The 2022 Toyota AFL Premiership Season is upon us and there’s a real buzz about town.
 
Next weekend, our team will head to Adelaide for the season opener against the Crows at Adelaide Oval. 
 
When the ball is bounced we’ll all be on the edge of our seats to see how it unfolds. It is the culmination of months of high intensity planning, recruiting, conditioning, coaching and training.
 
Let’s cast our minds back to October.  We announced the arrival of Will Brodie and Jordan Clark to our Club and they’ve added some real spark and depth to our side.  It’s always nice to hear a player deliver a media interview and state “I really love being around the Club”, as Jordan did on the weekend.
 
Our coaches and players have put in a mountain of work over the pre-season to ensure they are ready to go, and the overall health of our list is strong, which is a credit to our high performance staff.
 
There’s been a new inclusion to our leadership group with Caleb Serong nominated by his peers as a leader of our Club. He will make a terrific addition to the group, led by Nathan and supported by Dave, Andy and Alex. Caleb and Andy really do epitomise the rapid growth of our young group of players, who are the very future of our Club.
 
Our two practice games have given us a taste of what we can hope to see from the players this season.  Justin Longmuir has high expectations of his players and is demanding more consistent performances every week, as he should.
 
While the anticipation for round one is strong and clearly the absolute focus of our football department, the excitement for round two, when we finally get to play in front of the Purple Army at home, at Optus Stadium is enormous.
 
This will be a return to our pre-game traditions and post-match rituals, a chance to don the purple and re-connect with our fellow members and supporters. The cheers, the chants, the rocker on the roof, the burst of ACDC after every Freo goal and Kevin Parker’s hype track that kicks off the second half. This is what makes the hairs stand up on the back of our necks and we will get to do that 11 times this year with confidence that games will no longer be moved or completely locked out.
 
There is a lot to be excited about. 
 
The AFL Women’s season is approaching finals and I would like to highlight the season we are having, and the sacrifices our girls have made to achieve the huge wins they’ve had.
 
Their season hasn’t been easy, but the way they just get on with it is inspiring and I can’t wait to see what they can achieve over the coming weeks.
 
I’m excited to announce we have a new AFL Coaches Sponsor, with Boomer Home Loans coming on board and taking up the position on the coaches apparel and in the coaches box on game day.
 
Boomer joins two other new partners this year in Spudshed and Crypto.com, which is a great sign of confidence that these energetic brands are wanting to be part of our journey.
 
I’d like to also acknowledge the continued support from our loyal key partners in McDonald’s, CUB, Sullivan Logistics, TABtouch and RAC and of course our co-major partners Programmed and Woodside.
 
We are fortunate to have such passionate corporate support from organisations that genuinely want to see us succeed and they are committed to help us reach great heights. The support, both financial and at a personal level that our loyal partners provide the Club cannot be understated.
 
Our membership numbers are strong and this will grow as we continue our journey to hit our target of 80,000 members by 2025.
 
If you haven’t already made your love for this football Club official for 2022, please join us as a member today and be part of this exciting path we are on.
 
We stated last year that our purpose is to fight, inspire and win, enrich our community and make the Freo family proud.
 
Well, I can tell you, everyone in our entire Club is primed and ready to make you proud in 2022.
 
So bring on round one!