Fremantle Docker Sam Switkowski expects strong team to play in AFL pre-season derby against West Coast Eagles

Fremantle forward Sam Switkowski is tipping the club will play the majority of their stars during Saturday morning’s practice match against West Coast, amid huge competition for places in the team for round one. The Dockers have a remarkably healthy squad at this point of the pre-season with ruckman Sean Darcy the only recognised star unavailable to face the Eagles in Cockburn. Caleb Serong, Jordan Clark, Luke Jackson, Shai Bolton and Jaeger O’Meara all played in Saturday’s AFL Origin game and had lighter sessions than their teammates during training on Monday. All eyes will be on how much game time they play against West Coast. But the Dockers have only one other match to prepare for round one against Geelong, and that will be in Mandurah against Adelaide on February 28. Switkowski said it was important to maximise every opportunity to build match fitness and form. “If you look into previous years, guys who are healthy, we try to put ourselves out there and take the opportunity to get better as a team and play together. You might see a few guys modified, but largely we will get as many guys out there as possible and have a really good hit-out,” he said. Competition for positions in the team is huge after Friday’s intraclub game in Bunbury. Murphy Reid was best on ground as a midfielder, Jeremy Sharp impressed after falling out of the team last season, and Neil Erasmus picked up from where he left off at the end of 2025. Switkowski said he’d been impressed by how much depth Fremantle have this season. “The new guys who are coming in are challenging everyone,” he said. “We’ve got about five or six new small forwards and they’re all having an impact straight away. It’s a really positive thing. our scratch matches have been really competitive because of that depth. Even when we had A’s versus B’s sort of look, the B’s really challenged the A’s, which was really pleasing.” Switkowski will be a free agent at the end of the season, but made it clear that he has no interest in leaving the Dockers. The 29-year-old said he is happy to wait until the club is ready to start discussions about a new contract. “The longer my career goes on, I get less stressed about signing quicker, and signing sooner rather than later. When you first start your career, you are always looking for security. But I really believe things will look after themselves at some point,” he said. “I love this club. There’s no other club I want to be at. My purpose here, the longer my career has gone on, is less about personal accolades and money and what I’m trying to achieve myself. It is what I can contribute to this club. “We’ve had our vision for quite some time. Especially since JL has been here since about 2020, I have loved the direction this club is going. I love being a part of it. I’m really excited for what this team can do and where this club can go.”