Fremantle reclaim top four spot with Melbourne romping
Sheer dominance in the clearance battle led to a feast for Fremantle’s forwards as they dominated the Melbourne Demons for the second time this season, en route to a 17.14 (116) to 10.6 (66) win at Optus Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Dockers took full advantage of Melbourne skipper Max Gawn’s absence, as their major advantage in the ruck created one of the most lopsided clearance counts you’ll ever see.
The home side shot out of the blocks, winning the first 14 clearances of the game (yes, you read that right, 14!) and converting the first three goals as the Demons went without a major in the opening term.
It was a combined effort from Caleb Serong, Andrew Brayshaw, Hayden Young and Nat Fyfe as Freo’s powerhouse midfield got to work from the get-go.
The quarter, along with dual rucks Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson, made mincemeat of Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney and Trent Rivers at every opportunity.
Their embarrassment of Melbourne’s mids provided Freo’s forwards with plenty of opportunity. Sam Sturt opened the game with a sublime set shot from outside the 50m arch, before young tandem Jye Amiss and Josh Treacy hit the scoreboard.
But for all the jabs they landed in the middle, Fremantle weren’t able to do maximum damage in front of the sticks.
They ended a bombarding opening term with just a 21-point lead, and a fair soccer strike from Caleb Windsor for the Demons’ first major early in the second term gave Dockers fans a feeling they may rue some missed opportunities.
But never fear, Freo tragics: Young and Serong continued their wave of affirmation to ensure the hosts’ momentum remained strong.
However, as opposition teams are becoming accustomed to, it was Treacy dealing out most of the damage as he collected nine marks in the first half alone in a display of his aerial prowess.
The vastly improved big man was a force around the ground, and no Melbourne defender had an answer for his power. His efforts inspired a series of plays that allowed Michael Walters and Luke Jackson to convert majors.
Still, another quarter of dominance wasn’t truly reflected on the scoreboard as Fremantle extended their lead to just 30 at half time.
This was largely due to veteran Dees defender Steven May saving his fair share of goals on the last line of defence, and it left the door ajar for a Melbourne comeback should they turn things around in the second half.
They didn’t…
Instead, Fremantle piled on the first four goals of the second half in a fashion that would have had Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin vomiting in his mouth.
Jye Amiss got wide open out the back for the first two, and Jordan Clark was the beneficiary of his own excellent work running into open goal for the third.
To be fair, Melbourne did bring a greater intensity around the contest in the second half (largely due to Oliver and Viney improving) and would go on to boot three straight goals of their own after Fremantle’s run that all but put the game to bed.
But while their improved showing in and under was admirable, Fremantle continued to torch them on the outside and eventually ran the game out with a significant win.
You wouldn’t think it, but this 50-point smashing actually provided plenty of talking points, so let’s dig into a few of them below.
Fremantle’s “video game” numbers in the middle
Not all games are decided on the stat sheet… in fact, most aren’t.
This one was, though. Fremantle’s ascendancy in the middle of the ground led to the kind of numbers you only see when you chuck AFL Live 2004 on easy mode.
The Dockers won total clearance 47-16, hitouts 47-9, centre clearances 17-8 and stoppage clearances a whopping 30-8.
These are not numbers you see in a game between two AFL sides, these are numbers you see in your country league when a team that’s paid 22 recruits in under-the-table funds comes up against your ressies outfit.
The individuals leading the way? Andrew Brayshaw collected 41 disposals, while Serong wasn’t far behind, bagging 36 and a goal.
Hayden Young (28 disposals and eight clearances) and Sean Darcy (16, 34 hit outs and seven clearances) were also influential.
It was an all-around belting, and it’s the second time this year Fremantle have handed it out to Melbourne.
From the two meetings between the sides this season, Freo has won the clearances by a combined 95-39… that’s +56… that’s nuts.
It’s both a testament to Fremantle’s historically good clearance midfield, and a whack to Melbourne’s underachieving “superstars”.
At one point, special comments man Nathan Jones said the Melbourne mids needed to “work a little harder”… it was the understatement of the century.
Skipper in doubt?
Alex Pearce’s return from injury was going swimmingly until he re-injured the same arm that has kept him out of Freo’s past three matches.
Coach Justin Longmuir said after the game he was “nervous” about Pearce’s injury, but would wait to see what the scans say before declaring the severity of it.
Either way, it sounds as though Josh Draper will be returning to the line-up once again for what will be a crucial stretch of games. The young defender has more than held his own in recent games, and he will likely need to reproduce that form if Freo is to secure a top four spot.
Steven May and Josh Treacy get into it
The game was well dead when Steven May decided he’d lay a late bump on a defenceless Jye Amiss who had just run into an open goal, but the ensuing moments did provide some theatre for the crowd.
Treacy took umbrage with the star defender’s act, remonstrating with a prolonged push and shove that resulted in the Freo crowd belting out a chant that rhymes with anchor… but wasn’t quite that word.
May would go on to take an intercepting mark on the following possession, and he let Treacy know about it.
Probably not the smartest move when you’re getting smashed by 50 points… to a team that beat you by 90 points just a couple of months ago.
Not much to say about the Dees, but I liked Dan Turner
There weren’t many bright spots in this one for Melbourne fans, but Dan Turner might have been one of them.
While his impact certainly wasn’t “game-changing”, Turner stood tall in a game where Fremantle dominated the key position output.
He took two contested marks on Freo skipper Alex Pearce early on and then another opposed to ruckman Sean Darcy in the third.
It’s not much, and I’m scratching around for good things to say about the Dees here, but I liked his ability to win out in contested situations today.
Freo’s bright-future forwards
Jye Amiss, Josh Treacy and Luke Jackson are 20, 21 and 22-years-old respectively…
I don’t think enough gets made about the impact they’re having at such a young age and what that means for the future of Fremantle’s forward line.
Today they combined for eight goals (four to Amiss, three to Treacy and one beautiful checkside for Jackson). It’s a combination of super talent that gives Freo their very own blueprint to recreate the potent attacks of some of the elite premiership-winning teams we’ve seen in recent memory.
They are still learning, and they aren’t always on, but when they are, the Dockers just about look unstoppable.
Nat Fyfe makes maximum impact
A stat sheet of 17 disposals (14 of them handballs) wouldn’t usually befit a two-time Brownlow Medallist, but today Nat Fyfe made his presence felt with exactly that.
His ability to remain calm and find the correct outlet set up a string of passages for Freo. They were damaging handballs that set the likes of Jordan Clark and Sam Switkowski on their way, and they’re exactly what the Dockers need from Fyfe moving forward.
