Match report
Thanks for following along. That was some game! Fremantle live to fight another day – against Sydney in a preliminary final at the SCG – while Geelong are left to lick their wounds after falling agonisingly short of another shot at a grand final. Here is the full report …
Patrick Voss put the icing on the cake with six seconds remaining but he had been just as crucial to the Dockers’ win throughout the night. Now it’s the key forward’s turn to speak with Fox Sports.
We came in a plan and we executed it. So yeah, so happy with the boys. So pumped that we can do this for our fans. Yeah, just awesome all around.
Very disappointing week last week and, yeah, geez the crowd. Yeah, from a personal perspective, really let myself down last week. Didn’t think I bought the right mindset and really wanted to make amends this week and we came and hunted them, and again, couldn’t be more proud. That was as loud as I’ve heard it.
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Caleb Serong is talking to Fox Sports and as one of the more measured players I have come across he’s probably the best person to try to make sense of that game.
The message I guess was really just trying to be reliable for each other and not remarkable. You don’t have to go out of role, you have to do anything special just got to play the way we have all year, which was really selfless and role. And I think the boys did that tonight.
The momentum swings, especially that fight back from the Cats in the third quarter. I mean, it was huge. Both us going early. The crowd jumped on our back. It was awesome. And yeah, it was a bit of a shootout, but I’m just glad we could finish off our work.
Just grateful that we get the opportunity to go again. Never played in a prelim, so I’m really excited.
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The Dockers might have failed to rise to the occasion of the qualifying final against the Hawks. But they have played their part in one of the better finals I can remember for a 14-point victory against the Cats. The margin does not do this game justice as the Cats kept coming and coming and even took the lead in the third term, but in the end did not have enough to break down the determined Dockers.
Luke Jackson was immense for the Dockers and finished with 25 disposals, eight clearances, 12 score involvements, 35 hit-outs and two goals. But Pat Voss had the final say and kicked four goals. Bailey Smith was important for the Cats with a game-high 29 disposals, while Ollie Henry kicked a game-high five for the losers
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Full-time: Fremantle 18.12.120 defeat Geelong 16.10.106
The Dockers are through to a preliminary final after an all-time classic final against the Cats.
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Q4: 1 min remaining: Fremantle 18.12.120 – Geelong 16.10.106
The Wharfie Time bell rings out and the crowd goes suitably wild. The Dockers win the ball from the middle. Bolton takes a grab on the forward flank and calls to slow the game down until spotting Voss alone 10m out. The Cats defender can’t help but give away a free kick – only just – and the Dockers key forward kicks the sealer. What a game!
Q4: 2 min remaining: Fremantle 17.12.114 – Geelong 16.10.106
The Dockers can almost breathe again as they set up camp in their defensive 50. But then Stewart has followed his man and takes a mark and kicks just the eighth goal of his career to give the Cats a sniff.
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Q4: 3 min remaining: Fremantle 17.12.114 – Geelong 15.10.100
The Dockers are in sight of a preliminary final as a series of stoppages help run the clock down. The Cats have one more forward entry but Blicavs fluffs his kick. Dangerfield has another opportunity but an ill-timed slip is all that stop him getting a shot away.
Q4: 4 min remaining: Fremantle 17.12.114 – Geelong 15.10.100
The Cats scramble the ball deep into their forward 50 but are unable to find a mark. The Dockers have the same problem on the rebound until Jackson finds some space.
Q4: 5 min remaining: Fremantle 17.12.114 – Geelong 15.10.100
Bolton bites off a crazy kick from the boundary to centre-half forward but somehow it comes off for the Dockers. Dudley can’t get through to get the shot away but Reid has all the time he needs. His snap doesn’t have enough on it but helps extend the Dockers’ lead just a touch.
Q4: 6 min remaining: Fremantle 17.11.113 – Geelong 15.10.100
Bolton wins the centre clearance and goes wide to pick out Johnson on the wing. That hasn’t been the theme of the night but it was clever play here. Johnson quickly finds Reid inside 50m on the boundary but his kick to the top of the goalsquare is ruchsed through.
Q4: 7 min remaining: Fremantle 17.10.112 – Geelong 15.10.100
Another centre clearance goes the Cats way and Shannon Neale earns a free kick from holding about 30m behind the drop of the ball. Pearce grabbed the jumper and the Cats key forward goals.
