Come inside the four walls and gain an exclusive insight into Fremantle's Round 12 travel trip to the Gold Coast, a feature by fremantlefc.com.au.

Thursday 29 May – Travel Day 

As external media outlets swarm the departure staircase, eager to be the first to snap a picture of the incoming Nat Fyfe, Sean Darcy, and Josh Draper – who are the yet-to-be announced team changes - we settle into a bustling Virgin Australia lounge.  

Players, coaches, and staff flood in over the next hour, awaiting the flight to the Gold Coast for the Round 12 meeting with the Suns. 

Youngsters Jeremy Sharp and Murphy Reid are roped into a final TikTok for the club account, while Corey Wagner, his partner Michaela, and their first child Remy make the rounds - greeting teammates as Wagner prepares for a trip back to his roots on the sunny coast of Queensland. 

The vibe on the plane is high. Perth is shrouded in dark skies and rainfall during take-off, but after some minor turbulence, things settle down and the fortnightly routine of travelling is in full swing. 

As soon as the seatbelt sign switches off, players launch from their seats, gathering in the aisle to stretch their legs and chat amongst themselves. Veteran defenders Luke Ryan and Brennan Cox lead a game of cards up front, while Michael Frederick, Josh Draper, and Shai Bolton shuffle seats to be together, laughing and exchanging stories for most of the flight. Fyfe - returning for his first AFL game of 2025 after a hamstring injury in the WAFL - runs through several routines of stretches and muscle activations alongside his seat. 

Some five hours later, at 7:00pm local time, the flight touches down at Gold Coast Airport. The team whisks through the airport to the waiting team bus, catching the eyes of passersby - young children tugging at their parents’ clothes, pointing out the team in awe of the athletes. 

A die-hard supporter, having figured out the schedule, waits by the bus under the cover of darkness, eagerly clutching a team sheet and jumper, collecting signatures from players, coaches, and even CEO Simon Garlick. 

After a short bus ride to the team hotel, players drop their bags in their rooms before gathering for a joint dinner in one of the function rooms. Players are scattered throughout the room, mixed in at dinner tables of six or so among staff and coaches, with casual chats and laughter bubbling as the realisation sets in that the toughest leg of travel is now behind them. 

Some elect to go on a short walk after dinner to get their legs ticking over, having been seated for the best part of the last seven hours since departing Perth. 

By 10:30pm local time, 95% of the travelling group have disappeared to their rooms to rest and reset for the night. 

Friday 30 May – Captain’s Run 

As the sun glimmers through the dark, cloudy skies over the coastline in the morning, it’s clear that the famously dubbed ‘Sunshine State’ of Queensland won’t be delivering blue skies and rainbows come Saturday’s bounce down. 

Players filter down from their rooms from 7–9am, fuelling up for the day ahead on a variety of fruits, eggs, toast, meat, spinach, mushrooms, and other breakfast staples. 

At 10:00am, the playing group huddles in their line groups (mids, forwards, backs) for a brief but impactful drill of vision and tactics for gameday. We’re lucky enough to be a fly on the wall for the defensive unit’s meeting.  

Jade ‘Twig’ Rawlings, who took the helm of the backline at the start of the 2025 season, addresses his group.  

Twig asserts to his defensive group that contest - with the expected conditions - is something to embrace. Having played 148 games in his career and been around AFL and SANFL teams since retiring in 2006, Twig knows footy and knows what he wants from his backline.  

His delivery is stern, expectations high, but the wheels are turning. In the last three-week block, Fremantle has ranked first for points against, and second in defensive 50 groundball differentials, opposition back-half score percentage, and opposition score per inside 50 percentage. 

The team had their first taste of wet-weather footy in the Round 11 win over Port Adelaide, and Twig opens a discussion about the key learnings from that game as defenders - Luke Ryan joins the conversation.

“Don’t let the ball over the back, field position is key in the wet so keep the ball in front as much as possible,” Ryan offers. 

“Keep your feet, stay strong at your core and keep the ball going our way.” 

“Surge kick readiness,” Rawlings adds.  

“So how are we ready for that in the way we are setting up?” 

The conversations continue for the next ten minutes. Tactical vision of Gold Coast is shown, highlighting tendencies and patterns in the Suns’ build-up and forward line play. 

Most notable is the emphasis on communication - not just within the backline, but the expectation that the group directs other lines where needed. 

“I’ll reinforce it, but you guys demand it on-field,” Rawlings states.  

“If we want to be the team we want to be, then it’s the attention to detail on the small things like positioning and setting up out there for set shots, stoppages, and so on that will help us win those games decided by under a kick.” 

There is a pure belief within this group and the system. As much as the backline and team would love to have their spiritual leader and captain Alex Pearce out there on Saturday - after a rollercoaster few days of losing him to the MRO, then being cleared at the AFL Tribunal, only to have him ruled out again with a leg injury - there’s a comfortable aura that the job will get done. 

Pearce makes the backline stand taller and has been in brilliant form in 2025, but there’s a genuine belief that the next man in will do the job. 

