LINING UP: The success of Nat Fyfe and the Fremantle Dockers has sparked plenty of membership inquiries at the club. Picture: Phil Hillyard Source: The Daily Telegraph
FREMANTLE could be forced to cap its seated membership and create a waiting list for the first time in its 18-year history.
Dockers CEO Steve Rosich hailed the early interest in memberships for next season as "extraordinary" following Fremantle's gutsy finals campaign in its inaugural season under new coach Ross Lyon.
"We've got bold aims - on and off the field," Rosich said.
"And that includes being a very big footy club and that's important for us as well, because we prepare for a new stadium in 2017/2018.
"We will unashamedly give priority and preference to our current members at the new stadium, and that's an important aspect of people continuing to be a member of our footy club and becoming a member of our footy club."
Rosich said he believed it was possible the club could break its 2008 membership record of 43,654 next season and that any need for a cap on seated membership would be assessed in December.
"At this stage we're all but at the 20,000 member mark, which is extraordinary, given it's early November," he said.
"It's tracking ahead of where we thought we'd be. It's ahead of this time last year, and also ahead of our targets."
Interest was spurred this week by the release of the AFL fixtures for 2013, with Fremantle hoping to sell out its first four home matches.
The Dockers host West Coast in a Round 1 Western Derby, before Subiaco clashes against big Victorian teams Essendon, Richmond and Collingwood.
The games against the Bombers in Round 3 and Tigers in Round 5 will be played on Friday nights and telecast live on free-to-air television into the east by Channel 7.
The club's strong membership outlook is also a coup for Lyon, whose game plan was criticised as negative and one that would drive away fans by some onlookers early last season. Membership of the Eagles has long been capped because demand outstrips the small capacity at Patersons Stadium.
The club offers an "In the Wings" membership, which places fans on a waiting list for when a seat becomes available.
Any cap on seated membership is likely to present the Dockers with another problem shared by the Eagles; that of fans being locked out of games, despite thousands of seats being left empty due to members not turning up.
Despite having a membership of close to 43,000 this season, and nearing the limit of seated members of about 40,000, Fremantle's average home crowd was just 33,386.
Meanwhile, Fremantle defender Dylan Roberton has been offered a new contract by the Dockers and could yet remain at the club next season.
Roberton, 21, requested a trade back home to Melbourne for personal reasons but no deal was done during the recent trade period.
It is believed the Dockers, who understand Roberton's desire to return to Victoria, genuinely tried to offload him for next to nothing but there was little interest in his services from the Melbourne-based clubs.
The Dandenong Stingrays product is still a Fremantle player.
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