Sharks WAFL Football Update with Brad Dodd

As we edge closer to the 2023 WAFL Season we touch base with Football Operations Manager, Brad Dodd, to get an update on pre-season and early indication of our prospects in 2023.

Q: The club has added some players leading into the 2023 season, can you give some insight on our new recruits?

Firstly, Tom Joyce and Hugh Dixon have returned after their year at West Coast. While it’s disappointing it didn’t work out for them, we’re excited that they have come back to the Sharks, and they’ll be valuable additions to the squad.

Harry Marsh has also returned, having played the previous 4 seasons at Subiaco.  He was really driven to play Senior football with his brother, Jonathon, and he’s a great addition to our midfield.  

We have also added Fraser Turner (SANFL), Ben McGuire (EP), Josh Cripps (Carlton) and Brayden Lawler (Peel).   We have been talking to Fraser for a few seasons so it was good to finally get him across.  Ben is cousin of Rueben McGuire,that played a part in him choosing East Fremantle. Josh comes back after spending 2022 at Carlton in the VFL. He’s a developing tall that we think will push for a Round 1 berth.  Brayden is an experienced, 2-time premiership player who will provide some pressure and leadership up forward.  We also have some younger players that have made their way across from other WAFL clubs or interstate to try their luck in Jack Walsh (Peel), Luke Holian (SA), Orien Kerr (Vic) and Austin Ball (NSW).

*Images: Pixell Photography

Q: Who are some of the younger players Sharks fans should look out for in 2023?

We saw some positive steps last year from young players like Milan Murdock (2022 Lynn Medallist), Luke English, Finn Gorringe and Alex Montauban.  We’d like to think they will continue to push their games forward.   Jamie Meade, Kyle Baskerville and Michael Tassone have established themselves as quality WAFL players and their challenge is to keep building and becoming one of the best in the competition for their positions.

Then we’d like to see the likes of Max Murphy, Keanu Haddow, Ethan Paholski, Dillon O’Reilly and Chris Walker make significant jumps in 2023. New players to the program from the Colts, Jayke Scott has impressed so far. 

Q: There seems to be quite a few additions, can you talk us through some of the players not coming back?

We have added a few new players to the squad but we will also carry close to 10 more players on our list than we did in 2022.  From those that played League football in 2022, Jeremy Goddard, Sam Medland and Tom Monaghan won’t be returning in 2023.  Jeremy will likely be playing in the South West as he juggles work and family life while Tom has a job opportunity in the country. Sam has made the move back to Victoria for work opportunities.  Hopefully we can see them return should their situations change down the track.

We’ve also lost Jed Hagan (SANFL) and Jack Cleaver (VFL) from last year’s squad.  Both were strong chances to get drafted and it was disappointing to see them miss out. Both are chasing that opportunity and while it’s disappointing to see them go, we support them in their pursuit of making an AFL list.

Q: Can you give us an injury update?

We had a couple of players that missed large chunks of 2022 with injuries, they have either returned to full training or aren’t far away.  Dillon O’Reilly and Cody Leggett are working hard on the road back to full fitness after a frustrating 2022 for both.  Ryan Lester-Smith will have a delayed start to the season after a knee operation in late December while Blaine Boekhorst and Alex Crowe are still unlikely to play in 2023.  Outside of that, the players are all training hard and testing well.

Q: Work has finally began on the new facility at the club, what is the current timeline and where are you training in 2023?

It’s pretty exciting to see work begin and the old facility is almost completely gone. We had come to an arrangement to train at Cockburn Arc and we’re conducting our main sessions there at the moment.    Access isn’t finite so we’re working on alternatives but we’re working closely with the WAFC, the WACA and Fremantle to make sure we’re covered.  

Q: Has there been any changes to the coaching panel?

We have made some changes to our Development coaching group. Bradd Dalziell, who has done an excellent job over the last few seasons as Head of Development, will head up our Talls Academy.  We also have Harry Taylor working in this space and expect to use several other coaches outside our program over the course of the season to come in and work with our ruck and key position stock.

Adrian Ricciardello has moved up from our Colts program and will now head up our Development program. He has brought with him Paul Mews and Paul Hansen to join Kane Lucas. It’s great to see our coaches work their way up the ranks and they’ve all hit the ground running.

Sam Mainwaring has taken over as Head Coach in the Colts and we look forward to seeing him develop further in the role.

The core panel at Senior level will stay the same, with Paul Sanzone, Craig Smoker and Joe Comande all returning. 

We do have new additions in our Medical and Strength and Conditioning team with Marina Torres taking over as our Head Physio and Jye Welch taking over as head of S & C. Both have settled in well and brought some new energy to the group. Khaleel Waqar (S&C) and Kate Retzlaff (Head Trainer) are also new additions to our support team.*Image: Pixell Photography

Q: East Fremantle played their first finals series since 2014 last year, bowing out in the Preliminary final. What is the expectation heading into 2023?

The focus over recent years has been about continual improvement and measuring ourselves against the best in the competition. That won’t change, we need to get better to compete consistently against the West Perth’s, Claremont’s, and Peels.  The competition again looks like it’s going to be even with a number of teams improving their squads.  The players and coaching staff are working hard to become the best and that’s exciting to watch.

Brad Dodd - Football Operations Manager