This time, it’s Fremantle’s 2024 Beacon Award winner Draper replacing the injured captain, while Banfield joins the defensive rotation in the absence of the young, injured Cooper Simpson. 

“Alex spoke yesterday before we flew out and talked about his belief in other leaders being able to do the job,” Rawlings said after the meeting.  

“Strategically, we were ready for either situation - if he played or didn’t - but as you would have seen here today, the guys aren’t sitting here stressing over him being unavailable or not. 

“It’s a next man in, trust the process, trust the system mentality.  

“Our capacity to compete and contest one-versus-one has been a real strength with this group, along with our aerial strength and ability to spoil, which has gotten a lot better.  

Enthralled in the conversation and picking a coach’s brain, we’re the last to board for Captain’s Run at People First Stadium, a venue Fremantle hasn’t played at since 2022. 

For what it’s worth, the sun comes out for Fremantle’s power hour on the track, but the backdrop of dark storm clouds over the coast from which the bus had just come... Whispers in the back of everyone’s mind that Saturday will be a good old-fashioned slugfest. 

Carrying on from the changes implemented before the successful away win over GWS, the team does a simple walk-through around the oval, talking through specific points and getting the players who haven’t featured at the ground before familiar with the feel of the stadium. 

Shortly after, upbeat house tunes echo around the empty stadium seats, only interrupted by the occasional cheer from a corporate travel party granted access to watch and receive signatures at the end of drills. 

By 1:00pm local time, the team is back on the bus, destined for the hotel ballroom and lunch.  

By 6:00pm, the rain has arrived and shows no intention of stopping - and wouldn’t for the rest of the weekend. What might usually see multiple players leave the hotel for some time on their own now instead sees most in their rooms or surrounding the ping-pong table in the dinner room. 

Neil Erasmus, Pat Voss, Brennan Cox, Ryan, Banfield, and even stand-in forward line coach Andrew Sturgess take turns ruling the table, the competitive nature of professional athletes shining through even in the friendliest of competition. 

Some players prefer the quiet of conversation at a tucked-away table, while Andrew Brayshaw quizzes teammates on obscure football facts. 

Dinner comes and goes, and the playing group doesn’t linger long into the night. Most retreat to their rooms to watch the final quarter of Collingwood and Hawthorn, all undoubtedly preparing mentally for the battle to come. 

Saturday 31 May – Game Day 

For maybe an hour or so in the morning, the rain eases, but the blanket of grey clouds that has draped the coast and city since Friday remains, and the inevitability of more rain hangs over the day. 

The early morning player walk, usually a full-team pre-game ritual, is now just a skeleton crew of maybe eight braving the conditions - one being the returning superstar Fyfe, who, even without playing a senior AFL game so far in 2025 and being away from home on the Gold Coast, can’t escape the fandom frenzy.  

As the streets lay bare in the downpour, a young girl, no older than ten, chases down the dual Brownlow medallist, carrying a board of Fyfe football cards collected throughout his career - over twenty in total. Simply wanting a signature to complete her collection, Fyfe obliges and treats her to a conversation and photo. 

By 10:30am, everyone has packed their bags and the team departs for the stadium. Once arrived, the gameday routine is in full swing: high-energy pump-up music blares in the changerooms as players get their strapping and warm-up drills done.  

Senior Coach Justin Longmuir oversees his team, deep in thought and concentration, as his playing group buzzes with eagerness as bouncedown approaches. 

1:20pm- the game begins. Fremantle holds firm against the Suns in a gritty, rain-soaked contest at People First Stadium, securing their third straight win. From the opening bounce, the boys show resilience and composure, navigating the slippery conditions with a blend of pressure and tactical discipline that keeps the Suns at bay. 

The defence, marshalled by the likes of Cox, Ryan, and Jordan Clark, steps up in the absence of injured leader Pearce, just as Rawlings had expected.  

The midfield’s relentless tackling and contested ball work deny the Suns the space they seek. Despite the challenge of the wet weather, Fremantle’s ability to hold their structure and execute under pressure is the difference - attention to detail, as Rawlings would put it. 

Shai Bolton is the standout, his three goals and relentless work rate epitomising Fremantle’s fighting spirit. His second goal - a stunning run from 50 metres late in the third quarter - sparks momentum just as the Suns threaten to take control.  

Gold Coast mounts a late charge, closing the margin to five points with time to spare, but Bolton’s chase and tackle, followed by Jye Amiss’ crucial goal in the dying moments, seals the win. 

Soaked but unbowed, the team leaves the field knowing they’ve earned every inch of the hard-fought victory. In the change rooms, surrounded by friends and family, the team belts out the team song. Spirits are high - they’ve done exactly what they set out to do and now enter the mid-season bye sitting inside the top eight. 

As things wind down and the team prepares to board the bus to the airport for the last time, several loyal fans embrace the still-torrential conditions to try and snag a photo or signature from the team in the darkness. 

Despite the inconsistent performances to begin this season and an abundance of external noise, the entire men’s program has stayed connected and committed to their cause.

The Gold Coast win, highlighted by the preparation, grit and determination, has now provided a formula to take into their upcoming game against North Melbourne in Round 14, which will be an away game at Optus Stadium.