Another midfield masterpiece from Caleb Serong and a blitzkrieg in the second term led the Fremantle Dockers to an important 15.7 (97) to 12.9 (81) win over the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Young gun Murphy Reid put the icing on the cake (and was instrumental throughout), but it was his vice captain leading the way as Serong tallied a whopping 38 disposals and 15 clearances to spur his team to victory despite a plucky Bulldogs outfit refusing to die meekly.
Amazingly, the 24-year-old midfielder only tallied three disposals in the opening term, but more than made up for it with a big second half, stepping up when the game was there to be won.
It was by no means easy, though, as a Doggies outfit led by young gun Sam Darcy (who I am pretty sure was born in a lab… more on that later) pushed hard until the final minutes.
In what was one of the weirdest fourth terms you might ever see, Fremantle was forced to overcome the absence of Luke Jackson due to a hamstring injury, and despite only scoring one goal, were able to scrap out a win.
It was the Dogs who looked well and truly on top early, however. Led by Liberatore and Darcy (we’ve heard that before, eh?), the visitors were able to dominate the forward half territory for the first quarter, but as is often the case in footy, the team with fewer opportunities was the team more able to capitalise.
After a couple early ones from Darcy, who finished the day with five, Shai Bolton was able to boot his first major in purple with a display of his insanely quick first step allowing him to run into open goal.
It was Michael Frederick doing maximum damage, though. Two goals of his own gave Freo a marginal lead at quarter time, before a second quarter explosion gave them a buffer that would eventually decide the game.
The hosts kicked seven goals to two in the term, with in-form spearhead Josh Treacy bagging two of them, to open up a 32-point lead at the main break.
Things were looking up for the blokes in purple, but that seven-foot freakshow on the other team wasn’t ready to just hand the game over.
Darcy piped up again early in the third, punishing Freo for a lacklustre team defence and hitting the scoreboard early.
Fortunately he was playing well enough for two key forwards, given Aaron Naughton’s run of horrendous form continued into this one. However, after losing back-to-back contests to Brennan Cox, Naughton was able to get on the end of a turnover from Matt Johnson and mark in the goal square, converting his only goal for the day.
But the Dockers had just enough answers up their sleeve, and Bolton showing some flair with a goal on the run from distance just before three quarter time helped keep the home side comfortable at the main break.
Things changed at three quarter time, though, when ruckman Jackson headed to the bench with a hamstring injury. He failed to return to the field, and the Dogs made the most of his absence.
It was fair to say Jackson had the upper hand over Dogs counterpart Tim English for the first three quarters, and his absence in the last changed the landscape of the game.
The Dogs midfield was able to regain ascendancy despite an admirable effort from Pat Voss in the ruck, and a nine-disposal final quarter from Tom Liberatore helped lead them back into the fray.
It was Darcy striking early in the fourth to give his side genuine hope of a boilover, but the dour Dockers kicked into defensive overdrive after that one, killing 15 minutes off the clock as they adopted a “save-the-game” style.
It was a strange choice for a side that showed so much flair and dash earlier on, but perhaps brought on by Jackson’s absence and a physically demanding first half, Fremantle slowed it down at every opportunity.
It’s a tactic that usually backfires in most AFL games. Usually, the side going into their shell pays the ultimate price, and I thought exactly that was going to happen when Lachlan McNeil goaled to bring the Dogs within a couple of kicks with a couple minutes left.
But rising Freo star Reid put the game to bed soon after.
The smooth-moving rookie halved a crucial two-on-one contest to force a boundary throw-in in the dying stages, and deservedly followed it up with the final goal of the game seconds later.
The victory gives the Dockers a 2-2 record ahead of a Gather Round clash with Richmond, while the Dogs head into a game with Brisbane on the same ledger.
Now the wrap-up is done, here’s some key takeaways:
About Sam Darcy being born in a lab…
Steven May tweeted out his sympathy for the key defenders of the next 10 years after admiring a dominant Darcy performance against Collingwood in Round 2, and while I doubt I’d agree with much Steven has to say, I do have to agree here.
I would actually like to see Sam Darcy’s birth certificate and test the legitimacy of his father-son claim, because I’m pretty sure he was cooked up by some mad scientist, designed to wreak havoc on opposition ruckmen and defenders. Do test tube babies count as father-sons? I kind of picture him breaking free of his confines like Mewtwo in the classic original Pokemon movie, swearing vengeance on the league’s full backs.
