Fremantle Football Club
Names
Full name	Fremantle Football Club Limited[1]
Nickname(s)	Dockers, Freo Indigenous rounds:Walyalup
2025 season
After finals	AFL: 8th AFLW: 11th
Home-and-away season	AFL: 6th AFLW: 11th
Leading goalkicker	AFL:Josh Treacy (44 goals) AFLW:Hayley Miller (11 goals)
Doig Medal	AFL:Caleb Serong AFLW:
Club details
Founded	21 July 1994; 31 years ago (1994-07-21)
Colours	AFL:  Purple  White AFLW:  Purple  White  Crimson
Competition	AFL: Men AFLW: Women
Chairperson	Chris Sutherland
Coach	AFL:Justin Longmuir AFLW:Lisa Webb
Captain(s)	AFL:Alex Pearce AFLW:Ange Stannett
Premierships	0
Grounds	AFL:Perth Stadium 2018-present (capacity: 61,266)
	AFLW:Fremantle Oval 2017–present (capacity: 10,000)
Former ground	WACA Ground (1995–2000) Subiaco Oval (1995–2017)
Training ground	Cockburn ARC (2017–present) Fremantle Oval (1995–2017)
Uniforms
Home Away Clash
Other information
Official website	fremantlefc.com.au
Current season

TheFremantle Football Club, nicknamed theDockers or colloquiallyFreo, is a professionalAustralian rules football club competing in theAustralian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represent the port city ofFremantle, a stronghold ofAustralian rules football in Western Australia. The Dockers were the second team from the state to be admitted to the competition, following theWest Coast Eagles in 1987. Both Fremantle and the West Coast Eagles are owned byWA Football, with a board of directors operating Fremantle on WA Football's behalf.

Despite having participated in and won severalfinals matches, Fremantle is one of only three active AFL clubs not to have won apremiership (the others beingGold Coast andGreater Western Sydney), though it did claim aminor premiership in2015 and reached, but didn't win the2013 Grand Final.^[2][3] High-profile players who forged careers at Fremantle includeHall of Fame inducteesMatthew Pavlich andPeter Bell, and dualBrownlow Medal winnerNat Fyfe.Justin Longmuir is the current head coach of Fremantle, withAlex Pearce serving as captain. Originally based atFremantle Oval, the club's training and administrative facilities are now located nearby atCockburn ARC inCockburn Central, whilst its home ground is the 60,000-capacityPerth Stadium inBurswood.

Fremantle has also fielded a women's team in theAFL Women's league since the competition's inception in 2017. They are currently coached byLisa Webb and captained byAnge Stannett. Their most successful season was the2020 season, in which the team was undefeated, but was ultimately cancelled without a premiership awarded due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[4]

The port city ofFremantle,Western Australia has a rich footballing history, hosting the state's first organised game ofAustralian rules in 1881.^[5] Fremantle's first teams, theFremantle Football Club, theUnion/Fremantle Football Club andEast Fremantle Football Club, dominated the early years of theWest Australian Football League (WAFL), winning 24 of the first 34 premierships.^[6]

Since 1897,Fremantle Oval has been the city's main Australian rules football venue. The Fremantle Derby between East Fremantle andSouth Fremantle is traditionally one of the biggest games on the WAFL calendar, and routinely attracts strong crowds. Until the opening ofPerth Stadium in 2018, the record attendance for an Australian rules football game in Western Australia stood at 52,781 for the1979 WANFL Grand Final between East Fremantle and South Fremantle atSubiaco Oval.

Champion footballers who forged careers playing for Fremantle-based clubs include, among otherAustralian Football Hall of Fame inductees,Steve Marsh,Jack Sheedy,John Todd,George Doig,William Truscott andBernie Naylor.

• 
  Marking contest from a Fremantle Derby between South Fremantle and East Fremantle, c. 1910
• 
  A view overFremantle Oval and the surrounding buildings, c. 1895
• 
  East Fremantle legendGeorge Doig, namesake of Fremantle'sDoig Medal
• 
  South Fremantle legendBernie Naylor
• 
  Statue ofJohn Gerovich's mark over Ray French

Despite Fremantle's long history of Australian rules football, the expansion of the then-Victorian Football League (VFL) into Western Australia took the form of a single, state-wide team with the creation of theWest Coast Eagles in 1987. Soon afterwards, discussions emerged between theEast Fremantle andSouth Fremantle clubs regarding the formation of a second WA-based VFL club as a joint venture. However, exclusive rights clauses in contracts between the Eagles and the VFL made a second Western Australian club legally unfeasible until 1993. Additionally, the proposed joint venture model was opposed by theWest Australian Football Commission (WAFC).^[7]

On 14 December 1993, the AFL announced that a new team, to be based in Fremantle, would enter the league in 1995, with the provisional name "Fremantle Sharks." The licence had cost the WAFC $4 million.^[8] On 21 July 1994, the names "Fremantle Football Club", "Fremantle Dockers" and the club colours of purple, red, green and white were announced.

