Finishing position 2016: 16th – four wins, 18 losses, 74.3 per cent
Finishing position 2015: Third (first after home and away season) – 17 wins, five losses, 118.7 per cent
Players used: 44
Debutants: Darcy Tucker, Sam Collins, Shane Yarran
Retiring/delisted: Matthew Pavlich
Outlook for 2017:
It is rare to witness a downfall as swift and complete as Fremantle's in 2016. After finishing first on the ladder after the 2015 home and away series, they lost to Hawthorn by 27 points in a preliminary final, suggesting they had some work to do in order to go all the way. But few could have foreseen this year's dismal season, when they were saved from the wooden spoon only by a lowly Brisbane and much-depleted Essendon team.
Senior coach Ross Lyon says the club is now in rebuilding mode and it was likely to be four years before they played finals again. That is a long time to wait for Dockers fans, who will want to at least see signs of improvement next year.
Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe will be back for the Dockers in 2017. He broke his leg in the team's round five loss to Carlton and was forced to sit the rest of the season out. But Freo were not winning before he injured himself, so it should be clear that even if Fyfe can stay healthy, he alone will not be enough to lift their fortunes.
Harley Bennell has talent, but the Gold Coast recruit has not yet played a game for Fremantle after suffering calf injuries. The club offered Bennell a three-year deal despite his well-publicised off-field misdemeanours and Fremantle will want to see their faith repaid with the 23-year-year midfielder taking the field and making a real contribution. Just what Bennell can do in 2017 remains a great unknown at the Dockers.
Homesick Greater Western Sydney player Cam McCarthy is tipped to join Freo next year and quick Hawthorn wingman Brad Hill wants to return there to play with his older brother Stephen. Hill even met Lyon recently during a trip home to Perth, despite being contracted to the Hawks until the end of 2017.
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said he would not let Hill go easily and even hinted he would like to poach Stephen for his own team, but should Fremantle manage to pull off a trade Hill, with three premierships to his name, could add a great deal of top-level experience to the club.
Getting the likes of Hill, Bennell and McCarthy into Freo's best 22 could inject some positive energy into the team. The team's poor standing on the ladder will secure them some good young draft picks.
Fremantle's coaching staff will learn, too. Lyon admitted earlier this year that the club's focus on ball skills rather than fitness during the preseason had been a mistake. The players were not ready for the rigours of a half-year of football and the club is not likely to make the same mistake twice.
As well as being ill-prepared, Fremantle have also suffered a fair dose of bad luck this season. They are likely to improve in 2017, they will be a younger outfit and could hardly get worse than they were this year. But just how much better remains to be seen, because this team has proven anything but predictable.
