Fremantle Dockers

Welcome to AFANA’s new column where we look around the league to check in on which players are dominating and who is struggling as the new season starts to take shape. With all teams heading to sunny South Australia for the AFL’s second iteration of “gather round”, these are the names you want to keep an eye on as they are currently the difference makers for your favorite teams.

HOT:

The Fremantle Dockers defeated the desperate Adelaide Crows in a Good Friday game that was anything but good for the struggling Crows. The Crows, who were robbed of a place in the finals last year by a goal umpiring error that could not be corrected, are now winless from three starts. In contrast, the Dockers have made their best start in nine years. The game was a tense struggle for three-and-a-bit quarters before Fremantle broke free of the Adelaide pressure, to hammer home four final-quarter goals to the delight of the record non-derby crowd of fifty-one thousand raucous fans. (Ed. note: "Derby" games against the other local team, the West Coast Eagles, are usually close to a sell-out.)

In near perfect conditions the game started at a cracking pace. Adelaide was the first to score a goal (worth six points) after bringing the ball deep from defense, using a quick transition to the running Ben Keays. Both teams missed gettable shots on goal in the first quarter, which set the pattern for the rest of the night. Michael Walters benefitted from a quick transition from a kick in when Nat Fyfe and Hayden Young combined to move the ball to Walters who kicked truly. Two minutes later, Ned McHenry was tackled high in the right forward pocket. His free kick gave the Crows their second goal. A similar free kick to Matt Taberner at the other end gave the Dockers their second goal. The quarter was notable for the end-to-end transitions by both teams, as the defenders thrived in the pressure. The quarter finished with frenetic defense by the Crows as they successfully held out the Dockers in the last line.

The Fremantle Dockers overwhelmed the Brisbane Lions to register a gutsy win against the shocked Brisbane Lions. The win comes at a cost of three injuries to the Dockers but fueled their self-belief as their undermanned team held off the Lions. The Lions started with a hot opening quarter and appeared determined to atone for their shock loss to Carlton in Brisbane. Forwards Eric Hipwood and Joe Daniher were mobile and flying for Brisbane early. Hipwood had a mark and goal within three minutes of the opening bounce. Their midfielders Josh Dunkley, Hugh McCluggage, Jarrod Berry, and Cam Rayner kept the ball alive with repeated entries into the Brisbane forward line. The flustered Dockers fumbled the ball early and brain fades gave away two easy goals to Brisbane, to send shivers through the partisan home crowd.

When Zac Bailey booted their fourth goal after a turnover from yet another wayward Docker kick, it looked very much a game between last year's second-best team against last year's fourteenth placed team. Alex Pearce and Luke Ryan became a steadying factor in the Dockers' defense and the Docker midfielders Caleb Serong, Andrew Brayshaw, and Nat Fyfe lifted their work rates to shut down the feed to the Brisbane forward line. Even though the midfield battle had evened, the Dockers continued to butcher their attacking entries through poor kicking. After twenty-seven minutes of inept play, the Dockers made a tentative foray from defense which resulted in Bailey Banfield gathering a ball in a pack and kicking truly. Two minutes later a perfect stoppage tap from Luke Jackson found Sam Switkowski who kicked the Dockers' second goal on the siren.

The past week provided yet more delistings and retirements. The Western Bulldogs delisted Hayden Crozier and Roarke Smith. Port Adelaide delisted Orazio Fantasia, Sam Hayes, and Jake Pasini while Scott Lycett has retired. Sam Naismith has found his way back into the AFL at Richmond.

Lycett, a former Port Adelaide SANFL player, was drafted by West Coast in 2010 and played 75 games for the Eagles, including the 2018 premiership. At the end of 2018, he moved to Port as a free agent and played a further 71 games. Port Coach Ken Hinkley said, "Scott has been an outstanding contributor for two clubs ... He was an incredible workhorse for our club during the last five seasons and was totally focused on putting his teammates first. As a former Port Adelaide junior, Scott was Port Adelaide through and through.

Carlton's Ed Curnow announced he would retire when Carlton's season ends and Fremantle delisted veteran pair Travis Colyer and Nathan Wilson. Curnow, 33, was originally rookie listed by Adelaide, but languished in the SANFL for several seasons before being delisted. The Blues drafted him in 2010 and he has played 221 games through Round 23. A reliable tagger and strong ball winner.

