Latest news with #Fremantle
West Australian
an hour ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Ange Stannett to lead Fremantle Dockers for first time as captain in match simulation with West Coast Eagles
Ange Stannett is set to lead Fremantle for the first time as captain, more than a year after she was appointed skipper. Stannett was voted in by her peers ahead of the 2024 season, despite having sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that ruled her out for the entire campaign last year. More than 12 months later, Stannett will physically skipper her side against West Coast in a western derby match simulation at Cockburn on Saturday ahead of the upcoming AFLW season. Fremantle's head of AFLW Claire Heffernan said the club was excited for Stannett's return, as a leader and as a player. 'Since being elected as captain, Ange has been a fully committed and passionate leader off the field while continuing her rehab from her ACL injury,' Heffernan told The West Australian. 'We are so proud of her hard work and determination through this process to now be able to lead the team on the field and can't wait to see her perform. 'It's also an exciting opportunity for the whole group to display the growth from an excellent pre-season and to attack the upcoming season with gusto.' Fremantle superstar Kiara Bowers is also a chance to return to the field after missing the 2024 season due to pregnancy, while recruit Bella Smith (broken hand) and Aine Tighe (ACL) are still recovering from injuries. West Coast star Ella Roberts and newly elected co-captain Bella Lewis are unlikely to feature, as the club treads caution with minor injury concerns. Eagles veteran Dana Hooker, who also missed last season due to pregnancy, is set to face the Dockers after playing a handful of games in the WAFLW. West Coast will start their season at Sullivan Logistics Stadium against Gold Coast on August 14, while Fremantle will travel to Alberton Oval to face Port Adelaide on August 17.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Eagles back $20-million man Reid to handle the hype
The numbers are eye-watering, but West Coast coach Andrew McQualter is confident Harley Reid won't feel a burden upon becoming the highest-paid player in the AFL. Reid's contract status has hit the headlines again this week after his manager Nick Gieschen flew to Perth to have further talks with the Eagles. They have tabled a number of different-length deals to Reid, whose current contract runs out at the end of 2026. One is reportedly worth in the vicinity of $24 million over 11 years, with Victorian clubs also willing to offer long-term deals in excess of $2 million a season. Reid is already one of the most talked about players in the league, but can the 20-year-old Victorian handle being the highest paid? When the $20 million-plus figure was put to McQualter, the first-year coach was quick to compare it to how much he himself was paid during his final season as a player in 2012. "My 45,000 on the Gold Coast," McQualter quipped with a laugh. When asked about the burden of Reid becoming the highest-paid player in the league, McQualter said the pressure came from being the best, rather than the money being earned. "For me, I'll take the contract out of it, because I think it's irrelevant," McQualter said. "It's when you're one of the best players in the competition - there's a burden that comes with it, and that's for anyone. "That's what comes with being a great player in our competition, and it's the skill of being able to cope with that. "We train that from a mental perspective. It's challenging, but the best players embrace it, and they go about their business, which I'm sure Harley will be one of those." Reid will be the centre of attention yet again when he lines up in Saturday's western derby against Fremantle. The star midfielder has hit top form in recent weeks, and his performance in the round six derby last year will still be front of mind for Fremantle fans. Reid tallied 19 disposals, seven clearances and three goals to lead the Eagles to an upset 37-point win, and Dockers coach Justin Longmuir said he's well aware of the "threat". "He's a good player. He's one of the most exciting, promising young players in the comp," Longmuir said. Given it's a Fremantle home game, Reid is set to cop plenty of boos. Reid has a tendency to get caught up in battles with rival players or the crowd, but he showed a great deal of restraint and maturity during last week's 49-point loss to Richmond. "I think he certainly embraces it," McQualter said of the booing. "It's a lot for a young man to have that attention, but he seems to cope with it pretty well, and he's getting better. "Last week, when he got thrown into a security guard, he just went and gave a fist bump to the security guard and moved on, which was pleasing to see."
West Australian
2 hours ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Western derby: West Coast coach Andrew McQualter says the Eagles are embracing underdog tag
West Coast coach Andrew McQualter says the Eagles are embracing the underdog tag as they attempt to defy heavy odds and upset raging favourites Fremantle in western derby 61. The Dockers are an almost unbackable $1.03 with TABTouch to beat the one-win Eagles at Optus Stadium on Saturday and draw closer in the all-time head-to-head which sits at 33-27 in favour of the latter. Fremantle have won eight of their past nine games to sit comfortably in the top eight and are pushing to secure a double chance for the first time in 10 years. The in-form Dockers are expected to easily account for last-placed West Coast, who are all but certain to claim a third wooden spoon in club history with only five games remaining in their season. McQualter said taking on a rampaging Fremantle in front of a nearly packed house of the purple faithful was a challenge they would embrace. 'Absolutely we do (embrace being underdogs). It's no surprise, I'm not sure the last time that a team was $1.03 and lost but that's the beauty of this game,' he said. 'We're a young, developing team. We didn't play our best footy last week and these guys have been in really good form for a large chunk of the back end of this season. 'It's a great challenge, we're embracing that and we can't wait.' West Coast are looking to rebound from a disappointing 49-point defeat to 17th-placed Richmond last weekend in what many viewed as their best chance to get a second win this season. Despite the loss, McQualter made only two changes at the selection table, dropping forward Jack Williams and sub Jack Petruccelle in favour of the returning Elijah Hewett and second-year utility Archer Reid. McQualter defended the lack of moves at the selection table, saying they didn't play too bad for three quarters despite a third-term dismantling when the Tigers kicked eight goals to one. 'Ultimately you look at last week's game, three of the quarters were OK, one quarter was really poor,' he said. 'The WAFL (team) didn't have a game last week which is sometimes good for the WAFL players and sometimes not great. 'There's some things from our players that we're seeing some development but we need some more consistency clearly.' The loss of Williams means the Eagles will play young key forwards Reid and Jobe Shanahan in attack for the first time. The pair have played a combined 15 games and kicked nine goals in their fledgling careers. It comes as they continue to deal with season-ending injuries to co-captain Oscar Allen (calf and knee) and 2024 All-Australian Jake Waterman. 'It's a huge challenge. Key forward — not that I played it — but I assume it's one of the most difficult positions on the ground,' McQualter said. 'We've got two seriously young players but we think there's enormous upside with the way they go about their football. 'I think it's the first time they've played together in the forward line. When Jobe was playing WAFL, he was playing down back so there might be chemistry that takes a bit of time but it's exciting for our fans.' Meanwhile, West Coast are awaiting news on the severity of an ankle injury to top draftee Bo Allan after he went down at training on Thursday. Allan was caught in a tackle during a session at Mineral Resources Park and was carried off the field with a left ankle injury. 'We're still gathering a little bit of the information but he's certainly not going to play football this weekend,' McQualter said. 'And then we'll work out whether it's a long-term injury or whatever it is but it's unfortunate for the young fella. 'He's had a tough year this year, he's had a coupe of different injuries and lacked a bit of continuity so it's a bit of a shame.'