A first training session for the inaugural squad was held on 31 October 1994 atFremantle Oval.

The team endured some tough years near the bottom of the premiership ladder, until they finished fifth after the home and away rounds in 2003 and made the finals for the first time. The elimination final against eighth-placedEssendon atSubiaco Oval was then the club's biggest ever game, but ended in disappointment for the home team, with the finals experience of Essendon proving too strong for the young team. They then missed making the finals in the following two seasons, finishing both years with 11 wins, 11 losses and only 1 game outside the top eight.

After an average first half to the2006 AFL season, Fremantle finished the year with a club-record nine straight wins to earn themselves third position at the end of the home and away season with a club-best 15 wins. In the qualifying final againstAdelaide atAAMI Stadium, the Dockers led for the first three-quarters before being overrun by the Crows. The following week saw the club win its first finals game in the semi-final againstMelbourne at Subiaco Oval. The club subsequently earned a trip to Sydney to play in its first ever preliminary final, where they lost by 35 points atANZ Stadium to theSydney Swans.

In 2007, following Chris Connolly's resignation midway through the season,Mark Harvey, a three-time premiership player withEssendon, was appointed caretaker coach for the club. During his seven matches for 2007, Harvey coached the Dockers to four wins and three losses.^[9] The club came 11th that year, and Harvey was appointed full-time coach at the end of the season. The following year saw the club slump to 14th.^[9]

In Round 15, 2009, Fremantle recorded the lowest score in its history and of the 2000s, scoring only 1.7 (13) to the Adelaide Crows' 19.16 (130).^[9] It scored just one point in the first half and the only goal scored came in the third quarter.

After finishing sixth in 2010, the club played in the finals for the first time since 2006. The team playedHawthorn at Subiaco Oval, and despite being considered underdogs, went on to win by 30 points. The win came from strong performances from Luke McPharlin and Adam McPhee who limited the impact of Lance Franklin and Luke Hodge, respectively.^[10] The team's second ever win in a finals match qualified them for a semi-final to be played against the Geelong Cats at the MCG the following week. In a one-sided contest, the Dockers lost by 69 points.^[11]

The 2011 season saw Fremantle lose just once in the first six rounds before ending the year in 11th position after losing their final seven games. Fremantle's collapse was considered a result of a heavy injury count that began in the pre-season.^[12]

In September 2011, Mark Harvey was sensationally sacked by the club in favour of still-contracted St Kilda coachRoss Lyon.^[12]

Fremantle qualified for the finals in 2012 after finishing in seventh position. In their elimination final againstGeelong, the Dockers won their first ever finals game away from home with a 16-point victory at theMCG behindMatthew Pavlich's six goals.^[13] Fremantle subsequently lost to the Crows in Adelaide the following week, ending their finals campaign.

In 2013, Fremantle finished the home-and-away season in third position with a club-best 16 wins. In their qualifying final against the Cats in Geelong, the Dockers produced a first-round upset with a 15-point victory to advance through to a home preliminary final.^[14] In the preliminary final, the Dockers defeated the reigning premiers, theSydney Swans, by 25 points to advance to their maidenAFL Grand Final. In the2013 grand final, the Dockers were defeated byHawthorn by a margin of 15 points.

In 2014, the club reached the finals for the third successive year with a top-four finish and 16 wins, but despite earning a double chance, they were knocked out after losses to Sydney away andPort Adelaide at home.Nat Fyfe was awarded theLeigh Matthews Trophy for winning the AFL Players' Association MVP award.^[15]

In 2015, the club were crowned minor premiers for the first time in their history, earning their first piece of silverware with theMcClelland Trophy.^[2] However, the club failed to convert this into a grand final appearance, losing to Hawthorn by 27 points in its home preliminary final. Fremantle ended their season with Nat Fyfe becoming the club's firstBrownlow Medalist.^[16]

Season 2016 marked Matthew Pavlich's final season in the AFL, as Fremantle missed the finals following a 10-game losing streak to start the year, finishing in 16th position with just four wins.^[17]

Ross Lyon was sacked as coach on 20 August 2019 after the club failed to qualify for the finals.^[18] He was replaced byJustin Longmuir.^[19]

Longmuir's first season was during theCOVID-19-affected2020 AFL season, which was shortened from 22 matches to 17.^[20] Fremantle would lose their first four games before finding form and finishing 12th on the ladder with 7 wins and 10 losses.^[21]

