Greg Broughton

In the second Elimination Final, the Hawthorn Hawks traveled west to take on the Fremantle Dockers. Paul Hasleby, who announced his retirement effective from the end of the season, was a surprise omission from the side.

Late July and early August is when teams either make or break their seasons. Fremantle had been losing consistently over the last few weeks with the loss of top line players to injury proving telling. Sydney hadn’t fared much better and a win in this contest would consolidate their top eight position and put pressure on Fremantle for a home ground Final.