Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Football
Netball
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Could a role change reignite Freo veteran's career in 2025?
Paul Heath • February 20th, 2025 10:15 am
SEN WA Mornings host Mark Duffield has called for a rethink on one of the Fremantle Dockers’ strengths – the backline – and made a left-field player suggestion for a change of role that could help unlock their back-half ball movement.
He believes veteran forward Michael Walters could be the player to provide some skill and expertise off half-back.
Duffield said: “It has long been regarded as a strength of Justin Longmuir’s team, but is it time for a rethink?
“I don’t think the Dockers get enough pop on the ball coming out of the back half – we saw the damage can be done at speed from the Indigenous All-Stars (in the 40-point loss).
“Is Michael Walters still in Fremantle’s best team as a forward and if he is not - and I don’t think he is – could he be redeployed as a defender with a licence to shift the ball off the line, get him back inside the corridor at speed and get it moving through the centre square.
“Walters is as good a kick as Freo have. He turns left and if he was given ownership of the role, he might be the one player prepared to play with the dare that would give Freo’s ball movement the turbo charge it needs.”
Duffield then made a confession that this suggestion was made by a “highly regarded Freo person”.
“I confess – this is not my idea,” Duffield admitted.
“It was put to me by a highly regarded Freo person – Could Sonny Walters reinvent himself at 34 and become an important missing cog in the Freo machine?
“I don’t think Fremantle has a running ball user who measures up to some of the others in the league and that weakness was borne out on Saturday by an All-Stars team that had several of that type of player.”
Duffield was joined by the West Australian’s Craig O’Donoghue who pointed to Walters’ class as a major reason why it could work.
“And it's due to his class that you mentioned,” said O'Donoghue.
“If he can push up the ground and use that ball like, and then go forward at different times as well, then it does give them a bit of a different look. They have to be prepared to be bold like that.”
O’Donoghue added that despite other options to do the job, the veteran Walters could be the difference.
“They do have (Brandon) Walker who runs the ball. They do have Jordan Clark who runs with the ball. Heath Chapman can shoot the ball well.
“Whoever that seventh defender is, if it is a Walters, that could be the difference with his kicking sort of skill. I don't mind it because they need someone who can just change direction and hit that target.”
