Fremantle is one of the 'buzz' teams heading into 2007 thanks largely to a barnstorming finish to last season and a strong showing against the Eagles in the fir
Fremantle is one of the 'buzz' teams heading into 2007 thanks largely to a barnstorming finish to last season and a strong showing against the Eagles in the first round of the NAB Cup.It's a position the Dockers aren't too familiar with and James Walker admits there is a special vibe around the club at the moment brought on by the anticipation of a strong season."It's definitely a different (feeling). I think we have a sense of expectation. We've had a really big pre-season on the back of the momentum that we were able to gather last year," Walker said from Telstra Dome on Friday."I don't think we feel any more pressure, but we certainly expect a lot more of ourselves than, perhaps, we did this time last year."We expect to perform at a consistent level like we have been recently. I guess the last half of last year we certainly started to show that if we do the things that we can do well, we're a good side."Walker is unsure if the Dockers' feats of 2006 have led to the club being viewed in a different light around the league, but said they would continue to work on the little things that helped them reach new heights."It's difficult for us … from our club's perspective to say if people respect us more or less now," he said."We take things on a merits basis and we feel that you've got good reason to respect us. We can be a good side when we play the best way that we can play, but I'm not too sure whether sides respect us more or less."One thing for certain is the club is entering this season a lot differently than it did in Walker's first year at the club in 1998. Years of toil at the wrong end of the ladder are a thing of the past now and Walker gives much of the credit to the current leadership at the club."I think comparing it to when I first started, the club was at such a young stage of its development that we were really finding our way," he said."I think now we've been able to get (direction) from guys like Cameron Schwab and Chris Connolly who've really driven the club from strength to strength."
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The 2024 Telstra AFL National Draft will run across two nights – Wednesday 20 November, and Thursday 21 November.
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Get all the updates from our 2024 Community Camp trip to the Pilbara region in WA.
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