Fremantle’s AFLW Department continues to take shape for season 2024 with the appointments of Claire Heffernan as Head of AFLW and Darryn Fry as AFLW List Manager.
Previously the Club’s AFLW Player Development Manager, Heffernan has a significant amount of experience having played and coached women’s football.
Heffernan replaces Bob Murphy, who has joined Fremantle’s men’s program as a specialist skills coach. Murphy will continue to stay involved in the AFLW program in his role as Head of Leadership at the Club.
She says it’s an exciting new role and she’s looking forward to working closely with Senior Coach Lisa Webb.
“I was a late bloomer when I first played football in my late 20s and just fell in love with the game,” said Heffernan.
“When I finished my playing career, I wanted to stay involved so I turned to coaching – progressing from under 15s to senior women.
“I coached a team called Aberfeldie to a flag in Victoria and then moved into a development coaching role, then a player development role.”
“The whole program is tracking really well and I want it to become the best program in Australia to attract talent and ultimately lead the Club to premiership success.”
Executive General Manager of Football Joe Brierty congratulated Heffernan on her appointment.
“It’s exciting for Claire, who has built strong relationships across the entire AFLW program since arriving at the Club,” said Brierty.
“She’s a real people person and this will hold her in good stead to lead our AFLW operations and strategy.”
In another off-field move, Darryn Fry has been appointed AFLW List Manager.
Fry has previously overseen all of Fremantle’s key AFLW operations, including recruiting and list management. The Club has now identified the need for a specific resource to focus on list management and recruiting due to the complexity of the growing industry.
“Darryn has done a fantastic job leading the operations of our AFLW program for many years," said Brierty.
“We’ve seen growing complexity in the retention and acquisition of players across AFLW with increased player movement as the competition has expended to 18 teams. So our continued investment in our list management resourcing is a priority and Darryn will drive this strategy moving forward with Peter Bell.”
AFLW assistant coaches Jay Van Berlo and Matt Templeton will depart the Club with Van Berlo travelling overseas and Templeton being appointed Head Coach of East Fremantle’s WAFLW team.
Fremantle will replace the AFLW assistant coaches and Player Development Manager roles in the new year.
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