Q4: 8 min remaining: Fremantle 17.10.112 – Geelong 14.10.94
The Cats win the centre clearance through Mullins and Mannagh snaps the goal to keep his side in it. That’s six goals through centre clearance to the Dockers, five to the Cats.
Q4: 8 min remaining: Fremantle 17.10.112 – Geelong 13.10.88
Caleb Serong marks in the middle of three Cats as the visitors try to scramble the ball clear of the goal square. The midfielder steps back and nails a set shot from 55m. It will be hard for the Cats from here.
Q4: 9 min remaining: Fremantle 16.10.106 – Geelong 13.10.88
Young wins the centre clearance and sends the ball long. Guthrie wins the one-on-one contest in the goalsquare, spills the mark, tumbles a snap the wrong way and through for a behind.
Q4: 10 min remaining: Fremantle 16.9.105 – Geelong 13.10.88
The Cats are not done yet as Oli Henry kicks his fifth – a career-high. Dangerfield got them going in the elimination final against the Blues. But Henry looks like the only to find a way tonight.
Q4: 11 min remaining: Fremantle 16.9.105 – Geelong 12.10.82
The Dockers are happy to run down the clock with a couple of stoppages deep in the Cats’ attack. The Cats finally get a shot away but Dempsey continues his horror night with a snap that bends too far. The majority of the 59,725 fans at Optus Stadium breathe a sigh of relief.
Q4: 12 min remaining: Fremantle 16.9.105 – Geelong 12.9.81
The Cats have lost their avenues out of defence with the Dockers setting up camp in the corridor. Finally they find a way through and get the ball to Dangerfield for a one-two before he sets sail from the inside of the centre square. But the skipper is offline a touch just as the Cats needed a team-lifter.
Q4: 14 min remaining: Fremantle 16.8.104 – Geelong 12.8.80
Johnson wins a one-on-one against Dempsey and races away from the pacey winger. He picks out Fredericks inside 50m near the boundary for a mark and a snap to put the Dockers in command.
Q4: 16 min remaining: Fremantle 15.7.97 – Geelong 12.8.80
The Dockers have barely had the ball forward this term but Patrick Voss – almost – makes the most of his opportunity until the bouncing ball is knocked through for a behind.
Q4: 18 min remaining: Fremantle 15.6.96 – Geelong 12.8.80
The Cats bounce off half-back and get the ball to Oli Henry on the lead. From a tough angle the red-hot forward hooks his shot out of bounds on the full.
Q4: 19 min remaining: Fremantle 15.6.96 – Geelong 12.8.80
The Cats get the ball forward but can’t find a mark inside 50 as the Dockers defence digs deep.
Thirty minutes left for one of these two teams but it will be hard to say farewell after such a cracking contest. The final term is about to get under way …
3QT: Fremantle 15.6.96 – Geelong 12.8.80
The Cats made their move in the third term with five goals to take the lead for the first time tonight. But the Dockers responded in the most emphatic fashion with four goals in the last five minutes before the last change. The minor premiers were on the ropes and staring at a straight-sets exit. But both sides are still alive in what has been a frenetic final for the ages.
Jackson kicked a goal after the siren to give the Dockers a handy 16-point lead, less than a minute after Voss booted one on the run.
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Q3: 1 min remaining: Fremantle 13.6.84 – Geelong 12.8.80
Young earns a free kick from the centre ball-up for an early hold but Serong is straight on to the ball to take the advantage and kick long to Treacy. The Big Kahuna kicks truly from outside 50m and the Dockers are, suddenly, somehow, back in front.
Q3: 2 mins remaining: Fremantle 12.6.78 – Geelong 12.8.80
Edward gives away the sloppiest of free kicks for a high arm over Jackson at a throw-in. The Dockers ruck has been immense tonight. And he makes no mistake with the absolute gift from 50m.
Q3: 3 mins remaining: Fremantle 11.6.72 – Geelong 12.8.80
Woah! The Cats are … on a … roll. Their relentless fight gets the ball forward where Dangerfield gathers at top speed, snaps to the top of the goalsquare. But in the middle of a pack of players it takes one, two, three quick handballs to find a free player before Cameron throws the ball on the boot from the goalline. The last change can’t come soon enough for the Dockers.