The2022 AFL season would prove to be a breakout year for the Dockers, who qualified for finals for the first time since the2015 AFL season^[22] and were in contention for a top-4 finish throughout the season before finishing fifth with fifteen wins, six losses, and one draw.^[23] Fremantle's return to finals saw them play theWestern Bulldogs in an elimination final atOptus Stadium.^[24] Fremantle were dominated in the early stages of the game, with the Bulldogs holding a 42–1 lead at the nine-minute mark of the second term. Fremantle would go on to kick 11 of the last 13 goals to win the game by 13 points.^[25] Fremantle next facedCollingwood in a semi-final at theMCG in front of a crowd of over 90,000, losing the game by 20 points.^[26]

After losing their opening 2 games of the2023 AFL season, Fremantle recorded their first win in the 56thWestern Derby, beating the Eagles by 41 points. Despite a mid-season resurgence, beating both2022 Grand Finalists in consecutive weeks, the Dockers would fade out to finish 14th on the ladder.^[27]

Fremantle had a promising start to the2024 AFL season, winning their first three games, before two close losses inAdelaide and a shock loss inWestern Derby 58 surrounded their season with uncertainty. The Dockers rebounded, losing just one of their next six games before the mid-season bye to sit inside the top eight. They were entrenched inside the top eight for much of the year and were in the top four as late as round 20, before losing their final four matches. This was catalysed by injuries to key position players, including captainAlex Pearce, leading goalkickerJosh Treacy, and starting ruckmanSean Darcy. The Dockers finished 10th with a record of 12 wins, 10 losses and one draw, just half a win behind Carlton in eighth place.

Fremantle opened2025 with 4–4, before winning 12 of their next 14 games, including a do-or-die victory over the Bulldogs to finish 6th on the ladder. The club's season ended with a one-point loss to theGold Coast Suns in an elimination final at Optus Stadium, which was also the final game ofNat Fyfe's career.^[28]

As of July 2024, Fremantle holds an overall win percentage of 45.52%, ranking 16th out of the 21 clubs to have competed in the VFL/AFL.^[29] Fremantle is also the oldest of the three active clubs yet to win a premiership. The Dockers' most successful period thus far came between 2013 and 2015, during which they secured three consecutive top-four finishes, made their only grand final appearance (2013) and claimed their only minor premiership (2015).

The club is nicknamed the "Dockers" in reference to Fremantle's maritime and dockworker heritage.^[30] Shortly after the club was launched in 1994,Levi Strauss & Co., which produces theDockers brand of clothing, challenged the club's right to use the name "Fremantle Dockers", specifically on clothing.^[31] As a result, the club and the AFL discontinued the official use of the "Dockers" nickname in 1997. However, it remained in common usage both inside and outside the club, and continued to appear in the official team song "Freo Way to Go" and as the title of the official club magazineDocker.^[32] In 2010, the club secured rights from Levi Strauss & Co to officially use the nickname "Dockers" across all branding and merchandise.^[33] This name change was made in conjunction with changes to the club logo and playing strip.^[34]

When board members raised concerns in 1993 about perceived links to theFederated Ship Painters and Dockers Union, which was then embroiled in criminal investigations, inaugural chairman Ross Kelly and CEO David Hatt came up with a fictional origin to reassure them: that the name came from theFremantle Doctor, a sea breeze supposedly once called the "Fremantle Docker". This "white lie" helped the name gain acceptance and has since become part of club folklore.^[30]

During the 2022 finals, the tongue-in-cheek nickname "Flagmantle" came to symbolise fans' hope or belief that the club is destined for a premiership.^[35][36][37] Since 2023, during theSir Doug Nicholls and AFLW Indigenous Rounds, Fremantle plays as Walyalup ("place of thewoylie"), the traditionalNoongar name for the Fremantle area.^[38]

The official club motto is "Forever Freo". During Indigenous Rounds, the club also uses the Noongar translation, "Kalyakoorl Walyalup".^[39]

Another popular phrase is "Wharfie Time", which originated during a 2009 match when a TV broadcast picked up captainMatthew Pavlich rallying his teammates with the line: "Put on your Superman capes, boys. It's wharfie time."^[40] Initially met with bemused reactions from commentators, the phrase was embraced by fans and has become an informal club motto. During close games at Perth Stadium, "Wharfie Time" is shown on the big screens, accompanied by the bell fromAC/DC's "Hells Bells".^[41]

Matthew Pavlich wearing the club's original anchor guernsey in 2006 (left), and the club's current chevron guernsey in 2016 (right).

