Fremantle CEO Simon Garlick is welcoming the Dockers’ 2023 AFL fixture as a testament to their performance as a club this season, opting to view the schedule as a challenge rather than a burden.
The AFL have locked away the first 15 rounds of the 2023 season, with Fremantle’s 2022 ladder ascension granting them a fixture riddled with top-of-the table clashes including double dates with both Grand Finalists Geelong and Sydney.
The overall analysis has Fremantle navigating a fairly difficult fixture next year, but Garlick believes the draw is about right for a side that challenged in 2022.
“I think it’s pretty much as we expected it to be,” Garlick told SEN WA Mornings.
“There’s no doubt we’ve got some on-field challenges ahead of us but it is sort of what we expected and what you want.
“We all know how the system works in relation to the tiered top six, middle six and bottom six and how it is looked to equalise as best it possibly can.
“Given we finished in that top third, we knew there was going to be a more difficult draw than perhaps what we’ve had in recent years.
“That’s something that in reality we’re looking at it as a really exciting challenge as much as anything else.”
However, rather than dwelling on the undeniably intense matchups, the Freo chief remains confident his club is not fazed by what some may perceive as timetabling troubles.
“One thing we look to try and keep in perspective is whilst draws can appear incredibly hard or easy in December, sometimes they don’t appear that way,” he added.
“There’s no doubt you look at it and consider it in that sense, but I know Justin (Longmuir) and the playing group in particular aren’t overly concerned with it.
“For us to be playing some of the teams that have performed incredibly well in the recent years is a good sign for us and it’s something we want to embrace and really take on.”
Garlick is also convinced a return to finals in 2022 has been instrumental in helping set his club up for a strong 2023 season.
It was helped largely by the fact the Dockers had a fairly quiet medical room this year.
“I think we had a fantastic year from an availability perspective,” Garlick explained on SEN WA’s The Run Home.
“In 2020 and 2021 we weren’t in good shape, we were 15th of 16th on the ladder in games lost through injury.”
Over that 2020-2021 period, the Dockers’ list was withered with injury, with key players such as Alex Pearce, Nat Fyfe and Michael Walters sidelined for the majority of the season.
However, with injury numbers dwindling significantly in 2022, and a top-six finish, Garlick is optimistic for the upcoming season.
“Last year we had a really great uplift in that we only lost about 112 games through soft tissue injury, which had us sixth in the competition,” he said.
“We’re in pretty good shape at the moment, haven’t had many off-season operations.
“So if Santa can grant me and us as a club an injury-free Christmas break and a full list to come back in January, that’ll hold us in good stead,” he joked.
Last month, the Dockers welcomed Hugh Davies, Tom Emmett, Max Knobel and Corey Wagner via the National Draft, before adding Liam Reidy from the Rookie Draft.
These new additions, coupled with a fit, fresh-legged and full list going into the Christmas break, the Dockers are gearing up for an exciting 2023.