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Fremantle Dockers midfielder Nick Banfield has been told he will not receive a contract offer for 2027, an emotional process that led to him breaking down during his exit meeting with club officials despite having anticipated the decision.
level in 2026 as the Dockers stormed their way to the minor premiership and a first grand final berth since 2013. Coming out of contract at the end of the year and with no offer in front of him for the entire year, the 28-year-old could see the writing on the wall and believed he had come to terms with it.
But walking into his exit meeting in the days after Fremantle’s heartbreaking grand final defeat to Brisbane — a game for which he wasn’t even an emergency — Banfield could feel the emotions start to rise to the surface.
“I walked in and it was just JL , Joe Brierty and David Walls our list manager, so as soon as you see that, that was kind of confirmation,” Banfield told SEN WA on Wednesday. “And I’ve got a lot of respect for all those guys and for the footy club as a whole, and I think that respect was reciprocated in that meeting and in what followed as well.
“It’s not an easy position and I’m sure all those guys hate delivering that news, but I felt like it was delivered as well as possible. “I wasn’t planning on or thinking I would get emotional in that meeting, having seen it coming, and I felt like I’d processed it already. But then when they started talking I broke down. It was tough.
“That was 10 minutes or so, and then you walk out into the player welfare manager’s office and had a chat to a few of the other coaches that I’m close with there, and then I kind of snuck out the back door after that, and I’ll clean out my locker in the next couple of days. “I’ll go back and speak to the broader playing group and staff on Thursday and say my final goodbyes there.
”The Dockers revealed on Tuesday that Banfield, Sam Sturt, Ollie Murphy and Ryda Luke had all been told they would not be offered contracts for 2027. Banfield had been a mainstay of club’s best 23 for the previous four years but fell out of favour in 2026, playing only when the Dockers rested a host of players in Round 24 against Carlton ahead of the finals.
Banfield has played 119 games since he was recruited with pick No.5 in the 2017 rookie draft and played a variety of roles across his nine seasons at the club. He would instead play 17 games for Fremantle’s WAFL aligned club Peel Thunder, averaging 24 disposals to play a pivotal role in the club’s fourth premiership.
While Banfield is without an AFL home right now, his manager Andrew McDougall of Corporate Sports Australia, revealed last week that the Claremont product had interest from at least two Victorian clubs. Banfield said he had a lot more to give in the AFL and would take an opportunity if it was presented to him.
“I think this year showed me that I’ve still got a lot of care and a lot to give in the game,” Banfield told SEN WA. “I was playing some of the best footy of my career and the opportunities didn’t open up in the AFL team at all for me this year which was disappointing.
“I feel like I’ve still got a lot to give, so hopefully something pops up for me and I can give something to another club. “I am still only 28, the body’s got a lot left to give and mentally I think this year showed me I still want it and I’m still desperate to achieve more in the game. ”
Nick Banfield Fremantle Dockers AFL Contract Release Justin Longmuir
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