There are going to be people who tell you that Brisbane staged a courageous fightback in the last quarter.
If anyone offers you anything even remotely resembling that take, disregard their football knowledge. By the time the Lions started to do much of anything, the game was gone.
Absolutely and completely gone. And the reason it was gone is that the Fremantle Dockers simply took it away from them half an hour earlier.
When the game was there to be won, it was Freo who were playing the better footy, applying the better pressure, and better executing their game plan than the Lions. And despite what you saw in the last quarter, there was a genuine sense that the Lions threw the towel in for the second-straight week in the third quarter.
The Dockers’ defence was steadfast, and it was a complete all-of-team effort that saw them get the better of the reigning premiers. I’m sure anyone who played junior footy remembers the post-game awards the coach would hand out, right? And then sometimes, he’d just not hand out any, not wanting to single out one player in what was a marvellous all-team performance. Whilst the Dockers still had their standouts, this felt like one of those games, and gave a great indication as to why Freo now sit atop the AFL ladder, and have won 11-straight games.
They’re not just a collection of great players. They are becoming a great team.
We have a lot to get through in this one – I want to highlight some of the lesser lights of this Freo outfit, and there might be a few well-deserved whacks for some Lions who only bothered to give a yelp once the game was put to bed.
Let’s jump into the Eight Things I Learned from the Dockers’ win over the Lions.
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.