Q3: 5 mins remaining: Fremantle 11.6.72 – Geelong 11.8.74
The Cats win a free kick in the middle and quick hands unleash Smith. Another long bombs picks out Dangerfield this time and the skipper goals to put his side in front for the first time tonight.,
Q3: 6 mins remaining: Fremantle 11.6.72 – Geelong 10.8.68
The Cats win the centre clearance as Smith sends the ball as long as he can. Oli Henry – who else – reads it best and marks on the lead. He goes back and kicks his fourth. Seven touches for 3.1 to Henry this quarter.
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Q3: 7 mins remaining: Fremantle 11.6.72 – Geelong 9.8.62
The Dockers are hanging on as their slick ball movement has disappeared. A deep entry gets the ball to Jackson and Amiss in an outnumber against Blicavs, and the Dockers’ key forward takes a strong grab and goals.
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Q3: 8 mins remaining: Fremantle 10.6.66 – Geelong 9.8.62
The Cats are looking to move the ball at speed at any opportunity. They do so again as Bruhn gets the ball to Humphries to slice through the Dockers in the centre square. Oli Henry has been huge this quarter and is on the lead again – he flies high, gets a nudge under the ball and that’s enough for a free kick. Finally he kicks truly and the Cats are back within a goal.
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Q3: 10 mins remaining: Fremantle 10.6.66 – Geelong 8.8.56
Dudley could make the Cats pay for their misses as he marks near the arc and close to the boundary. But he fails to nail the moment as well with a kick that goes across the face and falls a touch short to be rushed through.
Q3: 11 mins remaining: Fremantle 10.5.65 – Geelong 8.8.56
Oli Henry marks on the 50m arc near the boundary and goes back to take to the set shot. But he sprays it just enough for another behind – that’s 1.6 to the Cats this term.
Q3: 12 mins remaining: Fremantle 10.5.65 – Geelong 8.7.55
The Dockers are unable to move the ball in the same way as they did in the first half. The Cats cut them off again across the middle and get the ball forward where Mannagh marks on the arc. He wheels around and takes the shot when there were other options. But he hooks the kick and that’s another behind.
Q3: 14 mins remaining: Fremantle 10.5.65 – Geelong 8.6.54
The Cats are back inside 50 but can only find a boundary throw-in from an O’Sullivan snap. The Dockers lock the ball in for a couple of stoppage but it takes Mannagh’s behind from a snap to release the pressure.
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Q3: 15 mins remaining: Fremantle 10.5.65 – Geelong 8.5.53
The Dockers go end-to-end and Dudley helps clear space for Voss to take a mark. The key forward’s checkside from 30m out floats across the face of goal and out of bounds on the full.
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Q3: 16 mins remaining: Fremantle 10.5.65 – Geelong 8.5.53
The Dockers are yet to get the ball inside 50 while the Cats have had five forward 50 entries without marking the home side pay.
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Q3: 17 mins remaining: Fremantle 10.5.65 – Geelong 8.4.52
Ollie Dempsey has been quiet but might have kicked a ripping goal. There is a one-on-one contest in the goalsquare and the Cat leans back to volley the ball out of the air and over his shoulder for a goal. But there was also contact off the Dockers’ defender’s bicep and the goal umpire signals for a behind. The review is unable to overturn the decision – but that was a pretty clear goal to me.
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Q3: 18 mins remaining: Fremantle 10.5.65 – Geelong 8.3.51
The Cats block the middle of the field to cut off the Dockers’ attempt to move the ball forward from a kick-in. They rebound quickly to pick out Oliver Henry inside 50. The tall forward takes the mark and before the defence can settle runs around to snap a goal.
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Q3: 19 mins remaining: Fremantle 10.5.65 – Geelong 7.3.45
The Cats win the ball out of the middle and Cameron gathers on the arc and sends it deep where Dangerfield takes a strong grab in the middle of two Dockers. But the Cats skippers fluffs his kick from about 25m out on a slight angle.
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Luke Jackson continues to set the tone at stoppages and around the ground. The ruck-forward-midfielder hybrid has 10 disposals, three clearances and 17 hit-outs. Surely a goal is coming soon too. Shai Bolton, Hayden Young (five clearances) and Andrew Brayshaw each have 14 disposals. The Cats’ Bailey Smith leads the way in the semi-final with 16 while Shaun Mannagh has helped their side get back in the game with 10 touches and four clearances. But Max Holmes looked under some distress late in the last term – the speedster is back in the middle but the Cats need him at his best. Here we go …
The Cats made the most of their chances with five goals from 12 inside 50s in the second term. But the Dockers continue to take full advantage of their dominance in the centre ball-ups with 5.1 from centre clearance the best on record in the first half of a final.