ED CURNOW

Coach Michael Voss said, "Footy clubs are built around good people like Ed Curnow. Ed is highly regarded within these four walls, has held a special place in Carlton hearts for over a decade, and deservingly so. He is someone that gives his all every game, won't rest until he's won that contest, with a hunger and desire to finish every game as strong as he started ... He's been here through the tough times, put his body through a lot but the club will forever be a better place for having Ed Curnow as an integral part of it. Ed Curnow is a Carlton person, and the Curnows are a Carlton family. It's been a privilege to coach Ed in his final years at the Blues."

The Port Adelaide Power kept a top two finish in their sights as they overcame a determined Fremantle Dockers, to score a confidence boosting win on the road. It was the first time the Power had won at Optus Stadium and they will look to maintain their momentum by entering the finals with three consecutive wins. The Dockers tried hard but were let down at times with sloppy errors in the midfield and forward line, as they trial a group of young players before their disappointing season finishes.

The Dockers started strongly by making fifteen forward entries to seven in the first quarter which was based on them winning more clearances and contested possessions than Port Adelaide. Early rewards came when Michael Frederick and Luke Jackson had scored a goal each for Fremantle by the nine minute mark. The Dockers applied elite pressure on the Power in attack and in the midfield, inhibiting Port's opportunities to move the ball. However, a perfect centering kick from Todd Marshall to Sam Powell-Pepper who marked (caught the ball) and kicked accurately from a set shot, opened Port's account at the nineteen-minute mark. Port then lifted their intensity. After a boundary throw-in in attack, Zac Butters snapped a clever goal over his shoulder to bring the scores level.

The Fremantle Dockers dominated the West Coast Eagles to give the Eagles their worst thrashing in a Western Derby. In a year where the Eagles have already run up a number of "worsts", they suffered their fifth defeat by more than 100 points. The Dockers, on on the other hand, continued with their strong end-of-year form, in a season which would be rated as a disappointment for the young team. Despite having a couple of late withdrawals due to illness the Eagles started strongly and had made eleven forward entries to their oppositions two by the nineteen-minute mark of the first quarter. After five minutes of early play where defenses held sway, Josh Rotham kicked long to Oscar Allen who took a well-judged mark (catch) against Alex Pearce in the goal square. Allen's goal inspired West Coast and three minutes later Tim Kelly received a handpass to kick on the run from forty-six metres to have the Eagles thirteen points up. The Eagles continued to win clearances and dominate the first quarter, but didn't get value for the forward entries.

The Brisbane Lions triumphed in a tight and enthralling game against the Fremantle Dockers, where the lead changed hands ten times. The Lions were fighting for a shot at the top two position after losing two of their past three matches. The win keeps them in the frame for two valuable home finals. The Dockers had the slimmest of mathematical chances of making the top eight and played with confidence after their victory in Geelong last week. It was a game where both teams played a similar game style: pressure around the ball and either careful buildups in attack, or quick transferences from defence to attack. The difference was Brisbane had an edge in the air, taking more marks (catches) than the Dockers, and the Dockers used handball and pace to run the ball into attack.

The Fremantle Dockers stunned the Geelong Cats with an upset victory at the Cattery. The Cats started as clear favorites in the match but were caught by the intensity of the Dockers' attack on the ball. The reigning premiers were on a path to the finals but hit a significant road bump on the day that coach Chris Scott set the record for the number of games as a Geelong coach.  Although visiting teams rarely win on the narrow ground at GMHBA Stadium, it is the third time in the last six visits that the Dockers have won. The Cats kicked with a breeze that should have offered a three goal advantage in the first quarter but struggled to break free from the pressure the Dockers applied on the ball. The Cats locked the ball in their forward line for long periods but couldn't convert.

The Sydney Swans kept their finals flame flickering with a victory over the Fremantle Dockers at Optus Stadium. The game was won by their stronger bodied midfielders setting up a four goal lead in the first quarter, which the Dockers couldn't to bridge. The Dockers fielded with the most inexperienced team in the competition, with only five players who have played more than 100 games. In total games played, the Sydney team had more than two thousand more games of experience and it was their experienced players who did what needed to be done to keep the Dockers from getting back into the game.