AS THE dust settles on the season that was, the review process begins in earnest - and that includes from our AFL.com.au experts, too.
We look at what worked, what didn't, season highlights, and what your club needs to do ahead of next season.
Check it out.
Where they finished
Fifth (eight wins, three losses, 136.0 per cent)
What worked
Head coach Lisa Webb drew everything she could out of the list at her disposal this year. Without Kiara Bowers or Ange Stannett for the season, and Áine Tighe after week four, the performance of off-season recruits Aisling McCarthy, Gabby Newton and Ash Brazill, combined with inactive replacement pair Tunisha Kikoak and Gabby Biedenweg-Webster, helped the Dockers to a return to finals. Meanwhile, the ominous form of ruck Mim Strom set up the midfield consistently across the season. As a result, the side averaged more inside 50 entries than ever before, and its highest score since 2022 (S6). Much of this was reliant on midfielders pressing forward to hit the scoreboard, exemplified by McCarthy finishing the season as the club's leading goalkicker.
What didn't work
Once Tighe went down with injury, establishing a major target inside 50 proved to be a challenge. Kikoak's shift from defence to attack certainly worked, and Biedenweg-Webster and Ebony Antonio also offered an aerial presence, but there was a sense that a significant gap had been created. Meanwhile, defensively the side did get caught out conceding goals from opposition midfielders. So, although Fremantle did generate goals from its own midfield, it also leaked goals from the same source. This was particularly evident in its last-gasp loss in week seven against Carlton, where Keeley Sherar did the bulk of the damage against the Dockers, including the late match-winning goal.
Season highlight
The performance of Strom through the ruck was no doubt the highlight of Fremantle's 2024 season. Named All-Australian for the first time – in a very tough position this year – she had arguably the best ruck season ever seen in the League. With an average of 36.9 hitouts, 16.5 disposals and 6.2 tackles, Strom was hyper-consistent in setting up her midfield from the air, while also offering her own neat ball use on the ground. It was because of Strom that new faces McCarthy and Newton found their feet so quickly through that midfield group, and why the line was able to establish itself in the absence of Bowers and Stannett.
Targets in the player movement period/draft
Key-position support at both ends of the ground is likely a priority for the Dockers throughout the player movement/signing period. Even with the likely return of Tighe next season, and Kikoak's strength in attack, another long-term, marking key forward would be ideal, particularly given Tighe's age of 32. And at the other end of the ground, a similar prospect would be on the Dockers' list of targets. Most of the club's key defenders stand between 170cm and 175cm, and regularly give up height against opposition forwards. Fremantle has been linked to Sydney key forward Bella Smith, but seem interested in plucking some development key position players out of the draft.