HT: Fremantle 10.5.65 – Geelong 7.2.44
Wow! What a half of finals footy. The Dockers take a 21-point lead into the main break while everyone can catch their breath.
Q2: 1 min remaining: Fremantle 10.5.65 – Geelong 7.2.44
The replay shows Reid’s kick to Dudley was 15.9m – credit to the umpire. Geelong win a centre clearance as Holmes sprints away. But the Cats are unable to take full advantage with a couple of fumbles around the arc. Another inside 50 and a series of knock on and scrambles gets the ball to Neale to kick his second of the night.
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Q2: 2 mins remaining: Fremantle 10.5.65 – Geelong 6.2.38
Murphy Reid gathers the ball inside 50 and with a quick one-two finds some space to pick out Isaiah Dudley for a mark. That must have been right on 15m but Dudley makes no mistake.
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Q2: 3 mins remaining: Fremantle 9.5.59 – Geelong 6.2.38
The skills are getting a little sloppy as the manic pace of the game catches up with both sides as we approach the main break. The Cats would, of course, love one before the siren.
Q2: 5 mins remaining: Fremantle 9.5.59 – Geelong 6.2.38
Finally both sides are able to catch their breath as the ball is stuck on the wing with a few low intensity stoppages.
Q2: 7 mins remaining: Fremantle 9.5.59 – Geelong 6.2.38
Josh Treacy hits the deck and needs some attention. But the key forward gets up with a smile on his face as he makes his way to the boundary. Jye Amiss grabs a mark just inside the boundary but the checkside has too much on it and he can only manage a behind.
Q2: 8 mins remaining: Fremantle 9.4.58 – Geelong 6.2.38
Isaiah Dudley fights off a tackle inside 50 and gets a quick kick away but he can’t get on to it properly and the ball is rushed through for a behind. That was the ninth tackle the Cats have missed tonight, while the Dockers have stuck all of their so far. Blicavs has a shot from outside the 50m arc but the ball shaves the wrong side of the goal post.
Q2: 10 mins remaining: Fremantle 9.3.57 – Geelong 6.1.37
A relative moment of calm after the two sides shared seven goals at under one every couple of minutes this term. The Dockers chip away in their forward 50 but the Cats’ defence stands firm.
Q2: 12 mins remaining: Fremantle 9.3.57 – Geelong 6.1.37
Josh Treacy takes the sting out of the occasion as he slices a set shot for a behind. The ball bounces between the arcs before the Cats finally get it deep into their forward 50. Dangerfield throws off a tackler to get a handball out to Cameron who snaps a goal from a near-impossible angle. This is shaping up as a classic final.
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Q2: 13 mins remaining: Fremantle 9.2.56 – Geelong 5.1.31
Hayden Young streams out of the centre ball-up and rushes forward with one bounce, up to the edge of the square and rockets the ball over the goalline. That’s a fifth goal from centre clearance to the Dockers, and the third in barely 10 minutes in the second term.
Q2: 14 mins remaining: Fremantle 8.2.50 – Geelong 5.1.31
The Cats win a rare centre clearance as Edwards dishes the ball off to Holmes who bombs it long inside 50. Dangerfield spills a chest mark while sliding on the turf and the crumbs end up with Shaun Mannagh streaming past.
Q2: 15 mins remaining: Fremantle 8.2.50 – Geelong 4.1.25
Jye Amiss too strong as he outmuscles Jack Henry in a one-on-one at the top of the goalsquare. Dead-eye Jye makes no mistake.
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Q2: 16 mins remaining: Fremantle 7.2.44 – Geelong 4.1.25
Back-to-back goals to the Cats for the first time this evening. Shannon Neale stands out the back of a scrambling contest inside 50. He receives a handball out of the pack, has time to take one step and snaps another critical goal.
Q2: 17 mins remaining: Fremantle 7.2.44 – Geelong 3.1.19
Fremantle have found it easier to go end-to-end as they quickly switch the ball but now Geelong open them up with a couple of changes of lane. Dangerfield marks out wide, plays on and kicks long to Oliver Henry who sneaks the ball just on the inside of the goal post for a much-needed major.
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Q2: 19 mins remaining: Fremantle 7.2.44 – Geelong 2.1.13
The Dockers pick up where they left off in the first term and win the centre clearance. A squaring kick from deep in the forward pocket picks out Isaiah Dudley and the livewire extends the home side’s lead.
