Fremantle have extended their affiliation with WAFL club Peel Thunder until the end of 2029, marking a 15-year alignment between the two clubs when the new deal ends.
However, the deal has seemingly severe implications against a national reserves competition being organised in the near future, as AFL clubs become more inclined to abandon the current state-league set-up.
SANFL side Port Adelaide Magpies, affiliated with the Power, were reportedly open to leaving 150 years of history in the SANFL to create a balance of equality and fairness in the state-league competition, as well as providing higher quality opponents for their side to face.
The news had been speculated for months before the report by Herald Sun's Jay Clark, especially after the VFL strengthened its league post-COVID by absorbing NEAFL sides Southport Sharks and the namesake AFL-affiliates Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast Suns, Sydney Swans and GWS Giants.
The enveloping of the NEAFL means 14 AFL sides are aligned with a club in the VFL competition, with St Kilda's affiliation with the Sandringham Zebras the only team that doesn't share the AFL club's nickname. The Box Hill Hawks, Casey Demons and Footscray Bulldogs are the other three that don't share location-branding, albeit the AFL Demons do train in Casey, while Footscray was the former official location of the AFL side.
The Adelaide Crows have followed suit in open-mindedness to the idea of an 18-team national reserves competition, as have West Coast, however Fremantle, happy with their partnership with Peel, remain the only other club in disagreement.
โPort Adelaide are quite open about their plans to exit the SANFL - 150 years of history โ (it's) certainly a massive story in South Australia,โ Clark said.
โAdelaide have followed suite, so they both want to exit that league and be part of a national second-tier competition, which will involve all 18 clubs.
โI think this will happen, and they're pushing for it to happen next year - so I think we get used to that idea that SANFL, potentially the WAFL, is going to be missing those traditional clubs."
Following Fremantle and Peel's fresh extension, an AFL reserves competition may still be a while away yet.
The two clubs have enjoyed on-field success since the teams aligned in 2014. Most recently, the Thunder won the WAFL grand final last year comfortably after finishing second in the home and away season.
Peel also won back-to-back flags in 2016 and 2017, and have made finals from six of their last ten campaigns.
These finals appearances and premierships were the first Peel had ever achieved in their WAFL history, enduring a finals drought from their 1997 inception until 2014.
It's hence why Peel strongly values their affiliation with Fremantle, while the Dockers reap the rewards of player development through the WAFL.
Fremantle also have the control of selecting the senior coach at Peel, allowing the AFL-listed players to still be directly aligned with Fremantle's gameplan when playing in the twos.
Dockers CEO Simon Garlick said Fremantle were proud to extend their agreement for another four years.
โAs a Club we are very proud of our partnership with Peel Thunder in the WAFL competition and value the past 11 seasons we have spent working together,โ Garlick said.
โWe will always assess what is best for our players and as it stands, the agreed arrangement is undoubtedly the right call for our program.
โThis partnership has enabled us to achieve mutual success, both in the development of Fremantle and Peel players, as well as Peel's premiership achievements to date.โ
Current Fremantle-listed players Neil Erasmus, Nathan O'Driscoll, Karl Worner, Will Brodie, Liam Reidy, Patrick Voss, and Hugh Davies were all members of Peel's premiership side last year.
Peel Thunder CEO Paul Lekias said he was determined to continue the thriving partnership.
โThe Peel Thunder Football Club has been working tirelessly behind the scenes with Fremantle to develop a contemporary partnership that benefits both clubs in their pursuit of sustained success," Lekias said.
"We are excited to continue to grow as a club, while helping Fremantle achieve the ultimate AFL success.
โIn recent times, both clubs have worked hard to develop a selection cap that continues to provide local Peel players the best opportunity to play WAFL football.
โThis is evidenced by the number of 17/18 year olds debuting and the nine players drafted into the AFL system.
โBoth Peel and Fremantle are determined to win games of football, and we are extremely proud of the environment we have created which provides our players and staff, opportunities to succeed at the WAFL, or AFL level.โ
Fremantle will face Melbourne on Sunday 2 March in their final pre-season hitout, hosting the Demons at Peel's home ground.
