This was a Fremantle Dockers game. At its essence, it just looked like the type of game the Dockers were comfortable playing.
That is not meant to denigrate or deride the way Freo play, but it was the type of game I expect from that team at the moment. They have so many parts of their puzzle in place, but they just cannot get the forward setup right, which leaves them in games that are lower scoring, reliant on their defence to do the big jobs.
And they are always a scrap.
Unluckily for the Dockers, Port Adelaide are a team that is right up for a scrap, and are happy to do it until they can put the foot on the throat of an opponent.
It took them a while to find that footing in this one.
Had this been a Port Adelaide-style contest, I would have expected it to be a lot more free flowing, with the ball movement geared to capitalise on their elite midfield skills, but again, without sounding like I am talking down about the Dockers, Port played to Freo’s level.
Maybe Freo made them?
I suppose that’s what makes their win in this game more impressive.
They took on the Dockers, and they beat them at their own game. It was a knock-down, drag-out affair, with a missed shot from Caleb Serong late in the game all but closing the door on Freo’s chance to move to 4-1 ahead of the Derby next week.
Port, meanwhile, have now settled into their rhythm, and sit with four wins on the board from five games – they look like they’ll be around the mark at the pointy end.
Let’s jump into the Big Statements from the narrow Port Adelaide win over Freo.
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