Until 2011 the Dockers used the anchor symbol as the basis for all of theirguernseys. The home guernsey was purple, with a white anchor on the front separating the chest area into red and green panels, representing the maritimeport and starboard colours. The colours also acknowledged Fremantle's largeItalian community, which historically has been associated with the city's fishing industry.^[42] The away or clash guernsey was all white with a purple anchor. In 2008, CEO Steve Rosich confirmed that Fremantle's guernsey would be reviewed as part of wider branding changes, though the club would retain purple as its primary colour.^[43][44] Since 2011, the home guernsey is purple with three white chevrons, and the away jumper is white with purple chevrons.^[45] The design was inspired by the club'sHeritage Round guernsey, which in turn emulates the jumper worn by the original Fremantle Football Club in 1885.^[5][46]

One game each year is designated as thePurple Haze game, where an all-purple jumper with a white anchor is worn. This game is used to raise money for theStarlight Children's Foundation. After the guernsey re-design to a predominately purple home jumper, Fremantle wore the Starlight Foundation logo, a yellow star, above the highest chevron for their Purple Haze game.

Fremantle Football Club had its original training and administration facilities atFremantle Oval from 1995 until 2017. On 21 February 2017 the club moved its training and administration facilities toCockburn ARC, a professional sports training facility and community recreation centre that was constructed in 2015–17 at a price of $109 million, located in the suburb ofCockburn Central.^[47]

The team's home games are played atPerth Stadium (commercially known as Optus Stadium), a 61,000 seat multi-purpose stadium located in the suburb ofBurswood. The club began playing home matches at the venue in 2018, having previously played home matches atSubiaco Oval from 2001 onward and before that theWACA Ground from 1995 to 2000.

The official song of Fremantle is "Freo Way to Go", a truncated version of the club's original song, "Freo Heave Ho", written byKen Walther. "Freo Way to Go" was adopted in 2011 following a poll on the Dockers' official website, beating out the original and two newly composed songs: "The Mighty Roar of Freo" by Rosco Elliott, and "Freo Freo", written by Fremantleindie rock group and the Dockers' then-number-one ticket holder,Eskimo Joe.^[48] The poll coincided with updates to the club'sguernsey and logo.^[34][49]

Unlike otherAFL team songs, "Freo Way to Go" is played to a contemporary rock tune. "Freo Heave Ho" also had a section based onIgor Stravinsky's arrangement of the traditional Russian folk song, "Song of the Volga Boatmen",^[50] which was dropped in 2011, leaving only the original composition of Walther. Due to its unconventional style, the song is derided by many opposition supporters and defended with equally fierce loyalty by many fans.^[51][52] Author and Fremantle fanTim Winton boasted: "Every other team song sounds like a 'Knees Up Mother Brown' from previous eras. We've got a backbeat".^[53]

Fremantlepsychedelic groupsPond andTame Impala, linked by shared members, have both released tributes to the club. Pond covered "Freo Heave Ho" in 2013,^[54] while Tame Impala'sKevin Parker, after being named the club's number-one ticket holder in 2021, released "Go Freo", a hype track now played at three-quarter time at Fremantle's home games. Adding to the Fremantle connection, the song draws inspiration fromBon Scott-eraAC/DC.^[55]

• 1995–1999:Grinder – a cartoon-likedocker man, in a similar style toPopeye, with a permanent snarl, oversized jaw and muscular arms.
• 2000–2003:The Doc – a straggly blonde-haired mascot, similar in appearance to Fremantle playersClive Waterhouse orShaun McManus.
• 2003–present:Johnny "The Doc" Docker – a blonde haired surfer with a surfboard under one arm is the Dockers' official mascot in theMascot Manor promotion for kids.
• 2012–present:Jenny Docker – Johnny's younger sister.
• 2022–present:Dokka the Quokka – aquokka, which is a marsupial native toRottnest Island, off the coast of Fremantle.^[56]

The club is owned by theWest Australian Football Commission (WAFC). Since 2003, a board of directors controls the operation of the club, on behalf of the WAFC. Prior to this, a two-tier arrangement was in place, with a Board of Management between the board of directors and the commission. The initial club CEO wasDavid Hatt, who had come from a hockey background, and the inaugural clubchairman wasRoss Kelly, who had played forWest Perth. It was a deliberate act by the commission to avoid having administrators from eitherEast Fremantle orSouth Fremantle in key roles, as they wanted the club to be bigger than just representing Fremantle.^[57]

Kelly resigned at the end of 1998, replaced byRoss McLean. Whilst he presided over some key financial decisions, including the building of the club's administrative and training centre atFremantle Oval and the deferment of the licence fee to the AFL, it was Fremantle's lowest point onfield, culminating in a two-win season in 2001 which saw the coachDamian Drum be sacked mid-year. McLean resigned following an inadvertent breach of thesalary cap.^[58]

In early 2001 Hatt accepted a government job andCameron Schwab was appointed. After weathering the fallout from the disastrous 2001 season, Schwab and the new chairman, local West Australian retailing businessmanRick Hart, set about rebuilding the club. A former recruiting manager, Schwab focused on building up the on-field performance by recruiting high-profile players inTrent Croad,Peter Bell andJeff Farmer, as well as coachChris Connolly and with Hart then focused on enhancing the corporate and financial standing of the club.^[59] The club membership grew every year from 2002 until 2008^[60] and the final licence payment was made to the AFL in 2005.