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Mark Blicavs is in the ruck for the Cats as the second term is about to get under way …
Luke Jackson has had nine disposals, two clearances and 10 hit-outs as a key to the Dockers’ bright start, with Hayden Young (seven, two) also critical. Shai Bolton and Patrick Voss helped finish off the work with a couple of goals apiece, while the Dockers dominated with 12-7 clearances including 6-2 in the centre. Milestone man Bailey Smith (seven) played almost a lone hand for the Cats and Chris Scott is showing no signs of panic at the first break.
QT: Fremantle Fremantle 6.2.38 – Geelong 2.1.13
An emphatic response from Fremantle after they failed to fire a shot in the qualifying final against Hawthorn. The minor premiers lead the Cats by 25 points with their scintillating ball movement up and running again. But their advantage at stoppage has been just as crucial with Luke Jackson teaching young Mitch Edwards a lesson.
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Q1: 1 min remaining: Fremantle 6.2.38 – Geelong 2.1.13
The Dockers win the centre clearance again but Hayden Young misses his kick and the ball trickles out for a throw-in just inside the arc.
Q1: 2 mins remaining: Fremantle 6.2.38 – Geelong 2.1.13
The Cats are under pressure even as they move the ball into their forward 50. Mitch Edwards is within range but kicks to the top of the goalsquare where Oliver Wiltshire is in front and marks on the move to goal and claw his side a little closer.
Q1: 3 mins remaining: Fremantle 6.2.38 – Geelong 1.1.7
Fremantle give Geelong no time or space as the Cats try to exit their half-back line. Murphy Reid’s misplaced kick inside 50 is cut off and the Cats are happy to slow the game down with finish line of quarter time now in sight.
Q1: 5 mins remaining: Fremantle 6.2.38 – Geelong 1.1.7
Fremantle open up Geelong on the outside again and Mason Cox has enough space to mark unattended. The Dockers recruit slots the set shot and here comes his usual carry on, this time in the face of a bemused Jack Henry.
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Q1: 6 mins remaining: Fremantle 5.2.32 – Geelong 1.1.7
Geelong move the ball at will from a Fremantle behind but miss the last kick inside 50. Jeremy Cameron shows no signs of his arm issues as he wraps up Luke Jackson in a tackle but the Dockers switch the ball across the last line again to go end-to end. Patrick Voss pulls down the mark this time and nails the set shot from the 50m arc. The Dockers have five – as many as they kicked in the entire game against the Hawks.
Q1: 8 mins remaining: Fremantle 4.2.26 – Geelong 1.1.7
Geelong are one of the best sides in the competition at winning the ball back in their own forward half. They lock the ball forward again before Fremantle switch the play and transition with ease. Voss sets up for a mark over the back but Jye Amiss comes across to spoil him.
Q1: 9 mins remaining: Fremantle 4.1.25 – Geelong 1.1.7
Fremantle have learned the lessons from their qualifying final defeat to Hawthorn as they look to move the ball with speed rather than falling back into the slow and sideways movement of last week.
Q1: 11 mins remaining: Fremantle 4.1.25 – Geelong 1.1.7
Shannon Neale has perhaps the most pleasant kicking action in the game. But Cats’ fans won’t have enjoyed watching that one as the key forward hooks a shot from within range.
Q1: 12 mins remaining: Fremantle 4.1.25 – Geelong 1.0.6
Hayden Young takes a mark inside 50 but slices the set shot from just inside the arc. Young Geelong ruck Mitch Edwards would like his time again after failing to impact the contest as the only big man in the vicinity.
Q1: 13 mins remaining: Fremantle 4.0.24 – Geelong 1.0.6
Fremantle open up Geelong on transition with Murphy Reid scrambling the ball forward and Shai Bolton launching another long bomb to get over the last line of defence. Zach Guthrie does well running back with the flight of the ball to prevent a Isaiah Dudley mark inside 50, but Michael Frederick picks up the crumbs and goals.
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Q1: 14 mins remaining: Fremantle 3.0.18 – Geelong 1.0.6
The finals heat is dialled up with intense pressure making the footy hot and kicks now missing targets. The Cats have the ball in their forward half but can’t get a sight on goal.
Q1: 15 mins remaining: Fremantle 3.0.18 – Geelong 1.0.6
Danger signs early for Geelong. And just the moment for their skipper to step up. The Cats scramble the ball to their 50m arc just inside the boundary where Patrick Dangerfield receives a handpass from Shannon Neale, scoots a few steps away from the boundary and launches a bomb to continue the blistering start.
