Prediction 2026 Expectations

[go_the_dockers]

Let me know your thoughts on your expectations for the season.



My thoughts are a bit lofty, but I think for us to walk away happy we need to make a prelim.

Failed Season and sack JL: Do not win a final (not counting play in final)
Failed Season but JL hangs on: Finish 5 to 8. Win the first final (not counting the play in ), but don't make a prelim. This is basically what we did last year, with multiple injuries to key players.
Pass mark: Make a prelim.
Successful season: Make a grand final.

 

[King Huskii]

I expect Freo to be top 4. Make a preliminary final. Anything less is imo a failure.

I don't expect a grand final appearance but we should be around the mark.

This top 10 this year is just marketing rubbish by the afl

 

[Taylor]

My hopes and expectations are vastly different.

My hope is for a top four finish, or a top six where the number of wins was enough to finish as high as 2nd but our percentage was just shy of enough for the top four because the other sides beat up on the bottom four an extra game to us. I want us to make a prelim, I'd love for it to be at home.

My expectation is that we will lose games in the early to mid season against sides that finish in the bottom six which cost us a top four spot, while on the journey we will beat sides we aren't expected to based off that form and it will feel like we had an evening out - but really we should be smashing sides worse than us.

Fremantle will play all of the Dogs, WC, Adelaide, Melbourne, Carlton and Geelong twice. We should want to extract at least nine wins from those games, that's both games against WC, Carlton and Melbourne with the home games against Adelaide, Geelong and Dogs a win.
Then we need five more wins to make finals from out remaining eleven games including;
Essendon (A), Port (A), North (Bunbury), Richmond (H)
Then we only need to win those games plus one of;
Brisbane (A), Pies (A), Giants (A), Suns (H), Hawks (H), Swans (H), St Kilda (H)

Assuming that is going to happen we will get to start tracking our ledger from round one, Geelong (A), not listed as a win. If we can win that we go +1. Our next away game is another potential +1 against Adelaide.

Then we play Collingwood away, but it's in Adelaide. If we win this we have the one extra win needed on top of those penciled in for finals, we go +3.

Our third of the double up splits against the Dogs is 3 weeks later, a chance to go +4.

Then it's all about making sure we win the return double ups after the bye in R15 (Geelong), R21 (Dogs), R23 (Adelaide) all at home so we don't slip back from that +4.

The games against Brisbane, Giants, Suns, Hawks, Swans and St Kilda won't matter then. The good result is great, a loss there doesn't rule out top four.

But as I said earlier, I expect we will drop games against bottom sides and have to win some against the likes of Brisbane at the Gabba to make up for it.

 

[Sully90]

Let me know your thoughts on your expectations for the season.



My thoughts are a bit lofty, but I think for us to walk away happy we need to make a prelim.

Failed Season and sack JL: Do not win a final (not counting play in final)
Failed Season but JL hangs on: Finish 5 to 8. Win the first final (not counting the play in), but don't make a prelim. This is basically what we did last year, with multiple injuries to key players.
Pass mark: Make a prelim.
Successful season: Make a grand final.

This is basically my thoughts as well. Looking at the rest of the competition, it should be impossible for us to finish below 8th.

 

[Stevooo3940]

If we win a final, playing the same old kick down the line rubbish with the odd run down the corridor that ends in a walk-in snag because we took it on, it'll be clear that all we did was rely on a better run with injuries and the growth of our younger players. There are no more excuses anymore. These boys look like men. Train like men. Compete like men. If we play a boys game plan but get by on talent alone for a finals win and then drop out, JL is done.
Im not a JL hater, but this list could be anything and im convinced that with the right coach, teams would fear us on any ground in the country (and even in China, if Port chooses to try that again ). If Chris Scott

Chris Scott

Age

49

Ht

182cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.6

4star

K

11.2

4star

HB

5.4

4star

M

5.1

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

0.4

3star

No current season stats available

D

13.2

4star

K

10.2

4star

HB

3.0

3star

M

2.2

3star

T

2.8

5star

G

0.4

3star

had our list, we would be premiership favourites.

 

[Catalpa]

Win every game in WA, including a preliminary final!!

 

[ImperialPurple]

I don’t know if this is exactly ‘expectation’, but given this ****ing ridiculous ‘wildcard’ round, if we don’t finish 6th or higher I’ll be supremely pissed off.

 

[Alfonz]

As per others, I consider making a prelim to be a pass mark, and thus that is my expectation. Anything less I would consider a failure. From a prelim, anything is possible.

However, there might be another 8 or 9 sides who feel the same way. So plenty are going to fail and I hope that doesn't include us.

 

[BREATHLESS_987]

I just basically want to avoid how we started last year, playing catch up from round 2. We won something like 12 out of 15 games just to secure a spot in the 8, and it certainly felt like we spent most of our tickets beating the doggies. Such that by the time the real build should have begun, we were cooked.

A lot of the broader season previews have questioned where our improvement is coming from given our quiet off season. The reality is we don't need any deus ex machina intervention, we just need to bring our best, consistently from the first bounce throw up, and we should finish high enough to launch a real attack at the flag.