Schwab chose to return to Melbourne in 2008 and was replaced as CEO bySteve Rosich, who had previously worked for theWest Coast Eagles. A year later Hart resigned as president andSteve Harris, who runsThe Brand Agency and had produced advertising for Fremantle since 2002, took over at the end of 2009. Harris had been on the board since November 2008, the first club chairman or president to have previously served on the board.^[61] The club has developed into one of the wealthiest clubs in the league and their surprise recruitment ofRoss Lyon to replaceMark Harvey as coach at the end of the 2011 is seen as an example of their ruthless drive for sustained success.^[62] In 2014, Harris resigned as president and was replaced by the then vice president, Perth property developerDale Alcock.^[63]

Fremantle's biggest rivalry is with the other Western Australian team, theWest Coast Eagles, who they play twice each year in thehome and away season, in the fiercely contested "Western Derby" matches (pronounced/ˈdɜːrbi/ in Western Australia). West Coast won the first nine encounters, but Fremantle broke the streak with a win in Round 16, 1999. When they met again a year later, Fremantle came back from 42 points down in the third quarter to win by a single point. Dubbed the "Demolition Derby", the match is infamous for its on-field brawls and resulting suspensions and fines, and is now remembered as a turning point in Fremantle's identity and competitiveness.^[64] Since then, the rivalry has been relatively even, with Fremantle holding 28 Derby wins overall to West Coast's 33.

The Dockers and theSt Kilda Football Club have had several controversial encounters, most notably in 2006, when a match atLaunceston'sYork Park ended in a dispute dubbed "Sirengate". While the match initially ended in a draw, the AFL overturned the draw result the following Wednesday after the match; the controversy was due to an off-field error made by the timekeepers not sounding the siren for long enough to confirm that the umpires heard it, as well as the siren not being loud enough for the field umpires to hear over the roar of the crowd in the first place, and Fremantle were eventually declared as one-point winners with no protest from St Kilda.^[65] It marked the first time a game result had later been overturned since 1900.^[66]

During the 2011 off-season, Fremantle sacked coachMark Harvey and replaced him with then-St Kilda coachRoss Lyon in controversial circumstances. The move was met with much criticism towards Fremantle's president, Steve Harris, and CEO, Steve Rosich, claiming that they had "backstabbed" Harvey. Lyon was also met with widespread criticism and was accused of backstabbing St Kilda by many Saints supporters as the club was made aware that Fremantle had approached Lyon during St Kilda's lead-up to its finals campaign. The two clubs contested a highly anticipated Friday night match in Round 4 of the2012 AFL season atEtihad Stadium, with Fremantle winning by 13 points and Lyon being booed throughout the match.^[67] Lyon became Fremantle's longest serving and most successful coach before being sacked in 2019. He later returned for a second coaching stint at St Kilda in 2023, and his first game back was against Fremantle.

See alsoFremantle Football Club drafting and trading history for the complete list of Fremantle's draft selections, delistings and trades

For most of Fremantle's history, players have played for variousWest Australian Football League (WAFL) teams when not selected to play for the Fremantle AFL team. Players recruited from the WAFL have remained with their original club, and players recruited from interstate have been allocated to teams via a draft system. Since the 2014 season, thePeel Thunder Football Club has served as thehost club for the Fremantle Dockers, an arrangement which will see Fremantle's reserves players playing in the WAFL forPeel Thunder Football Club. An attempt in 2013 to field a standalone Fremantle reserves side in the WAFL was rejected by the other WAFL clubs.^[69] A similar host club system was used in 1999 whenSouth Fremantle was the aligned club but was cancelled after a single season.

Despite West Coast being granted a reserves team in the competition in 2020, Fremantle's partnership with Peel has continued successfully, with the two clubs committing to retain the relationship until 2029.^[70]

Throughout the partnership between both Fremantle & Peel Thunder, it has produced 3 WAFL Premierships (2016,2017 &2024).

