Fremantle Dockers players and coaches set to visit Kimberley region for community camp

Purple army rejoice, the Fremantle Dockers are coming to town with a few of their stars set for a homecoming.

Broome, Derby and Kununurra are set to be painted purple when the Fremantle Dockers visit the Kimberley for their 2020 AFL Community Camp from Wednesday February 5 to Friday February 7.

From young guns Andrew Brayshaw and Adam Cerra to new recruits James Aish and Blake Acres to hometown heroes Joel Hamling and Bailey Banfield, players will make school and community visits across the region, giving fans the opportunity and meet and learn from their idols.

Newly appointed senior coach Justin Longmuir and CEO Simon Garlick will host a variety of key community events in Broome. Some of the big events on the agenda include a sportsmans’ night at Divers Tavern, a business breakfast at the Mangrove Hotel, and an Auskick super clinic at Haynes Oval.

Meanwhile in Kununurra, a series of boys and girls football clinics will be held at the Town Oval.

Fremantle senior manager of football Joe Brierty said the Kimberley was chosen as this year’s destination was to strengthen the club’s ties to the region, which is one of its key recruiting zones for its Next Generation Academy.

“As an AFL club we have a very important role to play in the success of linking the community through football so we want to take our players and coaches up there to celebrate Aussie Rules football and link it into the other important factors of life,” he said.

“We also use these camps as an opportunity to acknowledge grassroots football as the lifeblood of our game and give back to the players, coaches and fans out in regional areas.

We already have a strong link to the Kimberley with players like Joel Hamling, Bailey Banfield, Jason Carter and Liam Henry so they’re pretty excited at the prospect of coming back home for a visit.”

Aside from regular visits to the region by the club’s Next Generation Academy throughout the years, the Fremantle Dockers last ventured to the Kimberley for a Community Camp in late 2016.

Footy fanatics were visited by the likes of Tom Sheridan, Lachie Weller, Connor Blakely, Nick Suban, Jon Griffin, Garrick Ibbotson, Matt Taberner, Ed Langdon and Hayden Crozier, along with coaches Simon Eastaugh and Michael Prior.

The group toured schools in Broome, Bidyadanga and Derby.