Fremantle Dockers elimination final 2025: When will it be, who will they play, and what else you need to know

Fremantle barged their way into the finals - and booked a home final while they were at it - with Sunday’s gutsy road win over the Western Bulldogs.

Here’s what we know about the Dockers’ 2025 finals opener so far.

Where will Fremantle finish on the ladder?

While Sunday’s upset triumph saw them temporarily jump to fifth, the Dockers are locked in to finish sixth - and host a home elimination final at Optus Stadium.

Brisbane leapfrogged them after their 10-point win over Hawthorn at the Gabba on Sunday night, and Freo can’t move higher or lower regardless of the outcome of Wednesday night’s season finale between Gold Coast and Essendon.

Who will Fremantle play?

All eyes were on the Lions-Hawks clash at the Gabba on Sunday evening - and it was Brisbane who prevailed to book a top-four spot and rule themselves out of a trip west.

That means the Dockers’ elimination final opponent is down to two teams: Gold Coast or Hawthorn.

The Suns are the more likely of the two sides to earn the chance to face Freo. They’ll need to beat the Bombers by a margin of somewhere in the vicinity of a margin in the high 20s to low 30s - depending on how high-scoring the match is - to book their spot. The Suns are a 50-point favourite to win that game, according to bookmakers.

If Gold Coast lose to Essendon, or win by a margin of mid-20s or lower, it’ll be the Hawks who take on the Dockers.

When will the elimination final be?

The AFL on Monday revealed Freo’s clash will be on Saturday, September 6 - with bouncedown time to be confirmed.

It’s highly likely the Dockers’ clash will be in a night-time slot, with GWS also locked to host their elimination final on the same day.

Fremantle’s 2022 elimination final at Optus Stadium against the Western Bulldogs was on the Saturday night of the opening weekend of finals, with a 6.10pm bouncedown off the back of a 2.35pm (WA time) start for the day’s previous final.

This looms as the most likely format for this year’s Saturday action, with the league set to confirm those bouncedown times after Wednesday night’s game.

The two qualifying finals are locked in: Adelaide will host Collingwood on the Thursday night, with Geelong to meet with Brisbane at the MCG on the Friday night.

How do I get tickets?

Per the AFL: “The Week 1 Toyota AFL Finals fixture and ticket on-sale information will be confirmed on Wednesday night (27 August) following the conclusion of the final game of the home and away season - Gold Coast Suns v Essendon.

“Ticket on-sales will commence from Friday, August 29. Club members are encouraged to keep an eye out for an email from their club after the final match of Round 24 for all the ticketing details for Week 1 Toyota AFL Finals Series.”

Tickets will be able to purchased through Ticketek or Ticketmaster.

A whopping 58,982 crammed into Optus Stadium for Fremantle’s sole final at the venue against the Dogs in 2022 - the Dockers’ largest-ever crowd for a match in WA, and the sixth-biggest Freo have ever played in front of.

Who will the Dockers play if they win their elimination final?

If Freo salute in front of their home fans, they’ll set up a road semifinal berth against the loser of second v third.

That means the Dockers’ prospective second-round opponent will be either Geelong or Brisbane.

Should Freo earn a win in that match-up - against either the Cats in Victoria or the Lions in Queensland - then they’ll have to stay on the road for their prelim to play the winner of the other qualifying final between Adelaide and Collingwood.

Win that, and a grand final awaits.