It was terrific to see more than 320 members make it to the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle on Tuesday night for our annual members’ meeting.

For us the night had two main goals - we wanted to inform our members, to make sure you all had as much information as we could provide about the club.

It was also a chance for us to be informed, which was something we really appreciated through talking to members before and after the meeting.

We heard senior coach Justin Longmuir speak about how the coaching group is planning for a shortened pre-season and our new coaching additions in Matthew Boyd and Joel Corey.

Justin also spoke about how the entire playing group is motivated to improve, even backing David Mundy to work hard and get better for his 17th season!

Our executive general manager of football Peter Bell highlighted further additions to the football department in some of the most critical roles and gave a promising update on how the players are tracking on the injury front.

With only minimal surgeries in the off-season, we are expecting close to a fully fit list to start the summer.

There are especially positive signs for our defensive stocks with Joel Hamling set to start his pre-season alongside our second to fourth year players next week. Hayden Young is also set to return to training with that group while Alex Pearce will commence full football training when the remainder of the playing group returns in January.

AFL Women’s senior coach Trent Cooper also gave a positive update on how our AFLW players are building for a big 2021 campaign.

The girls may have been unbeaten in 2020 but Trent is really pushing this group to go to another level again in 2021.

I said this on the night, but I’d like to emphasise that we want to be a club that can compete on a sustained basis.

Other clubs have set the precedent, finishing in the top eight or the top four consistently for more than a decade. We know it’s not an impossible task and we’re confident we have the right people in place to achieve this.

I know I can speak on behalf of everyone at Fremantle when I say that we feel privileged and fortunate to be charged with running this organisation on your behalf and we want to make you incredibly proud of your club.

Thank you again to those who took the time to show up last night and give their input on the direction of the club and I look forward to seeing you all at the footy next year.

Go Freo!