
Walyalup (Fremantle) legend Michael Walters swaps locker room for Optus Stadium
Swapping Optus Stadium for the newsroom of The West Australian, Walyalup (Fremantle) legend Michael Walters has taken over the newspaper's sports section for a day.
Walters booted sports editor Jakeb Waddell out of his office and called the shots on Friday to produce a very special edition of The West on Saturday.
The Dockers great sat down with The West's editor Sarah-Jane Tasker for a news conference, decided where each story would be placed on pages and helped design the back page.
'I'm here to take over the sports section. I've been reading the paper for a long time and I feel like it needs a change-up and I'm here to do it,' Walters joked.
Walters inspired Glen Quartermain's list of the defining moments in Indigenous football history on pages 172-173 of today's edition and worked with football reporter Aaron Kirby on his analysis breaking down how the Dockers can beat Greater Western Sydney.
He also ran his eye over Craig O'Donoghue's interview with his own teammate Patrick Voss on 178 and a chat with fellow Swan Districts product Lawson Humphries.
'The Pat Voss story, I think that's a good story. He hasn't had it easy, to get drafted, he's been on a list but also delisted and came across to Western Australia by himself,' Walters said.
The forward's cameo in the newsroom came as a celebration of the AFL's Sir Doug Nicholls Round.

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West Australian
37 minutes ago
- West Australian
Fremantle Dockers and West Coast Eagles can build on 13th game in Perth to achieve genuine AFL fixture reform
At the risk of putting the mozz on the campaign to reduce travel inequity throughout the AFL, it's been an incredibly positive 12 months and the momentum is charging in the right direction. Remember last season when an argument was raised that the WA clubs getting access to business class seats was evidence that they aren't disadvantaged by travel? Fremantle and West Coast shot down that claim with immense power and precision, and have since locked away an extra game in WA from 2025-27 while creating more opportunities for extra games into the future. The Dockers and Eagles have long felt like they were banging their heads against a wall in regards to travel, but some of those bricks are starting to crumble. They were constantly getting fixtured to play in Geelong, Tasmania, Canberra or the Northern Territory and even the lack of direct flights to Gold Coast, had them spending extra time en-route to games. But now they've worked out a deal to take charter flights around Australia and have convinced the AFL to predominantly schedule day matches when on the road so they can fly home later that night. Finding somewhere to train in Victoria has been a constant problem .But the Dockers were granted access to both Marvel Stadium and the MCG at times this season. They're small but significant wins.. From little things, big things grow. And the biggest thing is having more games in Perth. Eagles fans will hate this, but last weekend's loss to North Melbourne was the perfect result for the travel campaign. The Kangaroos gave up a home game and still won. Had they sold two games and lost both, there would have been an immediate cry from the other side of the country that the move was too big an advantage for the WA clubs. Fremantle beat North Melbourne in Victoria last year and have started this round clearly higher than them on the ladder, so there's likely to be less angst if the Dockers win on Saturday. Fremantle beat Gold Coast and GWS on the road before the bye so would have gone into the Roos' clash as favourites regardless of location. Both WA clubs know how important this deal is. The Dockers missed the finals by one win last season. Carlton finished eighth and played 17 games in Victoria. Fremantle played only 12 in WA. The Blues flew 13,588km throughout last season. Fremantle covered 53,784km for their interstate flights. Those flights, lost hours and lost days add up. It feels like the AFL and the clubs are starting to gain an appreciation for the plight of a travelling team. This month's AFL appointments will only increase that understanding. Brisbane CEO Greg Swann is now running footy. He started his career in Victoria at Collingwood and Carlton but then spent a decade in Queensland. He understands the travel challenge. Sydney CEO Tom Harley is also moving to the AFL as Chief Operating Officer. His portfolio is large but includes Competition Structure plus strategic initiatives including Gather Round and Tasmania. His focus will be on more than just Victoria. Chairman Richard Goyder is from Western Australia. Former Docker Matt de Boer joined the AFL Commission in 2023. They're key voices in key positions. Even the Victorian clubs are filled with influential people who understand travel and will find it hard to keep a straight face if they argue against change. Essendon CEO Craig Vozzo previously worked at West Coast. Bombers coach Brad Scott played for Brisbane. Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell played and then was an assistant at the Eagles. Ross Lyon coached Fremantle before returning to St Kilda. Geelong coach Chris Scott is a former Dockers assistant and played his entire career at the Lions. Craig McRae also played for Brisbane. Michael Voss was his captain. 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When all of the evidence is laid out, it is hard to argue against. Which means building momentum by mounting a compelling argument that others can't shoot down is so important when trying to instigate change. The message is getting through and it's not just Fremantle and West Coast who are shouting from the rooftops. Momentum has never been stronger for travel/fixture reform.


