Star tall Luke Jackson might not be the last big fish Fremantle lure back home to Western Australia as they continue to push for a maiden premiership, with more wantaway local talent now seeing the Dockers as an ideal off-season destination.
Fremantle added East Fremantle product Jackson, along with former Dongara-born midfielder Jaeger O'Meara from Hawthorn, through last year's trade window in what was a busy exchange period for Dockers football boss Peter Bell.
The club did see five players depart through trades with Victorian clubs, but the overall off-season was seen as a success for the Cockburn club, mostly thanks to the addition of premiership Demon, Jackson.
But understanding his list isn't near finished despite a strong finals showing last year, impressive young depth and a promising wave of new additions, Bell and his team firmly have their eyes on more WA talent from 2023.
Two of the most tantalising WA products come in the form of Western Bulldogs forward Aaron Naughton and Port Adelaide youngster Mitch Georgiades, with the latter expected to gain attention from both Fremantle and West Coast this year given his contract is nearing its expiry.
When quizzed on targeting the attacking duo by 7 News, Bell said the club are sure to have in consideration.
“I think it's never finished, your list profile," Bell said.
"We're really comfortable with the character of the group that we have but it's not finished, I don't think it's ever finished.
“We'll look at free agency, we'll look at trade and the draft.
“I think as a club, we're at a stage with the environment that we've created, where there are players who are expressing interest and sometimes that's just it, sometimes they express interest for a whole variety of reasons but expressing interest in potentially moving to Western Australia and playing for Fremantle. That wasn't the case a while ago. So things have changed a little bit.
“We're certainly getting interest from more players across the board.”
Georgiades, a former Subiaco forward, is seen as one of the more promising players yet to confirm their future beyond this year, with West Coast and Victorian clubs set to express some level of interest in the 21-year-old.
The Eagles will strongly assess their key forward options after the retirement of Josh Kennedy, perhaps leaving Adam Simpson wanting to find a new partner for Oscar Allen given Jack Darling's age and injury history.
A combination of Allen and Georgiades could potentially mirror the premiership pairing that was formed by Kennedy and Darling, where the duo combined for a total of 1,196 goals to sit first and third on the club's all-time goalkicking tally.
Unlike Georgiades, Naughton is contracted until the end of next season, making him an unlikely target for either WA side in 2023.
The high-flying and versatile tall forward is arguably the top-rated key forward 23 years and under, rivalling brothers Max and Ben King after booting 98 goals across the past two seasons.
