FREMANTLE defender Reece Conca’s time as a Docker will end this week after he was told he would not be offered a new contract.
Conca told teammates of the club’s decision on Wednesday morning and he will now explore other options in the game.
Conca played 150 games across an 11-season career with Richmond and Fremantle, firstly as a midfielder and later as a small defender.
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The 29-year-old crossed to the Dockers ahead of the 2019 season and quickly established himself as a respected member of the leadership group.
Conca played nine games as well as one as the medical substitute this season, executing a number of shutdown jobs on dangerous small forwards and last featuring in round 13.
He fell just short of triggering an automatic extension to his contract and has not ruled out continuing his career.
Conca was recruited by Richmond with pick No.6 in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft, spending eight seasons that were often interrupted by soft tissue injuries with the Tigers.
He missed the 2017 premiership after returning late in the year from an injury to the lisfranc joint in his right foot that sidelined him for three months.
The popular Tiger crossed to Fremantle at the end of the 2018 season as a free agent, with the Dockers targeting Conca as a player who could help the club’s young midfielders develop.
He instead found his place in defence, where he has performed successful shutdown jobs on players including Toby Greene, Dustin Martin and Luke Breust.
“We would like to thank Reece for his dedication to the Club and the playing group throughout his three seasons at Fremantle,” general manager of football Peter Bell said.
“The players made it clear how highly they valued his leadership and selfless attitude, voting him into the leadership group after completing just one pre-season ahead of his first season at Fremantle.
“Unfortunately, we have made the difficult decision to not renew Reece’s contract as we prioritise the development of our young defenders, but we cannot understate the importance of his guidance to this group since his arrival.”
