Fremantle Dockers’ lack of forward identity holding back their finals hopes

Fremantle’s forward line is suffering from an identity crisis.

It doesn’t know what it is.

Collingwood premiership player, former West Coast Eagle and now ABC football commentator Sharrod Wellingham says it’s a question that must be answered if the Dockers are to seriously challenge this season.

“The forward line doesn’t know what they are or who they are,” Wellingham said.

“What kind of forward line do they want to have? Do they want a pressure forward line where they rely on getting the ball in there and locking it in? Or do they want to have a forward line that relies on key position players who can take pack marks and go back and kick a goal? I don’t reckon they really know their avenue to goal.”

But Wellingham believes Jye Amiss, who will miss Saturday’s clash with the Western Bulldogs under concussion protocols, and Josh Treacy still have the makings of a long-term match-winning one-two punch.

“I do think that Amiss and Treacy can be a one-two key position forward line, but how does the team up the field get it in there? That’s still a query,” he says.

Adding Luke Jackson to the mix now that first-choice ruckman Sean Darcy has returned from injury can be a win-win too, says Wellingham.

“Because Jackson is so nimble and so agile,” Wellingham said. “He has the ability to hit the packs, keep his feet and then because of his speed he is able to put pressure on and be around the contest in a really dynamic way.

“Jackson, Treacy and Amiss all in there is a pretty scary forward line.

“There is nothing wrong with them playing all those talls. They just have to put more pace on the ball, get it in there and keep it in there.”

Even with Amiss in the team, Fremantle’s forward-half profile makes for ugly reading so far this season.

They rank 18th for inside 50 entries and on the flip side are 15th at conceding territory. They also have a 14th ranking for defending opposition chains from defensive 50 into attack and are 13th for overall time in the forward half.

That has translated into goal tallies of nine, nine, nine and 10 over the past month – and they had kicked only four up to three-quarter time in the round six derby loss.

“I feel like it’s uncertainty (from the midfield) and the opposition being able to put pressure on and slow the ball down,” Wellingham said.

“I don’t feel like they have enough pace on the ball, get it into the forward line and isolate quickly enough.”

Forcing the ball inside its forward 50 in an orderly fashion has become as big a problem as retaining territory – and Wellingham believes this is where the Dockers miss Lachie Schultz, who joined reigning premier Collingwood in the off-season.

“Schultz going out is having bigger impact than they thought because of the lack of pressure in the forward line,” he said.

Michael Frederick’s return will add pace and a layer of pressure, but they need more.

“His strengths are getting the ball in open space and breaking ground,” Wellingham said of Frederick.

“I don’t feel like he is really a high pressure forward. But that is something that can be coached into somebody.

“(Tom) Emmett is probably that like for like replacement for Schultz. And there is (Sam) Switkowski.”

Switkoswki will miss for a second match with concussion, while Michael Walters is out of form, below career average on disposals and forward 50 groundballs, in what Champion Data rates as the third worst six-week stretch across his 16-year career.

“You can’t rely on Michael Walters to be a huge pressure forward. He is 33. That is a big ask. He is there to finish off the work in the forward line. He is not there anymore to be their high intensity pressure forward,” Wellingham said.

The key, Wellingham says, is to mount enough pressure in the forward arc to make the opposition defenders “second-guess”.

Crucially, the Western Bulldogs are ranked 1st for defensive to forward 50 chains, one of the Dockers’ biggest struggles.

“The ball goes in there and just starts opposition rebound,” Wellingham says.