In May 2016, the club launched a bid to enter a team in the inauguralAFL Women's season in 2017.^[71] As part of the bid, the team would guarantee all players education and job opportunities with the club and the partneringCurtin University.^[71]

Fremantle beat out a bid from rivalsWest Coast when they were granted a licence on 15 June 2016.^[72]

Kiara Bowers andKara Antonio were the club's first signings, unveiled along with the league's other 14 marquee players on 27 July 2016.^[73] A further 24 senior players and two rookie players were added to the club's inaugural list in the league'sdrafting and signing period.

FormerSouth Fremantle assistant coach,Michelle Cowan was appointed the team's inaugural head coach in July 2016.^[74]

The club's initial bid outlined plans for a game each atDomain Stadium and at Curtin University's Bentley campus as well as up to two remaining matches held at the club training base in the city ofCockburn.^[71] The club eventually played two home games atFremantle Oval, one atDomain Stadium and one inMandurah.^[75] In 2018, the Dockers hosted the first football game atPerth Stadium but played the remainder of their home games atFremantle Oval.

The Dockers struggled in their inaugural season, only winning one of seven games and finishing seventh out of eight teams on the ladder. They fared slightly better in 2018, winning three matches, but again finished seventh on the ladder.^[76]

In2019, Fremantle had one of their most successful seasons, losing only one game during the home-and-away matches (to eventual premiersAdelaide) and making the finals for the first time. The team, now coached byTrent Cooper and with Kiara Bowers making her long-awaited debut after two injury-affected years, started the year with a high-scoring victory over Melbourne in the opening round and kicked their then highest ever score, 10.7 (67), in round 2 against Brisbane. Despite having won two more games thanCarlton, the controversial conference system saw Carlton host the knock out preliminary final^[77] and inflict Fremantle's second defeat of the year. In the post-season awards, Bowers^[78] andDana Hooker^[79] came second behindErin Phillips in the AFLWMVP award and AFL Women's best and fairest award, respectively. Bowers, Hooker andGemma Houghton were all named in theAFL Women's All-Australian team.^[80]Ashley Sharp was awarded goal of the year for a long-run, multiple-bounce goal.^[81]

The2020 AFL Women's season saw Fremantle go undefeated to sit atop the AFLW ladder for Conference B with a 6–0 record.^[82] The Dockers had seven debutants throughout the season, which included ruckMim Strom and Rising Star nomineeRoxy Roux.^[83] Notable wins included a victory over a then-undefeated Brisbane Lions in Round 5, courtesy of a four-goal effort fromSabreena Duffy;^[83] and a clutch one-point win over St Kilda in Round 4, courtesy of a late goal, again from Duffy. The Dockers hosted a home semi-final atFremantle Oval against theGold Coast Suns, winning by a club record 70 points to qualify for a preliminary final against Melbourne.^[84] The season was cancelled shortly afterwards without a winner due to the outbreak of theCOVID-19 pandemic. Kiara Bowers won Fremantle's fairest and best award and led the competition in tackles with 99.^[85] Duffy won the Fremantle goal-kicker award and led the league for goals kicked with 12,^[86] and both Bowers and Gemma Houghton were named in the 2020 All-Australian team.^[87]

Source:AFLW HistoryArchived 2 April 2019 at theWayback Machine

TheDoig Medal is the Fremantle Football Club's annualfairest and best award. Currently, the Fremantle coaching staff give every player votes on a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis after every match, including Finals Series matches. Top votes are awarded for what is regarded as an elite performance. At the end of the year the votes are tallied and the Doig Medal Night is held to announce the winner. Variations on the voting system have been used in past years. The awards ceremony has been held at theFremantle Passenger Terminal (1995),Challenge Stadium (1998–1999),Fremantle Oval (2000–2001), the Grand Ballroom atBurswood Entertainment Complex (2002–2005, 2008–current) and thePerth Convention Exhibition Centre (2006–2007).

The Beacon Award is presented to the club's best first year player. Mature aged recruitsMichael Barlow,Tendai Mzungu andLee Spurr have won in recent years, despite being significantly older than most first year players.

