Fremantle defender Joel Hamling says the player group have adopted the mantra ‘anything is possible’ for 2020 as new Dockers coach Justin Longmuir prepares to unleash a fast and furious game plan.
Hamling was in just his second AFL season in 2016 when he helped the Western Bulldogs win a fairytale flag from seventh spot.
Fremantle are attempting to return to finals action in 2020 after four years in the wilderness, and optimism is growing under rookie coach Longmuir.
The Dockers were largely a defensive-minded team under former coach Ross Lyon – a game plan that came close to delivering Fremantle the flag in 2013.
The most successful teams of recent years have adopted a more free-flowing game style, and former Collingwood assistant Longmuir has decided to follow suit at the Dockers.
Fremantle possess one of the youngest lists in the competition after undergoing a four-year rebuild, but Hamling isn’t putting a ceiling on what they can achieve in 2020.
“Our mantra is anything is possible,” Hamling said.
“I think our list is as good as anyone’s in the AFL. I think we’ve got a pretty good spine, but we have to stay fit, healthy and available.
“(Longmuir) has been really good. New energy, new lease on life.
“We’re going to play fast football, really face up and open the ground up and get the ball moving. Give it to our users.
“The way the game’s going – the demands on the game – everyone is starting to play that sort of brand.
“We’re going to try to open the game up and get the ball moving and get it into our forwards, and it will give us our best chance to score.”
The more free-flowing game style is set to benefit a star-studded Fremantle attack featuring Jesse Hogan, Rory Lobb, and Matt Taberner.
But keeping the three spearheads on the park looms as one of Fremantle’s biggest challenges.
Hogan is on the comeback trail from foot surgery, while Taberner missed most of last season with a stress fracture in his left foot.
The Dockers also need key defender Alex Pearce to stay injury free if they are to build a rock solid defence.
Hamling has been one of Fremantle’s most consistent players since joining the Dockers at the end of 2016.
The leadership group member has enjoyed helping guide the club’s younger brigade, and he’s confident they will flourish in the coming years.