The Fremantle locker room has been filled with a new kind of excitement lately, as several players recently embraced parenthood, adding to the Club's growing fraternity of football Fathers.

Jaeger O'Meara and Corey Wagner both welcomed new additions to their families in 2025, while trade recruit Shai Bolton and SSP signing Quinton Narkle have joined Fremantle’s list of established fathers, alongside veteran Michael Walters and defender Brennan Cox.

For these new Dads, the challenge of balancing their professional careers with newfound responsibilities at home has brought both joy and perspective.

“It’s been awesome. My wife Tory, has done an amazing job, but I just love getting home to him,” O’Meara said, his smile gleaming.

“We’re starting to get a bit more personality out of him now, a few more smiles here and there. It’s just awesome.”

“Lack of sleep has probably been the biggest hurdle. I’ve always loved my sleep, and as a professional athlete it’s a big-ticket item in terms of recovery and preparation. Getting my head around that has been a bit of a juggling act, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s been amazing.”

Brennan Cox, Father of newly turned one-year-old Arlo, has been able to adjust to Dad life after welcoming his child to the world in early 2024.

“I’ve been pretty lucky with Arlo. He’s a really good sleeper, so pretty much every night he goes to bed at seven, and we have to wake him up at six-thirty in the morning,” Cox said on the Final Siren podcast after Freo's Round 4 win over the Bulldogs.

“We’re both getting a lot of sleep, which is half the battle, but he’s been really good for us.”

Baby Arlo hasn’t just brought joy to Cox's own life; he is also bringing newfound perspective to great mate and fellow defender Luke Ryan, who is enjoying life as an Uncle.

“I love it (spending time with Cox and Arlo). It was his first birthday the other day and it was good fun,” Ryan said on the Final Siren podcast.

“I’ve babysat him once when the missus (Cox’s partner, Keah) was out, and it was just us boys looking after him.

“He’s (Arlo) so easy, and he’s so happy, and they are good parents, so it’s good.”

It isn’t just on nights at home that Freo’s newest members are having an impact. Present in the rooms after home gamedays, the brood of babies is bringing smiles and joy to many of the players - win, lose, or draw.

“The first time he came into the rooms was during Round 2 when we unfortunately lost to the Swans, but having him there for the first time also helped me move on quickly - just seeing the little fella and trying to get him around the boys to help cheer them up,” O’Meara joked.

Michael Walters, a father of three girls and a long-time leader both on and off the field, was one of the only fathers on Fremantle’s playing list a few years ago.

Now, the 239-game player is one of six Dads, with Will Brodie set to join as the seventh after he and his partner Kate announced in March that they were expecting their first child later this year.

With an average list age of just 24, O’Meara, as one of only three 30+ year-olds on Fremantle’s list, said sharing the experience of parenthood and watching the list grow up together is a strong connection embedded within the Club’s family-like culture.

“This is only my third year at the Club, but when I arrived, it was only Sonny (Michael Walters), Travis Colyer, Nathan Wilson and Joel Hamling who had kids. Now there are quite a few of us,” O’Meara said.

“It’s cool to be able to go through parenthood together, learn, and grow together.

“One thing I realised is I didn’t have a lot of empathy toward guys with kids until I had my son myself. Until you go through childbirth and the changes in sleep and everything that comes with being a parent, you don’t fully understand how significant it is.

“It’s been cool to share those experiences with the other Dads at the Club.”

As Fremantle embarks further into season 2025, the influx of new fathers in the team has brought an added layer of maturity and determination to the group.

With Michael Walters leading the way and a new generation of Dads finding their footing both at home and on the field, the Purple Army is poised, driven by the pursuit of something much greater than any singular individual – being part of the collective Freo family.