2024 is a decisive year for the leaders at Fremantle and West Coast.
Neither club will be eager to remember 2023 and have embraced moving forward, but they must heed the lessons and find early success to keep the pressure off.
The Dockers must find a way to get back on the finals train after taking a step back last season, and getting the best from skipper Alex Pearce, as well as star rucks Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson, will be critical.
For West Coast, the equation is simply to be competitive.
They don’t need to be finals contenders, but they can’t afford to be the easy beats that lose by 100 points.
These are the burning questions facing the WA clubs in 2024.
Can Pearce silence his critics?
Fremantle moved quickly to reaffirm Alex Pearce as club captain during the off-season despite the club underperforming in 2023, missing finals. Pearce struggled in the first half of the season and didn’t find his feet until it was too late. With highly-touted young leaders Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw waiting in the wings, Pearce will need to make a strong statement in the early rounds to shed his nay-sayers.
8. Are two captains better than one for the Eagles?
West Coast pulled a surprise when naming Luke Shuey’s successor. Oscar Allen and Liam Duggan will be dual captains as the club looks to pull themselves off the bottom of the table. They will be under plenty of pressure leading a young rebuilding side and need to be leaders both on and off the field, answering the hard questions.
7. Will more veterans be out the door at West Coast?
The Eagles lost three club legends in 2023, with Luke Shuey, Shannon Hurn and Nic Naitanui all calling time on their illustrious careers. But there could be a few more set to join them. Andrew Gaff is the most likely to retire at 31, and with his performance declining, while Jeremy McGovern may also be a candidate due to constant injuries. West Coast will also be eager to continue freeing up list spots for young talent to accelerate the rebuild.
6. What does 2024 look like for Fyfe?
The Dockers’ dual Brownlow medallist was again frustrated by injury in 2023 and will be raring for a full crack this season. The veteran is still backed by the playing group as one of their best, but he does not have a clear role in the side. The Dockers have used him as a forward in recent seasons despite Fyfe’s preference for the engine room. Could a hybrid role be on the cards in 2024?
5. Can the Unicorn make room for Sean Darcy in the ruck?
Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson are set to lead Fremantle in the ruck for the remainder of the decade after signing monster contracts, but can they find a way to feed off each other rather than hinder each other’s mojo? Darcy appeared diminished when sharing the duties in 2023, while Jackson felt underutilised remaining up forward. Finding a split and secondary role for the pair could be the most vital part of the Dockers’ off-season.
4. Can Pyke make a difference?
Former Eagles champion Don Pyke comes into West Coast with big shoes to fill after Trevor Nisbett called time on his reign. And he has an even bigger rebuild ahead of him. Pyke has plenty of AFL experience from playing and coaching and will need to draw on all of it to start turning the club around quickly. The fans will expect an improvement on five wins in two years, and their impatience could weigh on the new CEO.
3. Will Freo return to finals?
Fremantle fans were left bitterly disappointed in 2023 after the Dockers failed to reach September after a superb run to the semifinals in 2022. 2022’s finals appearance was the first since 2015 and optimism was high for last season. But a terrible start to the year cruelled Fremantle’s hopes, and it was only a historically torrid season from their crosstown rivals that kept the blowtorch off them. Heads will be on the block if they miss again this season.
2. Can Harley live up to the hype?
Being the most highly-touted 18-year-old in the country has its benefits, but Harley Reid will have to face the pressure that comes with the hype in 2024. After being taken with the No.1 pick by the struggling Eagles, he will have plenty of pressure to perform from the start. He is likely to play from round one and will be given lots of time and support from the club, but there will also be plenty of people who will feel the need to bring him down a peg as he makes his way in the cutthroat league.
1. Will Simmo survive?
Adam Simpson was on the edge of the guillotine for most of 2023 but was backed by the club to at least see out his contract. The premiership-winning coach has achieved great things at West Coast, but after a steady decline, the club has plunged off a cliff in the last two seasons. Everyone understands a rebuild, but the club can’t afford to be as uncompetitive as they were in 2023, and with a horror start to their 2024 campaign, Simpson could be back under the guillotine in the first half of the year.
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