Playing list
Between the conclusion of the 2014 season and the commencement of the 2015 season, Fremantle did not complete any trades nor recruit any free agents in the AFL trade period, despite being reported to have attempted to recruit key position players James Frawley [2] and Aaron Black. [3]
Key defender Luke McPharlin signed a one-year contract extension during the trade period. [4]
Recruits and departures
At the national draft, Fremantle was expected to recruit a tall player, but instead drafted four smaller midfield or forward line players. Two of the drafted players, Lachie Weller and Ed Langdon are younger brothers of current AFL players, St Kilda's Maverick Weller and Collingwood's Tom Langdon. [5] In the rookie draft, Fremantle selected Ethan Hughes, a half-back flanker originally from Bunbury, before redrafting Tanner Smith. With their final selection they selected Irishman Sean Hurley, the club's first ever international recruit. [6]
| Recruits | Departures | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Previous Club | League | Recruited via | Player | Reason |
| Lachie Weller | Southport/Broadbeach | NEAFL | #13, National draft | Kepler Bradley [7] | Retirement from AFL |
| Connor Blakely | Swan Districts | WAFL | #34, National draft | Scott Gumbleton [8] | Retirement from AFL |
| Ed Langdon | Sandringham Dragons | WAFL | #54, National draft | Josh Simpson [9] | Delisted |
| Josh Deluca | Subiaco | WAFL | #68, National draft | Sam Menegola [10] | Delisted (from rookie list) |
| Ethan Hughes | Swan Districts | WAFL | #13, Rookie draft | Michael Wood [10] | Delisted (from rookie list) |
| Tanner Smith | Fremantle | AFL | #31, Rookie draft (redrafted) | Tanner Smith [11] | Delisted (redrafted in the rookie draft) |
| Sean Hurley | Kildare GAA | GAA | #48, Rookie draft | ||
Ryan Crowley positive drugs test
In March 2015, Crowley was not chosen to play in any of Fremantle's pre-season games. After being left out of the team that would travel to Sydney for the second game, it was announced that he was unavailable for selection due to undisclosed personal issues. [12] Three days later it was revealed that Crowley had tested position to a banned substance during the 2014 AFL season and had been serving a provisional suspension since September 2014. The sample was taken after Fremantle's Round 17 win over Greater Western Sydney and the commencement of the provisional suspension commenced after the confirmation tests (also known as B-sample) was completed in mid September. The banned substance has not been named, but was confirmed to have come from a painkiller that was not prescribed by the club doctor. He appeared before the AFL Tribunal in May 2015, and was found guilty and suspended for twelve months, backdated to the beginning of his provisional suspension. He became eligible to play again on 25 September 2015. [13]
