Fremantle Dockers forward Michael Walters full of praise for youngsters who drove club back to AFL finals

Fremantle star Michael Walters has declared the pain of a lengthy re-build now feels worth it after the Dockers locked away a top-eight position and ended their finals drought following Saturday’s win over the Western Bulldogs.

The Dockers haven’t played finals since 2015 and Walters joined Nat Fyfe, David Mundy and Matt Taberner as the small group of players to have been part of that September campaign and still be on the list. Key defender Alex Pearce also played during 2015 but didn’t appear in any finals matches.

Having seen a change of coach and dramatic list overhaul, Fremantle experienced plenty of pain since then. But Walters said knowing the club would play finals again made him appreciate the hard work that everyone had done.

“Definitely,” he said when asked if the pain was worth it.

“For me, seeing these younger boys come through like Andy Brayshaw, Caleb Serong, Luke Ryan, Schultz and Frederick - for me I get satisfaction from seeing those boys grow and see how they grind throughout the week to make themselves better players.

“It makes it all worth it to play finals footy but also seeing these young boys grow for the future as well.

“This didn’t pop up overnight. The growth in those guys has been unreal. Us older boys don’t have to drive it.

“Those boys that are in the 21-25 bracket are so mature that they’re able to drive themselves and we can focus on playing our brand of footy. That makes it so much more exciting.”

The Dockers still have two games remaining before finals where they can lock away the key advantages needed to have success in September. A home final or double chance are clear opportunities for Fremantle given they finish the season with matches against West Coast and Greater Western Sydney.

Walters said Mundy’s retirement last week was a strong reminder about how quickly opportunities end. Walters was only 24 when the Dockers lost the 2015 preliminary final and had played only 72 games. But he is now 31 and closing in on his 200th game.

He said the determination within the group to play finals this year was evident during the summer and the experienced players were thankful to get another opportunity.

“Everyone loves to play finals footy and that’s what we work hard in the pre-season and off-season for,” Walters said.

“For guys like me Fyfey, Dave and you can also throw Alex Pearce in that as well, it’s unreal to win enough games to solidify us in finals.”