder when Jackson returned in Round 7.
He wasn’t recalled until Round 10, and that’s when his season really took off. The hulking forward kicked 31 goals in the next 13 games, highlighted by a six-goal effort in a thrilling away win over the Pies, where he made All-Australian defender and Collingwood skipper Darcy Moore look second rate.
His final seven games of the year saw him tally 21 goals, with three or more majors in six of them.
It’s fair to argue (but not assume) that given a full season in the role he worked his way into, Voss may have booted close to 50 goals at the young age of 22.
That would have him hovering around the likes of Sam Darcy, Mitch Georgiades, and Logan Morris.
Booting 50 goals at a young age is always a big deal, and Voss showed he’s capable of that.
- We love a good Mongrel here
Anyone who gains fame for being a bit of a pest and throwing their weight around is naturally going to become a polarising figure, and Voss was no exception.
He had a clear directive from his coaching staff to be an antagoniser, and he fulfilled the role well enough to garner the ire of opposition fans.
His “shooshing” of the Port Adelaide crowd during a tight game had Freo fans feeling nervous for him, but he backed it up with a crucial goal that helped his team secure an important victory.
His “look at me” celebrations, the flexing of the big pectorals, and his immediate desire to be involved in any fracas made him a target – but boy do we love him for it.
Every team needs a player that’s ready to stir the pot. The kind of player you hate if he’s not on your team, but love if he is.
Voss is exactly that, and it’s something Fremantle were specifically in need of.
Outside of Hayden Ballantyne, I can’t remember too many Dockers who enjoyed playing the villain and were able to back it up. Especially big hulking key forwards. Even the great Matthew Pavlich wasn’t necessarily known as a bullocking bruiser.
Voss, and his mate Josh Treacy, are the antithesis of this archetype. They play the game with a ferocity and violence that lets them live rent free in their defender’s head.
When the ball is nearby, full backs know they’re in physical peril. It causes panic, chaos, and opens up opportunities for Fremantle’s smaller forwards like Shai Bolton and Murphy Reid to reap the rewards at ground level.
Reports out of pre-season are that Voss and Treacy have been competing in the gym, and doing everything they can to instill their mindset as intimidators. I love this, and hope we see plenty of it in 2026.
- Tall forwards don’t grow on trees
No one knows this more than Fremantle fans, who have been searching for answers to replace the aforementioned Pavlich for almost 10 years now.
Talls who can truly influence a game are a rare commodity, and when you have them, you don’t let them go.
Fremantle now have a plethora of them either on ball or up forward when you consider Voss, Treacy, Jackson, Amiss, and Sean Darcy in the ruck.
While Caleb Serong is their best and most proven player, and Andrew Brayshaw and Hayden Young are not far behind, it’s these bigger blokes that will ultimately determine how far this talented list can go. If they can tear games apart, their on-ballers and runners will come along for the ride.
Also – I’m not a fan who gives too many shits about contracts or the salary cap (I think it’s the most pointless place to spend energy as someone who has literally no inside knowledge or much understanding of how it works), but I suspect Voss is on a very club-friendly contract.
He came over as a pre-season sign-on, and has said himself he is desperate to repay Freo for throwing him a lifeline, so I assume his number might be a bit below the average for a young forward who can produce what he is capable of.
- He’s a winner
Fremantle’s season turned itself around almost exactly when Pat Voss found a regular spot in the side. From Round 10 onwards, Voss played in 16 games. 12 of them were wins.
Now let me be clear, I’m obviously not suggesting he was solely responsible for resurrecting the Dockers’ finals aspirations, there are plenty of factors that went into that.
But it’s hard to deny that both his energy and production made a massive difference to a team that was floundering at a 4-5 record when he received the call-up.
Players who impact winning like this aren’t to be sneezed at. By helping his fellow forwards walk a little taller, Voss played a crucial role in sparking a run of 11 wins from 12 games.
- A healthier Freo midfield means great things for Voss
Fair enough, this is a tenuous link to Pat Voss, but it’s my column and I wanted a nice round five reasons so you’ll just have to get over it.
Voss played a total of five measly games with Hayden Young last season, and the smooth-moving midfielder was either subbed out, or started as the sub, in three of them (thank god that rule is dead, right?).
So really, the theory is simple: Putting Fremantle’s best attacking kick inside 50m back into the team means good things for key forwards.
Young is the type of player that hits you lace out from 50m away. He makes life easier on forwards who either lead or can take a contested grab, because you know the ball is coming in at your advantage.
Voss’ chest is arguably the biggest target Young has ever had to kick to, and frankly I can’t wait to see the two of them linking up more often and slicing through opposition defences.
So there you have it, my way-too-long love letter to Pat Voss has come to an end. It’s never been more evident that the pre-season brings out the most obscure content, and I may have stretched this out because I miss writing about footy, but hopefully you miss reading about it too and this helps fill the void a little.
I’ll leave you with my favourite piece of Brian Taylor commentary from the season: Look at the brutish behaviour of Voss! He’s turned around the corner, and he’s gone nuts!
