Fremantle are opting to embrace their tough fixture in 2023 where they will play four of last year’s top eight teams twice, including grand finalists Geelong and Sydney.
Dockers CEO Simon Garlick says the club and players aren’t “overly concerned” with the draw that will also include double games against preliminary finalists Brisbane and finalists the Western Bulldogs.
“I think it’s pretty much as we expected it to be,” he said on SEN.
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“We’re looking at it as a really exciting challenge.
“One thing we look to try and keep in perspective, while draws can appear incredibly hard or easy in December, sometimes they don’t end up that way.
“I think teams that might have thought getting Collingwood twice when the draw was released last year would have thought that might not have been a bad thing for them; then they turned out to be playing top four footy all year.”
While admitting being “disappointed” in their Gather Round schedule, which is the first Friday night game at Norwood Oval, Garlick said there’s still an upside.
“We’re clearly disappointed in a sense that it’s such an early game to be telecast back into Perth for our supporters,” he said.
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“We looked to alter that where we could but it just didn’t fit. We’ll wear that one.
“You can’t have it all in that sense.
“One upside is we don’t have to go to the Gold Coast – which mitigates a really significant travel for us.”
Garlick said the club was “really pleased” to get as many home Saturday afternoon and evening games as possible, while he believes the team can manage a tough late season stretch.
From Round 16, the Dockers will play six consecutive games against teams that finished in the top nine last year – but three of those games will be at home.
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“For us to be playing some of the teams that have performed really well in the last couple of years is something we want to embrace,” he said.
“We’re going to find out a lot about ourselves in that stretch.
“That stretch in particular is going to be a really significant one for us as a young group to work through. That test for them is going to be fantastic.”
