Skip to main content

Janet Linn, reporting for AFANA from Subiaco Oval, Western Australia

The Fremantle Dockers produced their best form since late 2007 to give top of the ladder Geelong a major scare while breaking the hearts of the home town faithful. In a thrilling last quarter of tough, unyielding football, Fremantle and Geelong fought the game out with the result in doubt until the dying seconds of the quarter. With a minute to go and his team two points behind on the scoreboard, Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich took a strong mark on the 50 meter line. He looked certain to goal and win the game for the Dockers. When the ball hit the post, the Cats were able to rebound and retain possession until the final siren sounded, giving the visitors the win by the slimmest of margins.

The evening began with a moving Anzac Day ceremony to remember those Australian soldiers who lost their lives defending their country during wartime. The first quarter produced some fiery battles of its own as Ryan Crowley and Josh Carr roughed it up with Geelong’s top midfielders Gary Ablett Jr and Joel Corey. Matthew Pavlich marked and goaled within the first minute, providing Fremantle with the perfect start. Giant ruckman Aaron Sandilands was outstanding, dominating the ruck hitouts and working as a spare man in defense, repelling Geelong’s forward attacks time after time. The reigning Premiers looked stunned as Fremantle controlled play to produce an exciting brand of attacking football. Fremantle looked to have a new game plan which concentrated less on getting the ball to powerful forward Pavlich and more on finding other avenues into attack. In spite of their fierce determination and dominance in all areas of the ground, Fremantle squandered some easy opportunities on goal and wasted a chance to build a match-winning lead. At the first break, the Dockers led by 14 points and the Cats had posted their lowest first quarter score since 2006.

Continuing where they left off in the first quarter, Fremantle increased their lead to 39 points at the midway point of the second quarter scoring goals through Pavlich, newcomer Garrick Ibbotson, Michael Johnson and Jeff Farmer. With five minutes of the quarter remaining, a skill error by Fremantle backman Daniel Gilmore caused a turnover. Geelong half forward Steve Johnson pounced on the ball then short passed to Darren Milburn who goaled. The flood gates opened as the Cats lifted their intensity to produce the classy brand of football they are renowned for. Joel Selwood was prominent in the center as the Geelong machine rebooted. Johnson, Paul Chapman, Gary Ablett, Cameron Mooney and David Wojcinski produced five unanswered goals as Fremantle cracked under the pressure of the Cats at full throttle. In six minutes Geelong demonstrated that in modern day Aussie Rules a skilful team can make up almost any deficit on the scoreboard in a very short period of time. They served a warning that teams playing against them cannot afford to relax the pressure at any stage because any lapses in skill execution and concentration will be exploited.

In the third quarter Fremantle again took the initiative and produced exciting football. They moved to a 27 point lead with goals through Ryan Murphy, Ryan Crowley, rookie Rhys Palmer and the ever-dominant Sandilands playing the game of his career. The ball contests were spirited and competitive, the tacking ferocious and the usually precise Geelong players made some uncharacteristic skill errors under the desperate pressure applied by the Dockers. As the quarter came to an end, Fremantle held a 25 point advantage and fans sensed an upset in the making.

The final quarter was a beauty. Fremantle were first into attack but a promising forward thrust went awry when the ball was mishandled. The Cats rebounded hard to score a goal through the boot of the always dangerous Chapman. In his trademark opportunistic style, Steve Johnson scooped on a loose ball to sink another six pointer for the visitors. After five minutes the margin had narrowed to 13 points. Tom Hawkins took a Mark of the Round contender and booted another goal. Fremantle lost their poise and flow going forward, coughing up the ball in contests and lacking precision in their disposals. When Mooney goaled at the halfway mark, scores were level and Geelong had manufactured another impressive comeback. A missed shot on goal from Jimmy Bartel put Geelong one point ahead. Minutes later Joel Corey missed a sitter to make the margin two points. Fremantle worked hard to get the ball into attack but Geelong locked down the center corridor forcing the play wide and pressuring Fremantle players to release the ball too early for their forwards. Some poor fundamentals in defense and clever teamwork by Tom Hawkins and Matthew Stokes gave Geelong their 13th goal and an eight point break. Docker rookie Palmer made a wonderful pick up in the center, passed to Pavlich and the resultant goal narrowed the margin to only two points at the 26 minute mark. Fremantle had three chances in the ensuing time-on period to win the game. The first was provided by Byron Schammer who turned the ball over up forward when he kicked to a lead instead of getting the ball to the goal square. Shane McManus had an easy opportunity on goal but his kick was a shocker. With one minute to go, Palmer and Pavlich combined again to set up a shot on goal from the forward pocket. Pavlich’s kick looked set to sail through the goals right up to the last moment when it grazed the post. One point separated the teams when the siren rang to signal the end of the game.

Controversy marred the end of the quarter. It appears that the timekeeper failed to stop time while the umpire was setting up a free kick on the boundary line 65 meters out of the Fremantle goal. Nine seconds were recorded on the clock but not returned when play resumed. Many fans felt that Fremantle could have attacked during that time and scored either the winning goal or a point to force the draw. In reality, Fremantle lost the match by failing to establish a greater lead earlier in the game. They frittered away easy chances to score goals and ultimately the Cats stepped up to the plate when it counted, increasing their endeavor and making less mistakes under pressure. Their last quarter effort to score 5.4 to the Dockers’ 1.2 showed them to be deserving winners in a tough and entertaining game of football.

In Round Seven, Geelong will meet the Brisbane Lions and Fremantle will take on the troubled Melbourne Demons, yet to win a game.


Scoreboard
Geelong   1.1  8.4  8.7   13.11 (89)
Fremantle 3.6  8.6  12.8  13.10 (88)

Goals
Geelong   S Johnson, C Mooney 3; P Chapman 2; T Hawkins, 
          M Stokes, G Ablett, D Milburn, D Wojcinski
Fremantle M Pavlich 5; D Solomon 2; R Palmer, G Ibbotson, 
          R Crowley, R Murphy, A Sandilands, J Farmer

Best
Geelong   J Selwood, J Corey, J Kelly, S Johnson, C Mooney, 
          P Chapman
Fremantle A Sandilands, M Pavlich, G Ibbotson, P Bell, 
          R Palmer, D Solomon 

Crowd 38022 

Umpires   L Farmer, D Margetts, H Kennedy

Reports   J Carr, Fremantle (rough conduct)

 

Article last changed on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - 2:39 PM EDT


Comments

Recent content

Partners

Worldfootynews.com

Our Favorite Footy Podcasts

A Yank on the Footy

 

Donnie's Disposal

 

Americans Watching the Footy

Shorten URLs

*

 

We Recommend:

ENJOY 40% OFF SITEWIDE!

  • The future of vitamins is here! Say goodbye to generic multivitamins cluttering your table top. 
  • With Vitable, you get personalized daily vitamin packs tailored to your unique diet, lifestyle and health needs.
  • All you need to do is complete a simple online quiz and unlock your expert recommendation. 
  • Join the 400,000+ people embracing the Vitable way with 40% OFF your first order
  • Use the promo code AFANA40 at checkout.