• Premierships: Nil
• Grand Final appearances: 1 (2013)
• Minor Premierships: 1 (2015)
• Wooden spoons: 1 (2001)
• Finals series reached: Nine (2003, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2022, 2025)
• Biggest winning margin: 113 points - 24.13 (157) vs. Greater Western Sydney 6.8 (44),Patersons Stadium, 11 August 2013
• Biggest losing margin: 133 points - 3.7 (25) vs. Geelong 24.14 (158),GMHBA Stadium, 18 August 2018
• Longest winning streak: 9 games (Round 14, 2006 – Round 22, 2006) and (Round 1, 2015 - Round 9, 2015)
• Longest losing streak: 18 games (Round 22, 2000 – Round 17, 2001)
• Highest score: 28.12 (180) vs.Collingwood 10.8 (68), Subiaco Oval, 8 May 2005
• Lowest score: 1.7 (13) vs.Adelaide 19.16 (130), AAMI Stadium, 11 July 2009

• Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees:Peter Bell 2015,Matthew Pavlich 2022
• Brownlow Medallists:Nat Fyfe 2015, 2019
• AFL Women's best and fairest winner:Kiara Bowers 2021
• Norm Smith Medallists: None
• Coleman Medallists: None
• AFL Rising Star award:Paul Hasleby 2000;Rhys Palmer 2008;Caleb Serong 2020;Murphy Reid 2025
• All Australians:Matthew Pavlich 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008;Peter Bell 2003;Paul Hasleby 2003;Aaron Sandilands 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014;Luke McPharlin 2012;Michael Johnson 2013;Nat Fyfe 2014, 2015, 2019 (c);Hayden Ballantyne 2014;David Mundy 2015;Michael Walters 2019;Luke Ryan 2020, 2024;Andrew Brayshaw 2022;Caleb Serong 2023, 2024, 2025;Jordan Clark 2025
• AFLW All-Australians:Kara Antonio 2017;Dana Hooker 2018, 2019;Ebony Antonio 2018;Gemma Houghton 2019, 2020;Kiara Bowers 2019, 2020, 2021;Janelle Cuthbertson 2021;Hayley Miller 2022 (S6) (vc);Emma O'Driscoll 2023, 2024;Aisling McCarthy 2024;Mim Strom 2024
• 22under22:Nat Fyfe 2013;Michael Walters 2013;Lachie Neale 2015;Sean Darcy 2018, 2020;Ed Langdon 2018;Adam Cerra 2020, 2021;Andrew Brayshaw 2020, 2021 (vc), 2022 (c);Hayden Young 2022, 2023;Jordan Clark 2022;Caleb Serong 2022, 2023;Luke Jackson 2023, 2024;Jye Amiss 2023, 2024;Josh Treacy 2024;Josh Draper 2024;Murphy Reid 2025
• 22under22 (AFLW):Roxanne Roux 2020;Sabreena Duffy 2020, 2021;Emma O'Driscoll 2021, 2022 (S6), 2022 (S7)
• International rules representatives:Clive Waterhouse 1999;Matthew Pavlich 2002, 2003;Matthew Carr 2003;Paul Hasleby 2003;Robbie Haddrill 2004;Heath Black 2005;Ryan Crowley 2006;David Mundy 2006, 2015;Brett Peake 2006;Roger Hayden 2008;Garrick Ibbotson 2010;^[107]Paul Duffield 2010;^[107]Hayden Ballantyne 2015;Nat Fyfe 2017
• Leigh Matthews Trophy (AFLPA Most Valuable Player) winners:Nat Fyfe 2014,^[15] 2015;Andrew Brayshaw 2022
• AFLPA Best First Year Player Award winners:Paul Hasleby 2000;Rhys Palmer 2008;Michael Barlow 2010;Caleb Serong 2020;Murphy Reid 2025
• AFLCA Best Young Player Award winners:Stephen Hill 2010;Nat Fyfe 2011;Caleb Serong 2021
• 300-game players ("the 300 club"): David Mundy, 376 games; Matthew Pavlich, 353 games^[108]
• Most consecutive games:Matthew Pavlich, 160 games (Rd 15 2001 – Rd 16 2008)^[109]
• Most goals:Matthew Pavlich, 700 goals (as of 2020 season)
• Most goals in a season: 72Matthew Pavlich, 2007^[110]
• Most goals in a game: 10Tony Modra vsMelbourne, Rd 10 1999,MCG^[111]
• Mark of the Year winners:Tony Modra 2000;Luke McPharlin 2005
• Goal of the Year winners:Winston Abraham 1996;Hayden Ballantyne 2011;Caleb Serong 2021
• Goal of the Year (AFLW) winners:Ashley Sharp 2019

• Record attendance (home and away game): 62,198, Round 19, 20 July 2025 atMCG vCollingwood
• Record attendance (AFLW home and away game): 41,975, Round 2, 10 February 2018 atPerth Stadium vCollingwood
• Record attendance (home game): 58,982, First Elimination Final, 03 September 2022 atPerth Stadium vWestern Bulldogs
• Record attendance (finals match): 100,007, Grand Final, Sept 28, 2013 atMCG vHawthorn.

TheFremantle Football Hall of Legends was inaugurated by Fremantle Football Club in 1995, in recognition of the new AFL team's links with its home city's football heritage. The inductees are nominated by the two clubs from the Fremantle area in the WAFL:East Fremantle andSouth Fremantle. In time, players who represented Fremantle in the AFL will join their predecessors in this prestigious Hall.