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Q1: 17 mins remaining: Fremantle 3.0.18 – Geelong 0.0.0
The Dockers win the ball out of the middle again but the Cats defence pick off Bolton’s kick inside 50. A quick transition from the Cats is turned around by their former defender Jordan Clark who sliced through the centre square and kicks over the last line of defenders to Patrick Voss. The firebrand forward barely had a touch last week. But he has an early goal and the Dockers are rocking.
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Q1: 18 mins remaining: Fremantle 2.0.12 – Geelong 0.0.0
Shai Bolton has two and the Dockers are flying. Luke Jackson wins the centre clearance again, this time with Bolton’s help in the middle. He gets on the end of the chain and slams home the Dockers’ second from outside the 50m arc. The Cats are two goals down and yet to have a possession.
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Q1: 19 mins remaining: Fremantle 1.0.6 – Geelong 0.0.0
Shai Bolton gets the Dockers on the board. And he is pumped! Caleb Serong is all class after the Dockers get the first inside 50 and their midfielder picks out the goalsneak for the opener. Just the start the Dockers needed.
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First ball-up
Luke Jackson and Mitch Edwards fly into each other in the centre circle as the AFL semi-final gets under way at Optus Stadium. And the Dockers ruck hacks the ball forward.
The national anthem and Welcome to Country are sung and done. Dockers captain Alex Pearce and Cats skipper Patrick Dangerfield have tossed the coin. Hells Bells is ringing out for the top of the grandstand at Optus Stadium. And it’s time to buckle up to see if Fremantle can rise to the occasion against Geelong …
As though Fremantle and their fans need a reminder of how their grand plans fell apart last Thursday at Optus Stadium – but with the first ball-up just a few minutes away, quickly catch up on how we ended up back at the same venue this evening …
Nick Watson produced his usual bag of wizardry tricks and James Sicily led a rock-solid defence as Hawthorn ended Fremantle’s perfect home record in brutal fashion with a stunning 32-point qualifying final win in Perth. The Hawks kicked six goals to one in a dominant first half in Thursday night’s clash to set up the 10.12 (72) to 5.10 (40) win and secure a home preliminary final.
Jonathan Horn will be reporting on this Fremantle and Geelong semi-final after being at the MCG this time last week as the Cats knocked out the Blues.
When Carlton jumped out to a 21-point lead, they had the 10 leading possession winners on the ground. But the Cats finally got some cohesion and fluidity in their game, with their fleet of small-to-medium hybrid players – Gryan Miers and Brad Close in particular – finding space and using the ball well. As the rain teemed down and the legs got heavier, Geelong began to look like the superior side. And Patrick Dangerfield began to bend the elimination final to his will.
Dangerfield had been a crucial player when Carlton dominated early. His snap around his body in the first term – in the same part of the ground where he terrorised Hawthorn in the preliminary final last year – helped keep the Cats in the contest. But he was magnificent in the second half.
Here are the two lineups as named:
FREMANTLE
FB: 6 Jordan Clark, 25 Alex Pearce, 21 Oscar McDonald
HB: 23 Karl Worner, 13 Luke Ryan, 5 Heath Chapman
C: 44 Matthew Johnson, 8 Andrew Brayshaw, 32 Michael Frederick
HF: 43 Isaiah Dudley, 16 Murphy Reid, 39 Sam Switkowski
FF: 24 Jye Amiss, 35 Josh Treacy, 20 Patrick Voss
FOLL: 9 Luke Jackson, 3 Caleb Serong, 10 Shai Bolton
INT: 18 Mason Cox, 34 Corey Wagner, 28 Neil Erasmus, 26 Hayden Young, 17 Judd McVee
GEELONG
FB: 38 Jack Henry, 14 Connor O’Sullivan, 39 Zach Guthrie
HB: 17 Lawson Humphries, 4 Tanner Bruhn, 44 Tom Stewart
C: 46 Mark Blicavs, 3 Bailey Smith, 28 Oliver Dempsey
HF: 45 Brad Close, 5 Jeremy Cameron, 32 Gryan Miers
FF: 2 Jay Polkinghorne, 33 Shannon Neale, 35 Patrick Dangerfield
FOLL: 11 Mitchell Edwards, 30 Tom Atkins, 34 Oisin Mullin
INT: 42 Mark O’Connor, 9 Max Holmes, 7 Shaun Mannagh, 21 Oliver Wiltshire, 36 Oliver Henry
Fremantle are staring at a straight-sets exit as they host the experienced Geelong with a preliminary final against Sydney up for grabs. Here is where the game will be won – and lost …
The slow ball movement that held the Dockers back in recent years returned against the Hawks and made it difficult to capitalise on their 57 inside 50s as they finished with only five goals. After scoring only 17 points from turnover against the Hawks, Longmuir’s side will have to punish the Cats’ mistakes more to progress to the preliminary final.