West Australian
37 minutes ago
- West Australian
Fremantle Dockers desperate to buck trend of poor post-bye form and set tone for finals push
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'The sides that treat it as a physical relax are the ones who come off the bye poorly. 'That was my experience. 'It means you have to still train with the same intensity, consistency, frequency. 'If they let you go away for four days in your own time and you don't train like you would in season in that period you would come back mediocre off the bye. 'You can have a four-day deload, but it should be a mental deload, taking away the anxiety of preparing yourself for a game, that come down off the game. 'You prepare for a game, you prepare for an opponent, you go through all the team meetings, you go through who your opponent is going to be, how you are going to play them, you do your visualisation. 'So you don't do any of that, that week. It's a huge mental decompression for you. 'From a physical perspective, you are better off just rolling through. 'They are creatures of habit, AFL players, and if you get your body out of that week of not having to get up at the regular time at 6am because you stayed up late watching Netflix or you were at the movies or had a couple of extra drinks, you find a week of that kills you.' Spurr said handling the bye the right way had a huge impact as a collective. 'As a group, when we had less buy in on the physical aspect you could tell,' Spurr said. 'When you are around the game long enough you can tell the blokes who have sat on their arse and done nothing. 'And those players who have continued to get up, had a run, done the physio, done the rehab, done the kicking program, you can tell. 'Those who don't you can see them in the first five minutes of a game, they look lacklustre, if they have had a physical decompression and haven't done the required work.' The Dockers entered the bye as one of the form teams of the competition. 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'It defies human nature really. Because in that week a lot of players will go away and it is easy to come back a little bit soft.' Dockers coach Justin Longmuir said this week they had 'changed it up' a little. 'It's slightly different. We've been changing up our schedule a bit, so it hasn't been specifically to the bye, but it's probably been specific to long breaks,' he said. 'The way we come out of the weekend in particular, we've changed up, and probably most importantly, we've tried not to make it a narrative. 'We're a different team. We understand that the things that we've been doing prior to the bye have been working. 'So it's probably been more getting back to that process, rather than getting caught up in we need to win off the bye or that previous byes haven't worked for us. A few tinkers to the schedule, but it's mainly been getting players back to the process.' 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Perth Now
7 hours ago
- Perth Now
Fyfe sells beachside North Coogee home fit for a footy fan
Dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe — a man of many talents — has sold the North Coogee home he helped to design. Intent on creating a place that could withstand a flying indoor football, the result is a hardwearing abode with an industrial vibe and a touch of Fyfe's trademark warmth. The property has not settled yet, so the price is unknown. But it appears the successful offer was made a few weeks ago — about the same time Fyfe ended his injury-induced non-playing streak with a game in the Gold Coast. The new owners are assured of getting a beautiful home set one street from the beach. The two-storey house, on a 333sqm, 12m-wide block next to a park, was built by Middleton Homes, and designed by Fyfe in conjunction with the company's then head designer Owen Valli. Part of Nat Fyfe's rock wall. Credit: supplied Fyfe declined to comment this week but told The West Australian in 2016, after building the property, that he had always loved design. 'I knew exactly what I wanted and what I liked — modern, contemporary with a slightly industrial feel. And it had to be hard-wearing so 20 to 25-year-old blokes could live in it, kick balls around and not easily damage stuff,' he said at the time. 'I also wanted to incorporate raw materials — rock, wood, glass and steel — wherever I could, to give it a look that was rustic and authentic.' One of the property's bedrooms. Credit: supplied The two-storey house is set on a 333sqm, 12m-wide block. Credit: supplied And no stone was left unturned in his bid to bring to life his visions for an indoor feature wall, with three specialist stonemasons employed for the job. 'I love my rock wall — that's my pride and joy,' Fyfe previously said. The home includes a spa, which cost nearly $13,000 when it was installed in 2018. The kitchen. Credit: supplied The view from the home Nat Fyfe helped deign. Credit: supplied The home has been a rental property for the past couple of years. It's understood Fyfe has been living in the Docker's heartland of Fremantle.