It was a funny game out west to conclude ANZAC Day, as Freo hosted the Blues in the Len Hall Tribute game.
I use the word “funny” not in a humorous context, but more due to the fact that the final margin was just 14 points, yet at no stage did I genuinely believe that the Dockers were in serious danger of losing this contest. I always felt they had a gear that Carlton could not match, and they demonstrated this in periods that were likely a lot shorter than Justin Longmuir would have liked, yet too long for Michael Voss.
Shai Bolton won the Arthur Leggett Medal, as best afield, after posting the type of numbers the Dockers envisioned when he was first recruited to the club, and it was in that short period of Freo dominance that he earned it.
In a five-minute patch to commence the final quarter, the Dockers went bang-bang-bang-bang, piling on four goals and sitting the Blues on their backsides. Bolton had two of them and a big hand in the others.
It was one of those periods where you could just see the game slipping away from the Blues in real time. Or, more to the point, you could see the Dockers tearing the game away from them. Bolton led the charge in that period. He played up to the enormous potential he has always displayed.
If there was any controversy in the game, at all, it was only the awarding of the medal to Bolton over Luke Jackson, who unicorned his way to another dominant ruck game.
We’ll get into that.
Lots to get through, as always, as the Dockers cemented their place in the top four, and the Blues are left to once again lament a lapse in the final quarter costing them.
Let’s jump into The Mongrel’s Talking Points.
This is just the introduction – the remainder of this article is for our members. They support me, and I provide for them. It’s a good deal.
Oh… a Mongrel paywall… the worst of all paywalls. We’re all in on the 2026 AFL season. Player articles, stats, awards, game coverage. Dump the mainstream lip service and dive into articles like this – you will never look back. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I consider it your loss as we get into the grind of the season, and you’re stuck with the stuff that’s frustrated you for years.
