General manager of football Peter Bell has addressed why Fremantle have accepted one ’unusual’ aspect of their playing fixture after the AFL released rounds two to five on Monday.
Fremantle would have played every game interstate following round five, yet one of those games will be considered a ‘home’ game by the AFL.
Freo will play away to Brisbane in round two at the Gabba on Saturday 13 June but the following game against Port Adelaide in neutral territory at Metricon Stadium will be considered a ‘home’ fixture.
The opposite will be the case when Fremantle play ‘away’ to Adelaide in round five at Metricon.
Bell said this was the most equitable outcome as Fremantle look to play a block of games in WA later in the year.
“Interestingly, there’s that ‘home’ game for us against Port Adelaide in round three, and that’s a little unusual, but there are unusual circumstances this year,” Bell said.
“Clearly, the AFL couldn’t give us a home game against one of the Queensland teams.
“We did this with the understanding that we had to get the season started and that’s why West Coast and ourselves and the Adelaide clubs have chosen to do this.
“But it is on the understanding that wherever possible, at the tail end of the season, we’ll get a run of home games back in Western Australia.
“I think everyone in the AFL will recognise that would be the fair and equitable thing.”
Bell acknowledged that playing games in WA would need more than AFL approval.
“The WA Government has the best interests of the community at heart, and we understand that as well,” Bell said.
“We’re just confident that the AFL will recognise the sacrifices that we and the South Australian clubs have made, and they’ll try and balance that as best they can later in the year.”
Bell said Fremantle could now focus on their next opponent, with their round two clash 19 days away.
“Brisbane achieved a lot last year, they’re a very exciting team,” Bell said.
“Hawthorn had their measure in round one but there’s been a long time between round one and round two.
“There’s a lot of unknowns for all the clubs, there’s a little bit of uncertainty as to how everyone’s handled the lockdown period.
“We aim to hit Brisbane with a bit of momentum.”
Bell added he was pleased to see the players get through their first full contact training session since the shutdown ended.
“The guys certainly had a lot of energy in the difficult weather, it was a high-energy and intense training session, so that was terrific,” Bell said.
