Eliza is seeing clearly.Ms Reilly might have run out of hooks for her stories as we countdown to the start of our season.
Fremantle Dockers are set to make history with three AFL Rising Star winners in the same team against St Kilda
The oldest team in VFL/AFL history won the flag last year. Can Freo‘s kids give them a run for their money in 2023? ELIZA REILLY provides analysis.
3 min read
March 19, 2023 - 9:00AM
Caleb Serong is one of a select three to create history for the Dockers on Sunday. Picture: Michael Klein
The stars have aligned for Fremantle.
And the hype surrounding its young list is universal.
On Sunday against St Kilda, Fremantle will become the first AFL team to field three Rising Star Award winners on the same side.
One – Caleb Serong – has been a Docker from the start. The star midfielder crashed his way onto the national stage in 2020 and, days after turning 22, was appointed vice-captain of a club bound for finals. His impact on the playing group and desire to drag the Dockers to the pinnacle has drawn admiration internally and externally.
The other two – Jaeger O‘Meara and Luke Jackson – found their way to Fremantle in the most recent trade period.
The Dockers set their sights on Jackson early in the season and didn’t waiver until he was in purple. It was a massive coup for a club that has a long history of miss-not-hit recruits.
Luke Jackson during one of the Dockers’ pre-season practice matches. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images
Fremantle saw with their own eyes just what the former Demon was capable of when he changed the course of the 2021 AFL grand final at Optus Stadium. Now, the so-called ‘unicorn’ will wield his mythical talents in tandem with Sean Darcy.
O’Meara’s journey back home to Western Australia has been slightly more treacherous.
Told he wasn’t necessarily a required player at a rebuilding Hawthorn, the 29 year-old was given little more than 48 hours to decide where he would end his career.
Greater Western Sydney made a compelling pitch but O’Meara eventually decided, through tears, that Fremantle’s probability of finals success was his preference. So, a decade after joining Gold Coast as an underage star, the Dongara product returned home.
Never has a side boasted three Ron Evans Medallists. Add to that, four of the top 10 picks from the 2019 AFL draft in Jackson, Serong, Hayden Young and Liam Henry will face up to the Saints.
Henry and Serong after a win at Perth’s Optus Stadium last year. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images
So, is Fremantle’s premiership list complete?
“It’s never finished, your list profile,” football boss Peter Bell told Channel 7. “We’re really comfortable with the character of the group that we have but it’s not finished. I don’t think it’s ever finished. We’ll certainly look at free agency, the trade and the draft.
“I think as a club we’re at a stage where with the environment we’ve created … there are players who are expressing interest, and sometimes that’s just it and sometimes they express interest for a whole variety of reasons.
“But expressing interest in particularly moving to Western Australia and playing for Fremantle? That wasn’t the case a while ago so things have changed a little bit.”
It’s worth noting that Fremantle has the third most inexperienced list in the AFL this season. On average, the squad has played just 55 games. The Dockers also boast the fourth youngest list with an average age of just 24.
Last year’s premiers, Geelong, were the oldest team in VFL/AFL history.
Hughes was not part of the picture last year for Fremantle. Picture: James Worsfold/AFL Photos/via Getty Images
Could Freo’s kids give them a run for their money in 2023?
There is ample reason to believe they can.
Ethan Hughes and Nathan Wilson were left behind last year. Last year, we would have said that Brandon Walker was clearly ahead of Wilson and, by design, that would guarantee the former a spot. But the veteran hasn’t put a foot wrong this pre-season and has forced his way back into the team.
Similarly, Hughes played just six games last year but he, too, has been rewarded for his hard work and flexibility.
Youngsters Josh Treacy (four games) and Henry (seven) also danced in and out of the line-up last year due to the squad’s collective fitness and form. But Hughes and Wilson have proven that there is no such thing as a depth player at Fremantle.
Experience and potential have finally collided at the Dockers to the point where it’s impossible to predict a decline.
Serong, O’Meara and Jackson may be the stars but they are now surrounded by an intricate solar system.
So refreshing.
Does her homework.
The signs are good.
Last years taster is a great foundation.
Let the excitement build from here.
YOKAI!
