Australian Football

Match Report

Fremantle has continued its push towards a top-two finish and a home game in week one of the finals with another thumping win, this time against Melbourne, in front of a sparse crowd at the MCG on Sunday afternoon. The Dockers eclipsed the Demons by 95-points, following on from their 113-point thrashing of GWS a week earlier.

Those two wins have seen Fremantle make up enormous ground percentage-wise on third-placed Sydney. The two sides are locked together on 62 points, with Sydney's percentage of 140.6 just ahead of the Dockers' 138.2.

The tone of Sunday's match was set early, with Fremantle scoring the first four goals of the match to establish a 27-point quarter time lead. The Demons showed some spirit in the second term, kicking four goals to the Dockers' five but fell away badly in the second half kicking just one goal to Fremantle's 11.

Best for the Dockers included David Mundy (34 disposals), Michael Barlow (28 possessions) and Danyle Pearce (32 touches and a goal), while Melbourne were well served by young gun Jack Viney, who in just his tenth game had the ball 28 times and kicked a goal and Jack Trengove (27 disposals).

While Fremantle fans talk of possible home finals, Melbourne supporters must wonder if the Demons nightmare will ever end. The club would appear to be further away from playing finals than at any other time in the last decade, and its percentage of just 53.4 is the worst of any recent time, excluding that of the fledgling Giants.

The match came at a cost to the Dockers, with Aaron Sandilands sustaining a fractured cheekbone and Hayden Ballantyne suffering a shoulder socket injury. Both are expected to miss at least one match but coach Ross Lyon expects the two to be available for the finals.

Fremantle's final two home and away matches are against Port Adelaide at Subiaco and St Kilda at Docklands. Melbourne, for whom the end of the season can't come quickly enough, will take on Adelaide at Football Park in round 22 and the Western Bulldogs in round 23.

GOALS
Melbourne: Kent, Howe, Davis, Viney, Fitzpatrick
Fremantle: Ballantyne, Pavlich 4; Hill, Mayne 2; Sandilands, Silvagni, Walters, Clarke, Sheridan, Spurr, Fyfe, Pearce

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Melbourne: Viney, Trengove, McDonald, M. Jones
Fremantle: Pearce, Barlow, Mundy, Hill, Mzungu, Crowley, Clarke

BEST - THE AGE
Melbourne: Viney, Sylvia, Trengove, Terlich, Dunn, Kent
Fremantle: Mundy, Clarke, Barlow, Crowley, Hill, Pearce

INJURIES
Melbourne: Blease (leg); Strauss (shoulder); Shannon Byrnes (foot)
Fremantle: Aaron Sandilands (concussion); Ballantyne (wrist)

SUBSTITUTES
Melbourne: Aaron Davey replaced Sam Blease in the second quarter.
Fremantle: Tom Sheridan replaced Aaron Sandilands in the first quarter.

UMPIRES: Fila, Burgess, Schmitt

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Anthony Hudson, Brad Johnson, Alastair Lynch, Ben Dixon