Fremantle should have expectations to be playing deep into finals in 2023, says a leading Perth journalist.
The Dockers proved they could be in for sustained success last season, making the finals with a young list in 2022, but crashed out in the second week.
Now, Channel Seven’s Ryan Daniels says Justin Longmuir’s men should be among the final four in 2023.
With a number of positional changes and new recruits, Daniels – who has spent time watching the training track – is bullish on the Dockers.
“Fremantle, there’s a lot of buzz over here … these guys are ready,” he began on SEN Sportsday.
“They were so impressive last year, many didn’t expect them to be as good as they were, they sort of fell apart towards the end of the season because they’re such a young side.
“You’ve got Nat Fyfe training exclusively with the forwards, which is what people have been pushing for a while, they’ve got a really good strong young midfield, and Luke Jackson, don’t worry about Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson sharing the ruck, this kid is playing everywhere.”
The insight into the Darcy/Jackson combination is of particular note given the question marks that came with the former Demon’s recruitment.
Jackson showed talent in his time under Simon Goodwin but wasn’t at his damaging best as a forward and averaged just 0.5 goals a game.
With Sean Darcy locked in as Fremantle’s primary ruckman, it created a good problem to have for Longmuir when Jackson requested a trade last year.
According to Daniels, the 199cm Jackson won’t only play in the same team as Darcy, but could even feature in the same clearances.
“This kid is playing like a cannonball, you watch him at training and he’s roving half the time,” Daniels continued.
“If there’s a stoppage on the wing or at half-back or half-forward he’s around the ball with Darcy as well… what we will see if two of them running around that midfield and just throwing that weight around.
“Jackson moves like a midfielder. My expectation for him in the next couple of years is still as big as it ever was. I think he could be one of the best players in the AFL within 2-3 years, I really do.”
With Jackson’s predicted rise and plenty of old heads on young shoulders at Fremantle, expectations are to surge deeper into the competition again.
The Dockers rose from 11th to fifth in 2022.
“I think (a prelim final is the pass mark)… there’s a lot of talent there and they’re well coached and they’re well run, so I think a prelim is probably where they should be aiming,” Daniels explained.
“I don’t know if it will be a bitter disappointment if they don’t get it because I think there’s an awareness here that this is going to be a big window, but I think internally and externally the expectation is they should be playing in a prelim.”
Fremantle could be boosted by an easy start to the year in relation to last year’s performances, facing five sides to miss the top eight in the first five rounds in 2023.