Fremantle’s forgotten man: Will Brodie can’t break into Dockers’ midfield despite excellent Peel Thunder form

Will Brodie appears to be the forgotten man at Fremantle. The Dockers’ midfield has been widely praised as one of the best in the AFL in recent years after the emergence of Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw as well as the recent addition of Shai Bolton. Yet it was only less than three years ago that their leading clearance player was Brodie, who the club had obtained from the Gold Coast as in a bargain trade. The Suns needed to get Brodie off their books in 2021, so in one of the early cases of a “salary cap dump” they traded the midfielder — a first-round draftee in his own right — along with picks 19, 61 and 69 for a future second round selection and fourth round selection. Come the end of 2022 it was seen as a genius move by the Dockers. Brodie played all 24 games for Fremantle and led the club in clearances (137) and contested possessions (287), while he was second for average disposals (26.79), tackles (127) and inside 50s (91). It led to the Dockers locking in Brodie for a further three seasons — despite still having a year to run on his deal — tying him to the club until the end of 2026. “I’m pumped to be here for a bit longer and lock in, it’s a pretty exciting time to be part of the group,” Brodie said at the time. “I feel like I’ve been believed in and backed in. I’ve been given a role that suits my strengths and just continued to get better, working with the young guys here and the midfield unit. “It’s been a really good environment for me and I’m looking forward to what the future holds.” Remarkably, Brodie has played only five games since and has not made an appearance since racking up 24 disposals, five clearances and six inside 50s against Brisbane in round seven of 2023. It’s not like the 26-year-old hasn’t been putting a strong case forward either. Brodie proved to be a pivotal part of Peel Thunder’s third premiership last season, averaging 28 disposals in 19 games including nine matches where he racked up 30 or more disposals. It included an incredible performance against South Fremantle in round 19 when he racked up 43 disposals, six clearances and a goal. After winning the premiership last year, Brodie was coy on his future when asked, simply saying “we’ll see” when asked by The West Australian. “I’m looking forward to having a break. God, I need to have a break,” Brodie said at the time. “I need to reset physically, mentally, and I’m just looking forward to hitting pre-season.” Ultimately, he stayed at the Dockers, but has still seemingly not been close to a game. “He’ll be at Fremantle next year. We haven’t shopped him around, he’s not looking around. He’s really happy at the club,” Fremantle list boss David Walls told The West Australian in October. “Obviously he wants to be playing but I think the opportunity will open up for him next year to play. But also to his credit, even though he didn’t play on the senior side he improved his games, his GPS numbers, his run. “We know that he’s a quality AFL player, but we just need an opportunity in that role for him inside to open up.” Those opportunities are yet to open up though despite few players in the WAFL being able to claim to have been better over the past 18 months than Brodie. Since the start of 2024 he’s ranked seventh for average disposals (27), second for contested possessions (14), fourth for clearances (seven), second for centre bounce clearances (2.5), and seventh for ground ball gets (9.1). It’s impressive numbers but it’s not been enough for Brodie to break into the midfield at Fremantle. Even injuries to dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe and former Hawthorn and Gold Coast midfielder Jaeger O’Meara haven’t opened the door for Brodie. Instead coach Justin Longmuir has preferred the likes of Nathan O’Driscoll, Matt Johnson and reigning Simpson medallist Neil Erasmus in the pecking order. “He’s just got to keep continuing to work on the things that we want him to work on,” Longmuir said in late 2023 when asked about Brodie’s form. “And I know a lot of people look at the stats and see they had 30 possessions... that’s not the only thing we look at as coaches. “We look at the game a little bit more holistically than that and a little bit deeper than that. So he’s really clear on what he needs to work on. And he’s continued to chip away at that.” Fans have even begun to call for Brodie’s inclusion, with one creating a “Play Will Brodie” Facebook page in support of the out-of-favour midfielder. Yet there doesn’t seem to be any signs of Brodie breaking in, leaving questions about whether he will finish the final 18 months of his contract playing for the Mandurah-based WAFL club or find a spot elsewhere in the AFL.