Justin Longmuir wins AFLCA Senior Coach of the Year, interview, latest news

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has claimed the 2026 AFL Coaches Association Senior Coach of the Year award.

It comes after the Dockers stormed to this year’s minor premiership, and as they prepare to battle Brisbane in Saturday’s grand final.

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Longmuir and his coaching staff elevated the Dockers into a formidable flag fancy this year after entering as a potential top-four contender.

Fremantle’s 19 home-and-away wins were a club record, in a season where it at one point had won 14 consecutive games, and went unbeaten at its Optus Stadium fortress.

It wasn’t until the qualifying final against Hawthorn that the Dockers lost at home, but they powered to subsequent wins against Geelong and most recently Sydney to book the club’s second-ever grand final berth.

Longmuir polled 260 votes to beat out grand final rival and back-to-back Coach of the Year winner Chris Fagan (216 votes), with the veteran Lions mentor coming in second after leading his club to a fourth-straight grand final appearance.

Sydney’s Dean Cox came third (98 votes) in voting after a resurgent Swans campaign that saw the club finish the regular season in second spot on the ladder.

But Longmuir, who is about to cap his seventh campaign in charge of the Dockers after also playing 139 games for the club between 1999 and 2007, was deservedly recognised on Tuesday night.

“It is a terrific honour … there are some great coaches and highly-respected coaches on that honour board, so to join them is very humbling,” Longmuir told Fox Footy’s AFL 360.

“There’s a lot of work that’s gone into this year … it’s taken a lot of people to get to this place.

“I don’t really like talking about myself — I really do see this is as a coaching group award, rather than an individual award.

“I was very fortunate to work at two great clubs and get some great experiences at those clubs, which allowed me a good foundation for when I got this job.

“It is a different beast being a senior coach … you do get spread a bit thin, and that’s probably where I’ve evolved — I’ve been able to delegate a lot more to really trusted assistants, and backed them in a lot more.

“I also feel like I’ve been greatly supported by the football club … in particular Joe Brierty, our GM, and Simon Garlick, our CEO. I’ve always felt really great support from those two, and felt really aligned, which has helped my job immensely.”

This is the Dockers’ third finals run with Longmuir at the wheel, after the 45-year-old built on a 16-win, elimination-final-exit effort last year.

Meanwhile, Collingwood’s Jordan Roughead has been recognised as the AFLCA Assistant Coach of the Year.

Roughead was the Magpies’ backs coach this year and helped consolidate the unit as one of the sturdiest in the competition.

Elsewhere, Geelong’s Nigel Lappin was awarded the Development Coach of the Year gong as the Cats’ Head of Development.

Revered in the space, Lappin was lured in August to the Tasmania Devils, where he’ll start work under inaugural coach Ken Hinkley in November.

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