Fremantle suffered a 2019 loss of $1,642,473 dollars after a disastrous season which saw it sack coach Ross Lyon and CEO Steve Rosich and have membership drop by seven and a half per cent.

New CEO Simon Garlick was confident that the result was a one off as the Dockers look to re-boot under new coach Justin Longmuir.

“While the loss of more than $1.6 million is significant, it was part of a conscious club reset, so we are confident it is a one-off,” he said.

The loss was the result of the drop in membership, “a re-structure of club personnel”, increased investment in the AFLW and increased grass roots and community funding.

“We look forward to continuing to build on our strong financial foundation, highlighted by being one of only a handful AFL clubs to be debt free with positive cash reserves,” Garlick said.

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Camera Icon Fremantle Dockers general manager of football Peter Bell. Credit: Danella Bevis / The West Australian, Danella Bevis

“We are also pleased to continue to make a strong contribution to grass roots football through our recently signed royalty agreement with the WA Football Commission.”

Garlick sees an exciting opportunity ahead for Fremantle to grow as a club.

"We have a strong and loyal supporter base and, for the sixth consecutive year, remain on track to exceed 50,000 members in 2020.

“The 60,000 seat capacity of Optus Stadium provides us with a tremendous opportunity to grow as we look for sustained success on the field,” Garlick said.

“Our fans have been incredibly loyal throughout the past four seasons when we have missed finals and we are optimistic that, with improved performance on the field, we will also see significant improvement in our future financial results.”