WAFL 2022 Preview – East FremantleWednesday, March 23, 2022 - 12:00 AM - by Chris Pike

EAST Fremantle finished 2021 with some impressive form to be building for the future and while there's no hiding from how much three late blows could be tough to cover in 2022, the Sharks still come into the new season with expectations of further improvement.

East Fremantle hasn’t played finals since a devastating preliminary final loss to Subiaco way back in 2014, but the Sharks did appear to be on the best track to break that run by the way they ended the 2021 season.

The Sharks finished the 2021 season winning their past three games and there was great optimism for what was to come in 2022 even without access to East Fremantle Oval which is undergoing a significant redevelopment.

Having Luke Strnadica anchoring the ruck and Hugh Dixon as part of the forward-line, and then adding Tom Joyce back from the Brisbane Lions to play in the midfield were going to be significant factors in how far East Fremantle would be able to go in 2022.

The Sharks suffered a significant blow when those three players were signed late by the West Coast Eagles, but that doesn’t mean the Sharks still shouldn’t be buoyant about what they are going to be capable of in 2022.

After all, Josh Schoenfeld will be virtually like a new recruit and Cody Leggett is another who missed significant time in 2021 along with Milan Murdock who they can expect big things from for this coming season.

The Sharks will still have the likes Matthew Jupp and Jamie Meade down back, Jonathon Marsh and Dillon O'Reilly in attack, and reigning fairest and best winner Kyle Baskerville, Schoenfeld and company through the midfield to bank on.

Former Claremont ruckman Jeremy Goddard has come on board to help cover for the loss of Strnadica while the Sharks will be hoping that Victorian trio Jackson McDonald, Matthew Williamson and Sam Medland can all prove to be handy recruits as well.

It's hard to know exactly what to expect from East Fremantle in 2022 but expect them to be doing everything they can to push for a finals return even without a home ground.

It will be exciting to see them bring WAFL football back to the WACA Ground as well so there's plenty to look forward to when it comes to East Fremantle in 2022.

COACH – Bill Monaghan (Fourth season, 14-30 record)
CAPTAIN – Matthew Jupp 
FAIREST AND BEST 2021 – Kyle Baskerville

LOOKBACK ON 2021

It was quite the rollercoaster ride for East Fremantle in 2021 but by the end of the season having re-signed their coach, there's perhaps more hope heading into 2022 about their on-field prospects than in a long time.

The big question mark for East Fremantle moving forward will be how they cope without having a home ground while East Fremantle Oval is undergoing a spectacular and overdue redevelopment, but there's plenty to like about how they look on the field based on how they ended 2021.

The Sharks have pulled off a bit of a coup in the meantime by signing to play at the WACA Ground so that might be less of a problem than first thought.

The Sharks won their last three games against Subiaco, West Perth and Peel Thunder to end the season with momentum and high hopes of what might be possible heading into 2022.

Everything is pointing towards a Sharks team who finished 2021 with enough momentum to be feeling good about what 2022 should hold even minus a home ground. 

FULL EAST FREMANTLE 2021 SEASON REVIEW

INS AND OUTS

Incoming – Jeremy Goddard, Jye Depane, Jackson McDonald, Matthew Williamson, Sam Medland, Brodie Riach

Outgoing – Nick Kommer, Hugh Dixon, Luke Strnadica, Jordan Snadden, Morgan Davies

FEATURE FIXTURE

East Fremantle begin their season with away games to Peel Thunder and Swan Districts before taking on East Perth in the country zone town of Northampton, but it's their Round 4 clash at the WACA Ground with the West Coast Eagles that is a source of great excitement. It will be the 778th WAFL game played at the venue, but the first since the qualifying final of 1994 when East Fremantle beat West Perth. The Sharks will be calling the ground home this year and they make their first appearance on the hallowed turf in Round 4 for the Saturday May 7 clash with the Eagles. Ironically they could end up playing against some of the players who they were relying on to be key players in their team for 2022.

PREDICTION

You could have just about locked away East Fremantle for a return to finals action before they lost Luke Strnadica, Tom Joyce and Hugh Dixon in recent times, but the Sharks should still be confident of continuing their upward trajectory in 2022 and finals shouldn’t be out of the equation.