Perth Now
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Contract talks won't slow Harley, says Eagles coach
West Coast star Harley Reid won't feel the pressure of multi-million dollar contract negotiations, Eagles coach Andrew McQualter has warned, ahead of the western derby clash with Fremantle. Reid has made headlines across Australia this week after it was revealed his management had proposed an 11-year contract worth about $24m to keep the Victorian at the Eagles. The 20-year-old is out of contract at the end of next season and is being hotly pursued by eastern states clubs hoping to bring the Tongala product home. One option reported to have been tabled by his manager Nick Gieschen of Connors Sports Management is for a lucrative two-year extension which would have a nine-year player option worth more than $2m a season, tying Reid to the Eagles until the end of 2037. Asked how Reid had handled the spotlight in the lead up to the clash at Optus Stadium on Saturday, McQualter said it was business as usual for his star midfielder. 'To be fair, Harley gets media attention every day of the last four years of his life so he's exactly the same,' he said. 'He's no different, Harls. He goes about his business the right way, the same way. 'He's building a real consistency to the way he approaches everything and this week's been no different.' Asked about the potential re-signing of Reid long-term, McQualter said: 'Of course I'd love Harley to stay. 'He's a terrific player, a terrific person and as his footy coach, I absolutely want him to stay but my job every day is to make Harley as good he can be and a great teammate which is something that he's been focused really hard at.' With a massive contract will come the inevitable pressure and expectation on Reid to perform week-in, week-out. Harley Reid clashes with Caleb Serong. Credit: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos / AFL Photos via Getty Images But McQualter said the deal was 'irrelevant' with the burden coming with just being one of the best players in the AFL. 'For me, I'll take the contract out of it because I think it's irrelevant,' he said. 'It's when you're one of the best players in the competition that there's a burden that comes with it and that's it for anyone. So that's just real. 'That's what comes with being a great player in our competition and it's the skill of being able to cope with that. We train that from a mental perspective, it's challenging, but the best players embrace it and they go about their business which I'm sure Harley will be one of those.' McQualter said the best players deserved to earn the lofty contracts being offered around the competition in the modern era. 'The game is a hell of a spectacle and the whole game is growing and it's just where it's trending,' he said. 'The players are paid what they should be paid and they put on a great show.'
West Australian
a day ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Western derby 61: Fremantle at the shortest ever to beat West Coast in predicted one-sided affair
Fremantle are certainties to beat West Coast in western derby 61. At least that is according to the bookies who have the Dockers at the shortest odds ever to beat their cross-town rivals the Eagles when they meet at Optus Stadium on Saturday afternoon. TABTouch has Fremantle at nearly an unbackable $1.03 to get the four points against West Coast, who are paying a whopping $12 to upset the finals-bound Dockers. The line is also at 50.5 — making this the shortest odds of any team to win a western derby in history, with the line at 42.5 for the second derby in 2022 with the Dockers also favourites. On that day it was a 24-point win to Fremantle. The two teams could not be more polar opposites when it comes to form. Fremantle — led by coach Justin Longmuir — have won eight of their past nine games, including away wins over premiership fancies Collingwood, as well as defeating Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney. It has the Dockers on track to return to finals for the first time since 2022 and a genuine contender for a top-four finish, something they have not accomplished since they won the minor premiership in 2015. Even the absence of injured skipper Alex Pearce isn't hurting their chances, with midfielders and vice-captains Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw leading the way, with the likes of Jordon Clark, Luke Jackson and Josh Treacy in career-best form. Meanwhile, the Eagles appeared to have hit rockbottom. They are on track for a one-win season for the first time in club history, with their only victory this season coming against St Kilda in round 10. It means coach Andrew McQualter is likely to end his first year with a wooden spoon — a situation the Eagles have only found themselves in twice (2023 and 2010) before in their history. And while midfield sensation Harley Reid is lighting it up, there are too many senior players sidelined for them to be competitive week-in, week-out. Co-captain Oscar Allen is out with a knee and calf injury, while last year's All-Australians Jake Waterman (shoulder) and Jeremy McGovern (retired) as well as star midfielder Elliot Yeo (ankle) are also unavailable. It has led McQualter to lean on a very young team that lost to 17th placed Richmond last weekend by 49 points. And it means the derby is likely to be a one-sided affair.
