Anything and Everything Fremantle
Spurr and Neale on Thunder radar
Jan 28th
Peel Thunder are tossing up between Fremantle pair Lee Spurr and Lachie Neale for the first selection in next month’s allocation of interstate AFL draftees.
Spurr, 24, was the Dockers’ first rookie draft pick at No.8 last year.
The 183cm utility player looms as the club’s latest mature-age wild-card on the back of three premierships with SANFL powerhouse Central District.
Neale, who has played senior football for Glenelg in the SANFL, is a 177cm pocket rocket capable of playing as an inside midfielder and forward.
Mzungu mystery
Jan 24th
When you consider what Tendai Mzungu was able to achieve under difficult circumstances last season, Fremantle is right to be excited about the mature-age recruit’s potential in 2012.
Fourteen senior games and acknowledgement as your club’s best first-year player is a solid debut season under any circumstances.
But for Mzungu, there was a significant curve ball thrown in at the worst possible time, making his season all the more impressive.
After blitzing his first pre-season, Mzungu was struck down with a knee injury during Fremantle’s last practice match, ruling him out for eight weeks and undoing months of hard work.
He returned to average 19 possessions in his 14 matches, however, and has plans to improve this season given a clean bill of health.
“I feel fitter and a bit stronger than last year, so having a year under my belt now I feel like I’ve got a good base to work with,” Mzungu said.
Walters’ wake-up call
Jan 23rd
Fremantle is hopeful forward Michael Walters will receive a wake-up call after being sent back to WAFL club Swan Districts to train.
Walters, who has played 11 games in three seasons, returned to pre-season training in poor condition and was told by the club last week that he was not meeting the physical requirements for AFL football.
Defender Luke McPharlin said the club would continue to support the talented forward, but he needed to fall into line with the physical requirements that have been set by Lyon and the coaching group.
“We’ve got a situation where the majority of the playing group are weighing in in that area, and he’s on the outer,” McPharlin, a member of the club’s leadership group, said.
“I’m sure he would certainly prefer to be at Fremantle Football Club, and it could possibly be the wake-up call he needs.
“We all know that he has undoubted talent, and we’d love to see that on the main stage.
Dockers send unfit Walters back to WAFL
Jan 23rd
Fremantle forward Michael Walters’ AFL career has hit flashpoint after the Dockers sent him back to his WAFL club Swan Districts to train after he failed to meet the club’s pre-season fitness standards.
Dockers football manager Chris Bond yesterday confirmed the dec-ision, which was made on Friday. Walters could start training with Swans, his WAFL club of origin, as soon as tonight.
“We can confirm that Michael has gone back to Swan Districts due to the fact that he hasn’t met the club’s standards, expectations and requirements,” Bond said.
Bond said the ball was now in Walters’ court.
He would do all of his training work with Swans, including weight programs and recovery sessions, but the Dockers would happily reassess their position on him if he brought his fitness level to club standards.
“He has the opportunity to act his way back into our program by working hard at Swans,” Bond said.
Walters to train with Swan Districts
Jan 23rd
Fremantle player Michael Walters will train with WAFL club Swan Districts after the club determined he was not meeting physical requirements for AFL football.
General manager football operations, Chris Bond, said the 21-year-old had not been able to get himself to the standard necessary for AFL level.
“The club will continue to work closely with Michael, but he now has the opportunity to go to Swan Districts and focus on getting back to the level required for AFL Football,” Bond said.
Fremantle Dockers recruits being urged to seize their chances
Jan 22nd
Senior Fremantle official Brad Lloyd has backed two of the club’s later draft picks to push for early selection.
Lloyd, general manager of player management, said midfielders Lachie Neale, taken by the Dockers at pick 58 overall in the national draft, and Cameron Sutcliffe (No.71) had been standouts since joining Fremantle in November.
As the Dockers hosted the families of their nine draftees last weekend in an orientation camp, Lloyd urged the youngsters to seize their opportunities for early selection, saying a young list had opened the door for players who wanted to take their chances.
NAB Cup on-sale dates confirmed
Jan 20th
The on-sale date for Fremantle’s upcoming NAB Cup matches at Patersons Stadium has been confirmed.
Pre-sale tickets for the club’s first two hitouts at Patersons Stadium, against West Coast and Essendon on Sunday 19 February and against Richmond on Sunday 4 March, can be purchased by members at 9am (WST) on Wednesday 1 February until 5pm (WST) on Friday 3 February.
The general public can purchase tickets to both games from 9am (WST) on Monday 6 February.
Tickets to the Sunday 19 February round-robin format fixture include all three games that are to be played on the day between Fremantle, West Coast and Essendon.
These NAB Cup matches signal Fremantle’s first major competitive step in 2012, so make sure you are there to support the boys as they attempt to kick off the new season in style.
Round 11 Time Alteration
Jan 17th
The club wishes to advise members and fans of a time alteration to our round 11 match against Richmond at the MCG in June.
The game was originally scheduled for 2.10pm (EST), however the match has been brought forward 30 minutes due to AFL broadcasting requirements and will now be played at 1.40pm (EST).
New details for the match are as follows:
Round 11
Saturday 9 June, 2012
Richmond v Fremantle
MCG
1.40pm (EST)
Freo trio making progress
Jan 12th
Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich is confident key midfielders David Mundy, Nat Fyfe and Anthony Morabito will emerge from interrupted pre-seasons and take part in next month’s NAB Cup.
Mundy (ankle) and Fyfe (groin and shoulder) both had post-season surgery, while the club has taken a cautious approach with Morabito’s return from a full knee reconstruction.
Pavlich said all three had shown encouraging signs and should be fit to take part in pre-season games, with the club launching its NAB Cup campaign against West Coast and Essendon at Patersons Stadium on February 19.
“Fyfe and Mundy should be pretty close to joining in next week, some portion of training. That’s really pleasing,” Pavlich said on Thursday at the annual team photo shoot in Fremantle.
“Certainly Nat’s progressed really well over the last couple of weeks.
Burning questions for 2012: Fremantle
Jan 10th
Can Sandilands play a full season?
Perhaps because of Aaron Sandilands’ freakish height, fans and experts alike seem to think he is injury prone, too big, and more susceptible to wear and tear than other players.
The reality – and bad news for opposition ruckmen – is that apart from an unlucky 2011, when a toe injury forced him to miss nine games, and 2007, when he missed seven weeks with a groin issue, big Sandy has only missed a handful of games. Out of a possible 198 games, the twenty-nine year old has played 169 — hardly the numbers of an injury-riddled crock.
