Australian Football

Match Report

The Adelaide Oval showcased a Saturday night special, with Adelaide hosting top team Fremantle and both sides engaging in a fascinating contest that remained in doubt right up until the last few minutes of the match. In the end, the Dockers prevailed, kicking the only goal of the final quarter and finishing 11 points clear. A feature of the match was a titanic battle between Docker Nat Fyfe and Crow Patrick Dangerfield, with both players putting in outstanding performances.

As they have done in most matches this season, the Dockers got off to a flying start, with goals to David Mundy, Michael Walters and Hayden Ballantyne putting them ahead by 17 points after just 10 minutes and sending ominous signals to the Adelaide team. But the Crows settled soon after and began to take control. Eddie Betts, Charlie Cameron and Cam Ellis-Yolmen all kicked majors and by the time the quarter-timne siren sounded, Adelaide led by three points.

Hard and tough football was the order of the second quarter. Adelaide had quite a few scoring chances in the term but the big sticks proved elusive. After behinds to Crows Taylor Walker and Cameron, Nick Suban kicked a major for Fremantle to put the Dockers two points clear. The Crows peppered the goals again after that, with inaccurate shots from Walker (two) and Betts restoring a one-point lead before Betts finally found the goals to put Adelaide seven points ahead. A late rushed behind to Fremantle saw the margin reduced to an even goal at the long break. 

The third quarter was the most free-flowing of the match, with the two sides scoring eight goals between them. Tom Lynch opened proceedings with a goal after just one minute, giving Adelaide a two-goal buffer, but the Dockers got on a roll after that, with three majors in a row - via Fyfe, Matthew Pavlich and Walters - to grab a five-point lead. For the remainder of the term, the two sides traded goals. A Dangerfield major was answered by Walters kicking his third, and a score-levelling goal to Josh Jenkins elicited a response from Pavlich two minutes later. Two further Crow behinds to Cameron and Brodie Martin saw Fremantle take a narrow four-point lead into 'orange time'.

Fremantle's renowned defence came to the fore in the last quarter, the Crows not troubling the scorers until the time-on period. But the Dockers couldn't put the Crows away, kicking just one goal via Michael Barlow and adding four further behinds to lead by 14. Adelaide had chances in the final 10 minutes but the Crows' forward thrusts could produce only three behinds, one each to Nathan van Berlo and Dangerfield and one rushed. The Dockers defended grimly in the final few minutes and held on to win a titanic struggle by 11 points and remain undefeated in 2015.

Fyfe was once again a star for the Dockers, with 40 possessions and six tackles, while Aaron Sandilands was also outstanding with an amazing 69 hitouts. Barlow (23 disposals and five tackles) was also very good. Dangerfield (38 touches and eight tackles) was a clear standout for Adelaide, with Scott Thompson (14 tackles, 20 disposals) and Rory Laird (27 touches, eight tackles) also fine players. 

Still two games clear at the top of the ladder, Fremantle will host Richmond at Subiaco next Friday night, while Adelaide (seventh with a 5-4 record) will take on cellar-dweller Carlton at the MCG on Saturday before having a bye in round 11. 

GOALS
Adelaide: Betts 2; Cameron, Ellis-Yolmen, Dangerfield, Lynch, Jenkins
Fremantle: Walters 3; Pavlich 2; Mundy, Ballantyne, Suban, Fyfe, Barlow

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Adelaide: Dangerfield, Thompson, Lever, Laird, Ellis-Yolmen, Cheney
Fremantle: Fyfe, Sandilands, Mundy, Pearce, Barlow, Walters

BEST - THEAGE.COM.AU
Adelaide: Dangerfield, Talia, Laird, M. Crouch, van Berlo, Cheney
Fremantle: Fyfe, Sandilands, McPharlin, Barlow, Suban, Mundy. 

INJURIES
Adelaide: Nil
Fremantle: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Adelaide: Jarryd Lyons replaced Brodie Martin at three-quarter time
Fremantle: Tommy Sheridan replaced Matt Taberner in the third quarter

UMPIRES: Donlon, Findlay, Mollison

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Dwayne Russell, Jason Dunstall, Mark Ricciuto, Barry Hall