The Cats have got the balance between defence and attack right across their unbeaten run home and into the elimination final win against the Blues, with six scores of 100 points or more in the seven victories while conceding triple figures only once.
Fremantle and Geelong fans are flocking to Optus Stadium with the first ball-up a bit over half an hour away.
Geelong midfielder Bailey Smith is playing his 150th AFL match. He played 103 of those for Western Bulldogs before moving to Geelong in the 2024 trade period. But he has lived up to the hype at his second club while averaging 31.9 disposals across 46 games and finishing third in last year’s Brownlow medal in his first campaign since recovering from a torn ACL.
The nerves will be jangling for Fremantle fans at Optus Stadium and far beyond with their dreams of claiming the club’s first men’s premiership back on shaky ground. Brendan Foster is in Perth and has seen the hype grow across this AFL season as well as the Dockers’ previous, all ultimately failed, finals campaigns.
Whenever the Dockers make a finals appearance, the ramshackle, salty seaside port city of Fremantle becomes awash in a sea of relentless optimism. The city’s famed Cappuccino Strip and nearby streets are painted purple; Dockers-themed sausages that eerily resemble the entrails of Frankenstein are on the menu at cafes and restaurants, and landmarks like the World Heritage-listed Fremantle prison light up with a peculiar, pale plum colour.
The only thing missing is Prince & The Revolution’s 1984 banger Purple Rain bellowing out of loudspeakers in the heart of the CBD.
Final teams are in with no late changes.
Fremantle made one change from the side that was humbled by Hawthorn in the qualifying final with winger Nathan O’Driscoll dropped and defender Brandon Walker forced out with an ankle injury. The versatile Corey Wagner comes in to face Geelong with former Melbourne defender Judd McVee also recalled for the semi-final.
Geelong are unchanged from the team that overwhelmed Carlton last week after electing not to recall tall defender Sam De Koning even with Fremantle naming three key forwards in Josh Treacy, Jye Amiss and Patrick Voss.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the AFL’s semi-final between Fremantle and Geelong. There is a strong sense that we have reached the pointy end of the season when the minor premiers and perennial finalists cross paths. But this meeting between the Dockers and the Cats might have come a week or two earlier than most would have predicted after a wild weekend of finals, or at least among the top-four sides of the home-and-away season.
The Dockers gave up much of the ground they gained when breaking a club record for their longest winning streak (now 14 matches) and most victories in a regular season campaign (now 19) with a disastrous qualifying final against the Hawks. Justin Longmuir’s side were already lined up to host two finals but the second now comes a week earlier than they would have hoped with a knockout game against Chris Scott’s finals-hardened side. The prize of a preliminary final berth is still there for the taking, though the ignominy of a straight-sets finals exit even after finishing on top of the ladder will only add to the pressure on the home side.
The Cats took time to get going against the in-form Blues in their elimination final. But once they clicked, the result soon felt like a formality and they pulled away to a comfortable 33-point victory that might have been much more if not for booting 23 behinds from 37 scoring shots. In a reminder of the finals experience that the Cats will bring, they have won 13 finals since 2015 while the Dockers have won only one.
Last year’s runners-up still have room for improvement with Max Holmes on the comeback trail from a serious ankle injury and Jeremy Cameron still looking underdone. The gun forward only gathered nine disposals as he played a combination of wing and defence last week, while he manages shoulder/AC joint problems as well as lingering nerve issues with the right arm he broke in last year’s grand final defeat to the Lions. But the Cats will hope both of the pivotal players are better for the run.
The winner of this semi-final will like their chances against the undermanned Sydney in a preliminary final at the SCG. But for now – first ball-up at Optus Stadium in Perth is 6.10pm local/8.10pm AEST. I’ll drop in team news shortly. Meanwhile, shoot me an email with your thoughts and predictions. Let’s get into it!
