As Fremantle Dockers begin exit interviews, here are the stats that show why they can’t lose Luke Jackson

Fremantle has officially opened the autopsy into a season that promised so much, but has left the premiership cabinet still bare.

As exit interviews began on Tuesday, including with Luke Jackson, Champion Data stats reveal why the Dockers won’t contemplate letting the ruck-mid hybrid return to Victoria.

A premiership player with Melbourne in 2021 before joining the Dockers ahead of the 2023 season, Jackson explored a return to his original AFL club mid-season due to significant off-field issues before Fremantle said the hybrid midfielder-forward-ruck was a required player.

They pointed to the long-term contract that ties him to the club until the end of 2029.

Melbourne forward Kysaiah Pickett was seen as a possible trade swap before he locked into a new contract worth a reported $12 million that will tie him to the Demons until the end of 2034.

Demons’ coach Simon Goodwin, who had indicated he would “certainly be interested’ in luring Jackson back to Melbourne, has since been sacked.

Jackson, 23, finished the season the ninth highest rated player in the AFL, after being ranked 43rd in 2024.

He averaged career highs in a number of metrics, including disposals (17.8 per game), contested possessions (9.6), marks (3.4), clearances (3.4), score involvements (6), tackles (4.1) and hit-outs to advantage (6.5), underlining his unmatched versatility.

Fremantle’s season ended when it fell one agonising point short of Gold Coast in Saturday night’s elimination final heartbreaker, but the game was lost in the second quarter when the Suns kicked 45 points, with Bailey Humphrey booting three for the term and Connor Budarick two.

It was the second worst post-season quarter by the club, marginally better than the 49 points they surrendered to Geelong in the first quarter of the 2010 semifinal.

Fremantle got a lot right between the arcs where they had 35 more contested possessions.

But the Dockers let themselves down in the same metrics in defensive and forward 50, where they lost the contest by 25.

The Dockers became just the sixth team to lose a final despite having at least 10 more inside 50s and eight more clearances.

There were, however, some stunning individual performances amid the chaos.

Co-captain Caleb Serong’s 35 disposals, 21 contested possessions, 702 metres gained and 13 clearances were all the most by a Docker in a final.

Alex Pearce’s five intercept marks in the final term were also the most ever by a player in a final in one quarter.

And Hayden Young’s 12.3 ratings points from an 11-disposal, one mark, two tackle final term was the highest by a Fremantle player ever in a finals game.

Justin Longmuir coached the team to 16 wins in the home and away season and said shortly after the final siren ended while it “feels really hollow” there was a lot to gain from the year.

““There’s some things we need to improve in the way we play. I won’t go into that right now, but we’ve got a lot of natural development in our group still,” Longmuir said.

“All our core players are still reasonably young and have improvement left in their careers.

“We’re not that far off either, and it’s disappointing because it felt like we had a lot more to give in this season.

“I think our footy over the last three, four months stacks up against any team. That’s what’s disappointing about exiting the way we’ve exited.”