The Fremantle Dockers have emerged as genuine premiership contenders after a gritty comeback victory over Hawthorn, while the West Coast Eagles continue to spiral, suffering their ninth triple-figure loss since 2022. The contrast between the two Western Australian clubs has never been starker.
Fremantle defeated the Hawks 12.16 (88) to 11.7 (73) at Optus Stadium on Thursday night, coming from 19 points down early in the final quarter. The Dockers have shown resilience rarely seen in their 30-year history, winning four of eight games, including two away victories against 2025 finalists. While past false dawns caution against predicting a first flag, something different appears to be brewing.
In contrast, West Coast slumped to a 15.9 (99) to 9.13 (67) loss to Melbourne on Sunday. The Eagles have won two of the last three wooden spoons and are on track for a fourth. Early-season comeback wins over North Melbourne and Port Adelaide raised hopes, but heavy defeats to Sydney (128 points), Geelong (46), Fremantle (56) and St Kilda (101) have crushed them. The 101-point loss to St Kilda was their ninth triple-figure defeat since 2022; the other 17 AFL teams combined have only seven in that period.
West Coast's decline stems partly from trading away high draft picks for Tim Kelly in 2019, overestimating their ageing list. The club has since been forced to recruit mature-aged players cheaply, including Liam Baker and Matthew Owies, but the latter has underwhelmed. Meanwhile, the Dockers have built one of the best lists through patient recruitment, adding Luke Jackson, Jordan Clark, Shai Bolton, and young talents like Murphy Reid. Jackson, in particular, has become one of the most damaging big men in the game, controlling matches with his hitouts and ability to ignite attacks.
