Scott Lockhart reporting for AFANA from Subiaco Oval, Perth.
Fremantle’s charge towards the finals is gaining momentum after their 63 point annihilation of fellow finals contender Essendon at Subiaco Oval on Sunday afternoon.
The win leaves Fremantle just half a game outside the top eight with three matches remaining. Essendon, who would have been inside the eight if they had beaten Fremantle, will now struggle to make September action having lost five of their past six matches to sit in 13th position.
Fremantle’s forward line functioned brilliantly after quarter time, Mathew Pavlich leading the way with a six goal effort. Jeff Farmer and Chris Tarrant making strong cameo performances with three goals each.
A five goal haul was just reward for Mathew Lloyd who was superb up forward for Essendon, but he was helped little from those around him with second gamer Scott Gumbleton being the only other multiple goal-kicker. Dustin Fletcher was again a stalwart in defense with 26 possessions and 8 marks.
Despite starting strongly and kicking the opening goal of the match, Essendon found themselves trailing following consecutive fifty meter penalties that resulted in goals to Fremantle through Robert Warnock and Chris Tarrant.
In an opening quarter of swinging fortunes that saw the lead change five times, the presence of Mathew Lloyd up forward for Essendon was proving crucial. Lloyd was given an enormous amount of space to work with, kicking two goals and looking dangerous each time the bombers went forward.
Poor kicking on goal robbed Essendon of much needed scoreboard pressure, with their 4.7 (31) for the term not evidence of how well they were playing. Fremantle found themselves with a one point quarter time lead despite a dysfunctional forward line which included the match-up of pocket sized Jeff Farmer against the towering Dustin Fletcher.
The intensity and precision of Fremantle increased significantly in the second term, with their forward line combination of Pavlich, Farmer and Tarrant working more effectively and efficiently than the opening quarter.
Jeff Farmer opened Fremantle’s scoring account in the second term with a soaring torpedo punt from outside the fifty meter arc as the Essendon defense looked vulnerable to the enhanced run of the Dockers.
Fremantle found the derby form of last week in the middle stages of the second term to add a further four goals to expand their lead out to 31 points as they appeared to have Essendon on the ropes with half time approaching. But a stunning revival from Essendon in the final minutes of the half saw them kick three goals to reduce the lead to two goals at the main break.
Danger signs continued to ring loudly for Essendon after half time with Fremantle controlling possession and doing most of the attacking while not allowing their opponents to get any run and move the ball effectively.
Scoring opportunities dried up for much of the third term with Fremantle placing a spare man in defense each time the bombers went forward to block up the space that had been gifted to Lloyd in the first half.
Essendon could manage just a solitary goal for the term through the magic of Mathew Lloyd, but his efforts were not rewarded by his teammates as Fremantle kicked four goals to extend the lead to a game high 36 points at the final change.
Any hopes Essendon had of getting back into the contest in the final term were dashed within the opening minute after Peter Bell goaled to have Fremantle out to a seven goal lead and the 38 thousand strong pro-docker crowd roaring.
Fremantle kept the foot on the accelerator for much of the final term, kicking seven goals to Essendon’s three in a confidence boosting performance for a team having a last gasp effort at making their third finals appearance.
Fremantle faces yet another season defining clash next week when they play St.Kilda at the Telstra Dome on Saturday as they continue to place pressure on those sides inside the top eight. While Essendon return to Melbourne to play traditional rival Carlton at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.
Final Score:
Frem: 5.2 10.4 14.10 21.14 (140)
Ess: 4.4 8.11 8.10 11.11 (77)
Best:
Frem: Pavlich, Hassleby, Gilmore.
Ess: Lloyd, Fletcher, Lovett-Murray.
Goals:
Frem: Pavlich 6, Farmer Bell Tarrant 3, Solomon 2, J Carr McPharlin Gilmore Warnock 1.
Ess: Lloyd 5, Gumbleton 2, Monfries Lovett Lucas 1.
Umpires: Stevic, Grun, Goldspink
Injuries: McPharlin (broken nose)
Reports: Nil
Crowd: 38, 275 at Subiaco Oval, Perth
Article last changed on Friday, September 07, 2007 - 12:52 AM EDT
