With around eight minutes to go in the contest, the Freo Dockers were 15 points down against the Hawks, and it felt like it was going to stay that way. The Hawks wanted to control the footy, but were starting to look fatigued.
It is never a wise idea to attempt to save a game, particularly when your opposition can be so deadly. And it seemed as though as soon as Freo sensed that, they went to another level.
When the game was there to be won, it was the Fremantle Dockers who rose to meet the challenge and push past the Hawks, who stopped dead.
In an impressive last quarter, the man they call the Unicorn took control and powered his team home with a monster display at stoppages, and around the ground.
After the Hawks slotted the first of the final quarter, the Dockers went on a rampage, with Luke Jackson controlling the stoppages, and the Freo forward line finally working out how to break down the Hawthorn back six.
Tom Barrass departed the game in the second quarter, suffering an injured hamstring, and it set Sam Mitchell scrambling to cover the multiple Fremantle talls. Of course, Justin Longmuir was not going to let the Hawks off the hook, throwing Jackson forward to create more headaches, and his telling contests opened the door for others to hit the scoreboard.
Earlier in the game, it was the Gunston and Watson show, with eight between them at halftime. Brennan Cox took on the role from halfway through the second quarter, and did a good job in limiting the spearhead, but really, it was a shift in the way the entire team defended, which we’ll get into as we go along.
A massive win from a team that I’ve been pretty big on for a couple of years. You’ll now hear the experts jumping onboard – good on them. The real ones have known what’s been happening at Freo for a while now.
Onto The Mongrel’s Big Questions.
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.
