East Fremantle Season Review

East Fremantle’s quest to play finals in 2026 was hampered by a horror run with injuries early in the season and a disappointing second half to the year.

The Sharks lost nine games in a row to finish the home and away season, leaving Bill Monaghan and his team without a finals appearance for the first time since 2021.

The pre-season departure of Milan Murdock to the West Coast Eagles was a great reward for the three-time Lynn Medallist, but his absence left a huge hole in the midfield.

Coupled with the loss of Mitch Zadow to Port Adelaide before the season started and the Sharks star power was already in question.

The health of the squad was a major concern throughout the year losing Reuben McGuire, Jack Avery, Harrison Marsh, Eric Benning and other key players for lengthy periods due to injury.

After beginning their campaign with two wins from their first three games, East Fremantle suffered a 111-point loss to Claremont in Round 4.

The other crushing defeat for the Sharks came in Round 14 when Peel Thunder beat them by 84 points at The Good Grocer Park.

Arguably East Fremantle’s best performance of the year was against arch-rivals South Fremantle in Round 8, claiming their first WA Day Derby victory in a decade when they triumphed by 34 points.

Individually, Jack Cleaver emerged as one of the premier midfielders of the competition, playing 17 matches, averaging 25 disposals and kicking 12 goals for the year.

Cleaver’s class was on display during the two Derbies when he gathered 37 disposals and kicked two goals on WA Day, before being his side’s best player in a losing effort with 23 disposals and three goals in Round 19.

Veteran defender Cam Eardley turned in another high-quality season, playing 17 matches, averaging 24 disposals a match and kicking three goals, while captain Kyle Baskerville and midfielder Tom Joyce were both restricted to just 11 games for the year but still were major contributors when they took the field.

Two of the club’s biggest success stories came from the club’s star recruits, Oskar Smartt and Liam Robinson.

The pair proved to be weapons in attack for the Sharks, Robinson leading the goalkicking with 34 for the season and Smartt booting 30 for 2026.

Among the successful changes implemented by Monaghan was the move of Jono Marsh into defence, a role he appeared to relish.

The retirements of Alex Montauban, Tom Joyce and Jarrad Jansen will be felt by the Sharks in 2027, but with the club blooding several new players this year there is optimism finals will be on the agenda next season.