It was wild, it was willing, and it had a spot in the finals on the line.
You just knew that some were queuing up to take a shot at whichever coach found himself on the losing end of this game. I have no doubt that David King was sharpening a knife to ram through the heart of Justin Longmuir as the Dogs took control in the first quarter. Tom Morris was likely doing the same as the Dockers roared back into the game in the second quarter.
Those who love good footy just sat back and watched the spectacle unfold, not concerning themselves with the after-the-fact dramatics of the AFL Media, and what they saw was two teams throw it all at each other in a bid to play in September.
After a frantic, pulsating curtain raiser that saw the Giants knock over the Saints, we started to get into the nitty-gritty of the round – games with finals on the line.
And as a raucous, Dogs-heavy crowd rode every bump, and felt every tackle, Fremantle stood up and declared themselves as one of eight contenders for the flag.
The Dogs came home hard, but it was too little, too late. Freo’s second-quarter dominance gave them too much of a lead, and despite wasting several opportunities to put it beyond doubt, the Dockers picked up a gutsy road win to book their place in September.
This game had it all – the big forwards, and the big defenders doing their best to stop them. It had powerhouse midfields cracking in and stepping up when the moment demanded it. And it had a see-sawing momentum that continually kept you guessing.
I know going in that this is going to be a massive review. I usually sit at around 2.8-3.2k words in each of these columns, but given that this game had so much going on… who knows how long this’ll be.
Maybe I’ll write a novella.
Anyway, time to get into it – let’s take a look at The Mongrel’s Big Questions stemming from the ripper at Marvel Stadium. Well done, Freo – enjoy finals footy.
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Oh… a Mongrel paywall… the worst of all paywalls. Why? Because HB believes work such as this is worth a mere pittance per day. Whilst you could stick with Caro’s Arrow or Kane’s Vol-Kane-O, you’ll get your 500 words in the newspaper and be happy, or you could dive articles like this. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. You’re welcome to join and keep reading if you do.
