What every West Australian sporting club wants for Christmas

With 2026 set to be as big a year as ever for WA’s sporting teams and Christmas upon us, The West Australian looks at what tops your club’s holiday season wish list.

Fremantle Dockers

Men

Fremantle’s current list has the world at their feet. They appear to have everything they need to claim a maiden premiership.

But the one thing they will wish for above all else is a genuine monster in the forward line.

The Dockers came in eighth for goals scored in 2024 and will be hoping Josh Treacy can take a step in the game-changer direction.

Would a sneaky Coleman Medal be too much to ask from Santa?

Women

A return to finals will be top of the list in the AFLW, but a very close second would be a big win over the Crows.

Adelaide ended their 2024 hopes in a semifinal belting and then came from behind to snuff out their hopes in the final round of the home-and-away season this year.

We wouldn’t ask for a murder of Crows, but a belting win for the women in purple wouldn’t go astray on the path to premiership glory.

West Coast Eagles

Men

The Eagles should have a pretty meagre Christmas list this year after their draft bonanza.

Five wins, that’s all they’ll be asking for. It will be enough for the young group to start learning how to do it again.

West Coast were in games in 2024 and often held leads heading into the second half. However, when it came time to achieve a positive result, they turned to water after a long period of struggling to compete.

A healthy Harley Reid will also be high on the list.

Women

Now that Daisy Pearce and her young squad have tasted finals, it’s time for the Eagles to become contenders.

While the side is young, most of them have now played two or three seasons together and are at an age where ruthlessness can become a core value that sets them up for the rest of their careers.

Finals are the minimum; going two or three weeks into the finals series needs to be at the top of their Christmas demands.

Perth Scorchers

Is there anything better than waking up on Christmas day and seeing a big present under the tree with your name on it?

Well, gifts wouldn’t come much bigger than the Bison, and Santa, we all want a taste of Marsh Mayhem!

Mitch Marsh is set for his first full season in the Big Bash in years, with his Australian duties not including Test cricket.

And while he has started with three runs in two games, the Scorchers will be begging for the Aussie white-ball captain to rip the competition apart.

Perth Wildcats

The Wildcats would dearly love to unwrap some improved late-game execution and luck.

Perth are 1-5 this season in games decided by five points or fewer, including a trio of one-point losses that each came after questionable use of time-outs.

In the spirit of sharing, they’d also be keen for better ball movement, with the Cats ranked dead-last for assists per game among the NBL’s 10 teams at Christmas.

Perth Glory

All I want for Christmas is a top six finish. That’s how the song goes right?

Glory’s hopes of a first finals appearance since 2020 will hinge largely on their injury list clearing up as soon as possible.

Co-captain Adam Taggart will be desperate to return to the pitch amid a short-term groin injury, and the depth without him is shallow as fellow attackers Jaiden Kucharski, Lachie Wales and Sebastian Despotovski are all also sidelined.

English central midfielder Luke Amos has not been sighted since pre-season, but is back in training as he nears a return from a knee injury.

Get those five back and Perth fans can dream of a top six finish!

West Coast Fever

The Fever may be looking for Old Testament Christmas vengeance this year after a heartbreaking grand final defeat to the Melbourne Vixens.

One goal was all that stood between them and glory in 2025, and there’s little doubt a return to the decider will be at the forefront of West Coast’s hopes for next year.

But a little word to Santa about a rematch with the Vixens in a grand final may just lead the wish list.

Western Force

The easy answer to the question of what the Force want for Christmas is a maiden, drought-breaking Super Rugby Pacific finals berth.

But to obtain that, what they actually need is a clean bill of health – particularly for their front-row.

Starting calibre props Harry Johnson-Holmes and Harry Hoopert both tore ACLs on the eve of the season, while rising loosehead Marley Pearce missed the final five games due to a shoulder issue and Wallabies hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa battled injuries on and off.

The Force will be hoping the arrival of experienced Feao Fotuaika and Sef Fa’agase can provide them the depth they need to support Pearce, Johnson-Holmes and reigning Nathan Sharpe Medal winner Tom Robertson.

Perth Heat

The Heat’s 2025 Christmas ask is pretty simple: “Just let us win a grand final series!”

Perth has been one of the dominant teams in the country across the past four seasons, but has suffered defeat in three straight deciders.

In what has been a turbulent year for the competition and the team, a premiership would feel like a little bit of justice.