(and we need to win a final)

 

[Spirit Level]

Top 4

 

[Cam Payne]

Prelim or it's a bust and times up for the current coaching staff.

 

[go_the_dockers]

I just basically want to avoid how we started last year, playing catch up from round 2. We won something like 12 out of 15 games just to secure a spot in the 8, and it certainly felt like we spent most of our tickets beating the doggies. Such that by the time the real build should have begun, we were cooked.

A lot of the broader season previews have questioned where our improvement is coming from given our quiet off season. The reality is we don't need any deus ex machina intervention, we just need to bring our best, consistently from the first bounce throw up, and we should finish high enough to launch a real attack at the flag.

(and we need to win a final)

That is a good start. Geelong and Bulldogs are the only two games that we are unlikely to win. I think most of the others except Adelaide we would start favourites which I think is 50/50.

Geelong (A)
Melb
Rich
Adelaide (A)
Collingwood (Neutral)
Eagles (A)
Carlton
Buldogs (A)
Hawks
Essendon (A)

 

[Purple Suit]

I just basically want to avoid how we started last year, playing catch up from round 2. We won something like 12 out of 15 games just to secure a spot in the 8, and it certainly felt like we spent most of our tickets beating the doggies. Such that by the time the real build should have begun, we were cooked.

A lot of the broader season previews have questioned where our improvement is coming from given our quiet off season. The reality is we don't need any deus ex machina intervention, we just need to bring our best, consistently from the first bounce throw up, and we should finish high enough to launch a real attack at the flag.

(and we need to win a final)

Yep,
Although it was really catch up in round 3 as dropping the Swans game was a huge miss. I still expect us to lose against Geelong considering they are coming off an AFL game and we are coming off 5 months of preseason. The AFL just can't seem to not help out Big Vic / Northern teams when given the opportunity.

 

[Ge3ks]

I expect to be dissapointed.

I hope that I am not.

(It’s a coping mechanism born out of 30 years of Dockers fandom)

 

[freo84]

I expect us to release the handbrake and play a quicker damaging brand of footy. No more of this conservative down the line bullshit. We have the firepower up forward capable of kicking high scores and its time to use that.

Top 4 is my minimum now. 16 wins last year so there's a great base to work off of. No excuses about age or inexperience. We're firmly in the window and they should be bloody sour about how it ended.

I think this list is red hot to win a flag.

 

[Jezzitizle]

I’ve long defended JL, but I am definitely expecting prelim minimum, and as good a chance as any for a flag.

 

[mattis117]

I don't care too much for a close loss round 1, but we should be hitting our straps after that.

Most important is percentage. We let ourselves down greatly with that last season.

A bit more luck with the weather and more maturity amongst this group and we can achieve anything. The first 5 games were all in scorching heat last season, just a bit unlucky. Scheduling looks much friendlier this season.

Hit middle of the year at 9 and 3 and it will be go time.

 

[Purpletown]

Rather than have expectations I prefer to have hopes. I hope we play to our strengths, stay fit and available, have some new players force their way into the side and have the courage to play with a bit of flair when required.

If all those things happen we should be very competitive. Go Freo.

 

[Sir Deadly]

Prelim and a much less stressful time getting there with fewer come from behind wins. Not expecting many blowouts but a couple would be nice, give us all a break from the constant heart attacks.

I do want to see a healthier percentage more aligned with the top teams this year though, I think that would be highly indicative of how we’ve progressed.

 

[Andy Brennan]

Between 5th and 8th. Winning a final would be my pass mark.

After 2023, 2024 and losing to gc in 2025 I don't trust us.

 

[Piggy Smalls]

Pass mark - prelim
JL safety mark - semi final

 

[Quay Club]

Prelim and a much less stressful time getting there with fewer come from behind wins. Not expecting many blowouts but a couple would be nice, give us all a break from the constant heart attacks.

I do want to see a healthier percentage more aligned with the top teams this year though, I think that would be highly indicative of how we’ve progressed.

I am sick of missing out on percentage against the weaker teams, we need to be ruthless and bury them when we are on top.

 

[pK75]

17 wins and a prelim.

 

[Andy Brennan]

If we win a final, playing the same old kick down the line rubbish with the odd run down the corridor that ends in a walk-in snag because we took it on, it'll be clear that all we did was rely on a better run with injuries and the growth of our younger players. There are no more excuses anymore. These boys look like men. Train like men. Compete like men. If we play a boys game plan but get by on talent alone for a finals win and then drop out, JL is done.
Im not a JL hater, but this list could be anything and im convinced that with the right coach, teams would fear us on any ground in the country (and even in China, if Port chooses to try that again ). If Chris Scott had our list, we would be premiership favourites.

I highly doubt we'd sack JL if we won a final

 

[Docker82]

I highly doubt we'd sack JL if we won a final

Highly doubt we'd sack JL if we made finals*.

I put the * there as well haven't seen what teams do to coaches that lose in wildcard round yet.