Australian Football

Match Report

Fremantle's inexorable march towards a top two place at the end of the season and perhaps another Grand Final continued unabated on Sunday as the Dockers made short work of GWS to defeat the Giants by 76 points at Subiaco. The Dockers won all four quarters of the match and rarely looked troubled as they demonstrated to GWS that the fledgling side has a long, long way to go before it will challenge the elite sides in the AFL.

The Giants struggled to kick goals throughout the match against the typically miserly Fremantle defence, their first not coming until co-captain Callan Ward managed one at the 26-minute mark of the first term. The Dockers kicked four of their own in the first term and led by 16 points at the first change. GWS did manage to kick three goals in each of the second and third quarters, quite reasonable against Fremantle, but the Dockers kicked five of their own in both of those terms, and when it was time to change ends for the last time, they were 41 points clear of the Giants. 

Fremantle then went into overdrive in the last quarter, slamming on seven of the first eight goals of the term to lead by 82 points before a consolation goal to Toby Greene saw a final winning margin of 76. Nat Fyfe played an outstanding game for the victors, with 29 disposals and two goals, while Nick Suban (three goals) and Hayden Ballantyne (five goals) also played significant roles in the win. Ward (10 tackles, 29 possessions) and Greene (35 disposals, seven marks) tirelessly flew the flag for the Giants throughout the match.

The magnitude of the win allowed the Dockers to leapfrog Hawthorn into second place on the ladder. Having now won eight matches on end, Fremantle will be odds on to make it nine when it takes on the hapless St Kilda at Docklands next Saturday. The Giants, 15th on the ladder with a 4-12 record, will host Geelong at the Sydney Showground next Saturday.

GOALS
Fremantle: Ballantyne 5; Pavlich, Suban 3; D. Pearce, Fyfe 2; Spurr, Barlow, Neale, Clarke, Mayne, Sandilands
GWS: Whitfield 3, Tomlinson 2, Cameron 2, Ward, Greene

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Fremantle: Fyfe, Ballantyne, Suban, Neale, Crowley, Clarke, Pavlich
GWS: Ward, Greene, Shiel, Whitfield, Davis

BEST - WATODAY.COM.AU
Fremantle: Fyfe, Mundy, Suban, Ballantyne, Mzungu, Spurr
GWS: Greene, Ward, Tomlinson, Shiel, Whitfield, Mumford

INJURIES
Fremantle: Nil
GWS: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Fremantle: Anthony Morabito replaced Clancee Pearce in the third quarter.
GWS: Jono O'Rourke replaced Will Hoskin-Elliott in the third quarter.

REPORTS: Hayden Ballantyne for striking Tomas Bugg in the third quarter.

UMPIRES: Fleer, Dalgleish, Ryan

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Anthony Hudson, Gerard Healy, Brad Johnson, Cameron Mooney