The critical ingredients that give Dockers fans reason to dream

When the Fremantle Dockers lost to the Suns by a point in last year’s elimination final, the fans seemed to shrug it off as just another episode in the club’s colourful history.

After all, long-suffering supporters have been forced to cultivate a steely resolve, a trait forged over decades of Freo promising the world and delivering nothing.

For an Eagles tragic living in the port city, the purple passion is bewildering and bemusing. But Dockers devotees have developed an impenetrable thick skin that only diehard followers of a trophy-less team can truly understand.

But this season, Fremantle have shown fearlessness, confidence and hunger rarely seen in its 30-year history.

The Dockers are on an 11-game winning streak after knocking off the reigning premiers, Brisbane, last weekend on their home dirt for the first time in a decade.

It was the club’s fifth away win of the season. The soft underbelly and glass jaw have vanished, for now.

Fremantle currently sit a game clear at the top of the ladder, with six of their last 10 outings played at Optus Stadium.

The bubble will burst at some point, but barring a typically Dockers-style implosion, a top-two spot beckons.

We’ve been here before. At the same point in the 2015 season, the Dockers were ladder leaders with 11 wins and one loss.

The club went on to lose a home preliminary final to eventual premiers Hawthorn.

There is one ominous stat which might stop fans from eyeing an anchor tattoo come September.

Only five times have teams won a flag in the past 25 years after topping the ladder midway through the season.

But now, Fremantle possesses those critical ingredients that great premiership teams of the last 20 years have had: depth and flexibility.

(And the Dockers have finally adopted a motto with a bit more meat and veg than “Flagmantle”: “Wharfie Time”.)

List manager David Walls and recruiting boss David McMullin have cleverly cobbled together a team with the most evenly spread talent in the competition. It was shrewdly done without any father-son picks, academy selections or handouts from the AFL.

Just judicious trading and drafting, particularly when it comes to snaffling a bargain.

Patrick Voss, Josh Treacy, Karl Worner and Mason Cox were all selected in the AFL’s rookie draft.

Voss, Treacy, and a rejuvenated Jye Amiss now form one of the most potent forward lines in the competition. The trio have combined for 78 goals so far this season.

Toss in a sprinkling of fleet-footed forwards, including Shai Bolton, Isaiah Dudley and Sam Switkowski, and Freo are among the most attacking sides in the AFL.

Coach Justin Longmuir has often spoken about not wanting his team to be too one-dimensional and building a more offensive outfit.

They have already kicked 100 points or more in eight games this season, compared with six for the whole of 2025.

But one of the craftiest list decisions the club has made in years was selecting Murphy Reid with pick 17 at the 2024 draft.

The 19-year-old is becoming one of the AFL’s most magnetic players, but he also has a footy IQ that is truly terrifying.

But undoubtedly, the club’s biggest recruiting coup was getting Luke Jackson and Bolton. The dynamic duo are arguably Fremantle’s most damaging players and are locks for the All-Australian team.

Jackson is the most electrifying big man in the game, and his running goal midway through the third quarter against the Lions perfectly illustrated his remarkable agility.

The 24-year-old had just contested the centre bounce before sprinting forward to receive an errant handball, then slotted a major from 40 metres out, displaying the skill of an elite midfielder.

While much has been said about the Dockers’ rapid resurgence, Longmuir has not received the plaudits he deserves.

The 45-year-old may appear to have all the demeanour of a tax accountant, but he gave his players a blistering bake at quarter-time in their game against the Dogs in round eight.

And Longmuir isn’t afraid to throw the magnets around.

When the Bulldogs’ midfield maestro Marcus Bontempelli was mauling Fremantle’s star onballers, Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw, early in the game, Longmuir injected some zip and pace into the engine room with Murphy and Bolton.

The Dockers went on to win the game, after being down by 26 points at the first change.

Fremantle is playing with a fortitude and daring that has fans jittery and jumping about, as their team is a legitimate premiership contender.

But if the Dockers stumble at the final hurdle, the club’s congregation will still cling to the unshakeable belief that next season could be their year.