Seriously though, Freo threw everything at this bloke. Alex Pearce is a genuine star defender, and Darcy killed the bloke. Brennan Cox had no chance, and oddly enough it was Josh Draper who had the best luck against the towering monster, though he still lost his share of contests.
Much has been made of Darcy’s draft class, with names like Daicos, Callaghan and Horne-Francis in the mix… I think he’s the best of the bunch.
Caleb loves playing the Doggies
He had a club-record 17 clearances against them last season, and notched a further 15 and 38 disposals in this one.
I get it, the Dogs not having Adam Treloar or that Marcus Bontempelli guy makes life a bit easier, but Serong just continues to get the job done and is putting together some kind of career.
He was slow to start the season in a belting to Geelong, and copped a heavy tag from James Jordon against the Swans, but his past fortnight is much more indicative of the back-to-back All-Australian and best-and-fairest winner.
Jackson’s worth is more evident when he’s not out there
Luke Jackson isn’t given nearly enough credit for how good he is at footy, or how much he means to his side.
While impressive, his stat lines aren’t massive, and he often gets held to an unreasonable standard given his hype during the 2022 trade period and how much Freo have paid for him as a ruckman (hello, Kane).
But if you want to know how important he is to this team, check out the last quarter.
With Jackson unable to take the field with a hammy complaint, the Dogs dominated territory and Tim English was finally able to have a decent say on the contest.
Pat Voss gave his best, but he can’t replace Jackson’s clearance work or quick hands around the ground.
If Freo had won more games, we’d be calling Jackson the All-Australian ruckman through four weeks.
What’s Aaron Naughton’s deal?
This bloke is so out of form, you’d think it was him who’d spent the entire off-season at the pub instead of Jamarra.
For a guy who made a name for himself as a contested marking beast, Naughton has faded tremendously to start season 2025.
Brennan Cox had also struggled to win a one-on-one for the first month of the campaign, but Naughton did his best to play the defender into form by being constantly out of position.
At one point, he threw his hands up in frustration and asked for better from his midfielders… umm, earth to Aaron, you won the inside 50 count 44-63. At some point it’s not the midfielders’ fault.
I. Love. Murphy. Reid.
This kid is seriously composed, with vision and decision-making skills beyond anything you could reasonably expect from a first-year talent.
Reid’s ability to be a one-touch player is creating huge opportunities for Fremantle’s runners and small forwards.
He has only coughed up eight turnovers across his first four games at the top level, while accumulating a staggering 27 score involvements.
I’m not one for maths, but I believe that’s an average of just under seven score involvements for only two turnovers per game.
He is regularly connecting Fremantle’s forward thrusts to scores, and his teammates must bloody love him. Lord knows I do.
Freo cavalry on the way
Getting this win was important, as a 1-3 start to the year would have been catastrophic for Justin Longmuir and his Dockers.
But just as important for Freo, it gets them to an even ledger with some key cavalry nearing a return.
Hayden Young got through Peel Thunder’s game on the weekend unscathed, posting 19 disposals and three goals. His inclusion would be a serious boost for an improving Dockers midfield.
Sam Switkowski is due back this week, and will bring some important forward pressure to a team that appeared to really lack it at times this afternoon.
Big ruckman Sean Darcy might be the most important of all if Jackson can’t get up for a clash against Toby Nankervis and his Tigers, while Michael Walters is about a fortnight away.
Also interesting for the Dockers – Cooper Simpson racked up 30 touches at half back for Peel, and could be a replacement option for Corey Wagner who hit the bench early with an injury.
Some quick hitters
- Not sure what holding the ball is anymore, but whatever it is, it doesn’t apply to Buku Khamis.
- James Harmes kicked an absolute ripper, and was really good in this one. Two good weeks on the trot for him.
- Riley Sanders had his best game of the year, notching 20 touches and two goals. He’s gotten better each week this year, and might be working towards something pretty good.
- Bolton had his best game as a Docker. He mentioned during the week he was finally pain-free in his leg, and it looked that way. Still my pick for recruit of the year.
- Alex Pearce might have struggled on Darcy, but he did take an absolutely outstanding, goal-saving and potentially game-saving mark with 10 minutes remaining in this one.
- If Nathan O’Driscoll could kick, he’d be a serious player… if he could kick.
- I really liked Josh Draper’s willingness to take the game on, hope we see more of it.
That’s all for me today, folks. Catch ya!
