There were a few lining up to whack the Fremantle Dockers earlier in the week. One of them, in particular, called the way Freo play footy “boring”.
I’m glad he wasn’t on the allocated commentary team for this game. These blokes never seem to have an appetite for eating their own words.
The Dockers put on a clinic against their highly-fancied opponents, taking control of the contest after ten minutes of Melbourne actually looking like the better team.
I had a moment in the first quarter where I took a note as follows – “If they don’t tighten up, this could be a big win.”
Lucky I didn’t tweet it, huh? Of course, I didn’t specify which team it would be a big win for…
Freo took the measure of the Demons in the first ten minutes, liked what they saw, and proceeded to give the 2021 premiers a lesson in pressure footy, and the most pleasing aspect of their win would have been the way they made the Dees pay for their mistakes.
With clean hands, and an attacking brand of footy that was anything but boring, Freo put the Dees to the sword. They cut off everything that looked even remotely like a Melbourne surge with goals of their own, as their defence stood up, their midfield simply worked harder, and their forwards were able to work into space at a level the Dees could not match.
In many ways, this was a wake-up call for both the Demons, and those sleeping on the Dockers. I know Freo have a lot of detractors. I know there are a lot of people who revel in any game that they don’t perform well in, but I reckon this week, there will be a lot of people who are normally vocal, staying a little quieter.
And that’ll be music to my ears.
Time to jump into The Mongrel’s Big Statements.
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