From the President

from Docker Annual 2022

From the AFLW Captain

DALE ALCOCK

After such an exciting AFL season, any result that wasn’t a Grand Final win was going to be hard to take.

The comeback victory against the Western Bulldogs in the elimination final was a landmark moment for our Club and this group, but the loss to Collingwood showed us the work that needs to be done to get to the next level.

Thanks to the quirks of fixturing, we enjoyed three seasons in 2022, including two with finals appearances.

Despite having to spend the majority of the year on the east coast, our AFLW team battled into a preliminary final in Season 6 and then regrouped to go again later in the year in Season 7.

It’s hard to quantify the family and career sacrifices these elite footballers go through every day to chase their dreams and to represent the Fremantle Football Club, and I would like to thank all of our AFLW and AFL players, coaches and staff - and their partners and families - for their absolute dedication to the cause.

I would also like to pay tribute to Trent Cooper who made a significant and important contribution as our Senior Coach over five seasons. While we have decided to move in a new direction, there is no doubt that our W program and our Club is in a stronger position thanks to Trent’s efforts and contribution.

This year we continued to enjoy incredible support from the Purple Army once again. It’s not lost on us how significant it is to finish fourth in attendance when we cannot rely on opposition fan support to drive our numbers up like the Victorian clubs. And away from home, our wins against Geelong and Melbourne in particular sounded like home games.

We had Andrew Brayshaw become the league’s Most Valuable Player at just 22 years old and two players earn All Australian honours in

Brayshaw and Hayley Miller in Season 6.

David Mundy called time on his incredible and storied career with a Club record 376 games – the outright eighth most in AFL/VFL history.

We also shed a tear when our inaugural AFLW captain Kara Antonio played her final game, kicking two goals in what was a fitting farewell against Hawthorn.

A less talked about aspect of our season, that was still significant, was the contribution of Alex Pearce as stand in captain, due to Nathan Fyfe’s unfortunate injuries through the year.

Alex is a proud Palawa man and we are thankful to have had his guidance in Nathan’s stead. There has been some terrific projects take shape off the field.

Earlier this year, the Club re-formed its Reconciliation External Advisory Group to provide feedback, support current initiatives and to help guide the formation of our next RAP, which will launch next year.

The Purple Hands Foundation came leaps and bounds in its first full year of operation, allowing us to use the platform of sport to make our mark in the community, with programs that support youth mental health, inclusion and social equality - just to name a few.

We also launched our sustainability framework to look at how the Club can reflect on the work done to date in the area and improve our sustainability practices.

This is an area our players are very passionate about, and we thank Bailey Banfield for his hard work in developing this framework and providing that link between the players and our administration.

Last year I signed off saying that our aspirations for 2022 should be to play finals.

It’s crucial we don’t get lost into dreaming about what is possible for our teams next year, but to remain grounded in the reality of where we stand and the hard work that lies ahead.

To be an elite Club we need to be elite in every aspect of our operations, on the field and off the field.

And I’m confident we have the players, the personnel and the will to get there.