In 2019,The West Australian named Fremantle's greatest team of the past twenty five years as part of the club's twenty fifth anniversary celebrations, as voted by Fans and club officials.:^[112]

It is traditional for each AFL club to recognise a prominent supporter as thenumber-one ticket holder. Fremantle originally awarded this toCarmen Lawrence, the sitting member for the federal seat of Fremantle. This was roundly criticised as the member may or may not be a supporter of the club and unnecessarily linked politics with sport.^[113] The policy was soon changed to select a well-known Fremantle identity for a two-year period. The current number-one ticket holder isKevin Parker, the frontman ofTame Impala

Other high-profile fans include formerWA premiersMark McGowan^[120] andAlan Carpenter;^[121] former federal Defence MinisterStephen Smith;^[122] comedian and musicianTim Minchin;^[123] members of the psychedelic rock bandsTame Impala andPond;^[124] hip hop groupKoi Child;^[125] authorTim Winton;^[126] American tennis playerJohn Isner;^[127] journalists and television presentersDixie Marshall andSimon Reeve;^[128] professional golferMin Woo Lee;^[129] and the late political journalistMatt Price, who wrote the 2003 bookWay to Go: Sadness, Euphoria and the Fremantle Dockers.

Despite a relative lack of on-field success, Fremantle has recorded membership figures above average for the league.The club in 2004 had the fastest-growing membership in the AFL competition, at more than 27% from the previous year, with home crowds growing at a similar rate.^{[citation needed]} The club's recent membership slogans have emphasised the passion of Fremantle fans for their team.^{[how?][which?]}

Fremantle achieved a membership of over 60,000 in 2023, for the first time in the club's history.^[130]

Season	Members	Change from previous season	Finishing position (after finals)	Average home match crowds[131]
1995	18,456	–	13th	23,361
1996	19,622	1,166 (+6.32%)	13th	22,473
1997	19,949	327 (+1.67%)	12th	21,982
1998	22,186	2,237 (+11.21%)	15th	23,365
1999	24,896	2,710 (+12.21%)	15th	23,972
2000	24,925	29 (+0.12%)	12th	22,357
2001	23,898	1,027 (−4.12%)	16th	21,258
2002	23,775	123 (−0.51%)	13th	26,359
2003	25,347	1,572 (+6.61%)	7th	31,688
2004	32,259	6,912 (+27.27%)	9th	35,693
2005	34,124	1,865 (+5.78%)	10th	35,224
2006	35,666	1,542 (+4.52%)	4th	37,063
2007	43,343[132][133]	7,677 (+21.52%)	11th	37,474
2008	43,366[134]	23 (+0.05%)	14th	35,877
2009	39,206[135]	4,160 (−9.6%)	14th	33,144
2010	39,854	648 (+1.63%)	6th	37,084
2011	42,762	2,908 (+6.8%)	11th	34,394
2012	41,705	1,057 (−2.4%)	6th	33,386
2013	44,480[136]	2,775 (+6.7%)	2nd	35,015
2014	48,776[136]	4,296 (+9.7%)	6th	36,215
2015	51,433[137]	2,657 (+5.4%)	3rd	36,914
2016	51,889	456 (+0.89%)	16th	31,416
2017	51,254	635 (-1.22%)	14th	32,375
2018	55,639	4,385 (+8.60%)[138]	14th	41,764
2019	51,431	4,208 (-7.56%)[139]	13th	40,896
2020	51,577	146 (+0.28%)[140]	12th	16,215
2021	50,342	1,235 (-2.4%)[141]	11th	30,008
2022	56,105	5,763 (11.4%)[142]	6th	40,460
2023	62,064	5,959 (10.62%)[143]	14th	41,199
2024	62,237[144]	173 (0.28%)	10th	46,580
2025	66,179[145]	3,942 (6.33%)	6th	45,758

From 2003 until 2021, the Fremantle Football Club had the current or pastGovernor of Western Australia as itspatron.

• 2003–2005:John Sanderson
• 2006–2021:Ken Michael
• 2021–:Richard Walley^[146]

Vice-patrons

• David Malcolm – Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia (retired)
• Syd Corser
• Con Regan andBeryl Regan
• Steve Marsh
• Jack Sheedy

• List of Fremantle players (alphabetical)
• List of Fremantle Dockers league players (ordered by debut)
• Australian rules football in Western Australia
• Fremantle Football Club drafting and trading history
• Sport in Australia
• Sport in Western Australia

Wikimedia Commons has media related toFremantle Football Club.

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