Fremantle's window wide open in AFL season 2026, but more pain in store for West Coast

When David Swallow kicked the winning point in Gold Coast's shock elimination final win over Fremantle at Perth Stadium last year, there was a palpable feeling of an opportunity gone begging.

The Dockers had come from 26 points down in the third term to lead by a goal with minutes to play.

But Josh Treacy's inability to stop Mac Andrew's unopposed mark and subsequent goal with a minute to play, followed by Brennan Cox's hold on Swallow and his fairytale kick, saw Fremantle bundled out.

It brought down the curtain on a 16-win season which saw the Dockers finish seventh, and prompted Fremantle CEO Simon Garlick to issue a statement of intent during the club's end-of-season awards

"One thing that was consistent and significant this year was that whenever we were challenged, we responded. Not always perfectly, but with honesty, courage and a willingness to look inward,” Garlick said.

“That’s the mark of a team that understands the importance of ownership and accountability.

Turning potential into success

Fremantle has talent in spades, and at times that talent has been on full display.

Beating Collingwood by a point at the MCG. Beating the Suns in round 12 on the Gold Coast. Going to Melbourne and holding off the Western Bulldogs to secure a top-eight spot.

But there were times when, for all the talent on the team sheet, something went wrong. 

A 10-goal flogging by St Kilda, losing to Sydney at Perth Stadium in round two, or allowing the Suns to snatch that famous win in their first final.

“The next shift will come when we stop being known for our talent alone, but become renowned for our toughness and consistency," Garlick said.

"That is how our club will achieve its vision of being brave, strong and successful."

Ironing out those lapses will go a long way towards making Fremantle a premiership contender.

Search for consistency

Consistency and maturity seem to be the buzzwords at Fremantle as they gear up for the 2026 season. 

The group they've compiled is a year older, with another pre-season under its belt, and another campaign in the books. 

But interestingly, the Dockers still rank as the equal sixth-youngest squad (average age of 24.2 years old) in the AFL, and average the sixth-fewest games per player (65.7) in the competition.

This squad, on paper, is among the best compiled by the club in its 31-year history. Expectation is sky-high.

But it's also worth considering that in its history, Fremantle has only played finals in consecutive years once.

So what is a realistic expectation for the Dockers? Making finals, clearly, is the absolute minimum. Top four should be the aim.

"The work we've done over the past five years has been about building a period where playing finals isn't an outlier, it's the baseline," Garlick said.

They need to make a deep run into September. Fremantle's premiership window is open, and they need to make it count.

Long season awaits Eagles

While the Dockers are looking upwards, so are the West Coast Eagles, but that's because they can't go much lower.

Two wooden spoons in the past three seasons, and just 11 wins since the beginning of 2022, set expectations pretty low for the Eagles.

Success probably won't be measured in wins or ladder position for West Coast, but more on their performance within games.

They lost seven games by 10 goals or more in 2025, and a further five by more than 40 points. If they can reduce those blowouts, and stay competitive for longer, it will be a big step forward.

In 2025, West Coast won just three third quarters, and three fourth quarters, which suggests they ran out of legs as games wore on.

They won just 19 quarters of football for the entire year out of a possible 92 — nine less Richmond.

The Eagles are the youngest and least experienced side in 2026, averaging just 53 games per player with an average age of just 23.

But the return of Jake Waterman and Elliot Yeo, the arrival of Brandon Starcevic — once he's fit — and the natural progression of youngsters Harley Reid, Brady Hough, Elijah Hewett and others should see them improve.

As the author Richard St. John said: "Success is a continuous journey." 

Fremantle and West Coast are just at different stages of that journey.