You could see this one coming in like a storm on the horizon.
After a drought-breaking win in Round Five, the Eagles were up and about, and after two nailbiting losses, the Freo Dockers headed into the Derby in need of a win, and with a hint of desperation about them.
Yes, the storm was brewing. The clouds were rolling in, and despite seeing it coming, WEst Coast rained down on the Fremantle Dockers, anyway.
The Eagles were irrepressible, as they not only matched the pressure of the Dockers, but dwarfed it. They attacked relentlessly and played on at all costs, as the Dockers played stop/start, passive footy in retaliation. It was as though Freo were the team that had struggled through the last couple of years and the Eagles were the ones with the good form line.
Adam Simpson called this game an audit for his team.
I wish my own audit went as well as this one all those years ago!
The last time the teams clashed in a Derby, it was Fremantle with a triple-figure win. In a massive turnaround, West Coast humbled the Dockers, and it was only a flurry of glorified junk time goals that allowed any semblance of respectability on the scoreboard.
Oh, and West Coast had this kid playing for them… he’s pretty good.
Let’s jump into The Mongrel’s Big Questions.
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