A NUMBER of key players departed the harbour for Fremantle, with the Dockers looking to re-establish themselves as a title contender. The fierce side will have stiff competition from West Coast in the West Australian draft pool, entering the draft with the fourth selection before having a few late picks. Once it was announced that the Eagles had the first two “live” picks in the draft, the hope of the Dockers snagging the best talent across the country was snuffed out.

AFLW DRAFT PICKS: 27, 60, 93 | WA DRAFT POOL: 4, 9, 13

The Dockers will have to make some ground after the off-season, losing Gemma Houghton and Maggie Maclachlan to Port Adelaide and Stephanie Cain to Essendon, whilst Sabreena Duffy and Jasmin Stewart opted to step away from football. Fremantle did bring in underused midfielder Nikki Gore from the Crows, but otherwise have remained relatively quiet on that front. They already had a host of train-on partners who stepped up and will stay on, and now the Dockers will be looking to make the most of their three selections in the West Australian pool.

FIRST PICK:

Fremantle will miss out on Ella Roberts, and West Coast has already taking a trio of readymade talents, with the Dockers set to see who is available at the fourth pick. Silky Claremont midfielder Emily Elkington is one player expected to be available at the selection, with the pint-sized talent arguably the most potent kick in the draft. If the Dockers look for a readymade option, then they may look straight to their train-ons, with Mikayla Western already playing a game in the purple, and readymade to bring speed and X-factor in the forward half of the ground. If she happens to be there, Swan Districts’ Abbygail Bushby is one who can play midfield or forward and fill a gap in either part of the ground.

OTHER SELECTIONS:

Fremantle has the two other selections with Pick 9 and Pick 13 in the West Australian pool, making it hard to predict. With only six AFLW Draft Combine invitees left for the live draft, chances are the Dockers will dip into the mature-age pool. They might look at a former Docker in Tarnica Golisano who played four games way back in the inaugural season of 2017. Five years on, the now 25-year-old is captaining Subiaco and having an outstanding season. East Fremantle midfielder Ashleigh Gomes or forward Mylee Leitch have been key features for the Sharks this season, whilst Peel Thunder has powerful half-forward Jade Briggs or exciting talent Aisha Wright. Fellow Thunder midfielder Chloe Wrigley is a natural accumulator, while Jessica Cox is still young with a potent, powerful kick. Subiaco’s Hayley Corlett and Amy Mulholland also have draftable qualities.

SUMMARY:

Fremantle will be up against it with West Coast having the majority of the high picks. The Dockers will remain a contender in Season 7, but will be without a few key players for the future. It means the club will need to look for mature-age options who can fill roles, with the purple side more than capable of finding diamonds in the rough to support the top-end talent and growing youth coming through the AFLW program.