Australian Football

Match Report

When a team rests 11 players in an AFL match, the chances of that team winning are unsurprisingly very slim. And so it came as no surprise to anyone to see Port Adelaide thrash a depleted Fremantle Dockers - featuring four debutants - at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday to finish what has been a disappointing season on a high. The Dockers - who had already locked in top place on the ladder - have, of course, bigger fish to fry over the next month, and were happy to forego a match of no consequence in order to get their players 'cherry ripe' for the finals.

Fremantle's 'B team' did make a game of it, though, at least for one quarter. After eight minutes of the sides trading behinds, goals to Matt de Boer and Lachie Neale put the Dockers 13 points clear at the 18-minute mark. Jay Schulz kicked Port's first soon after but another two goals via Matthew Taberner and Max Duffy saw Fremantle lead by 19 points at the first break.

But the foot well and truly came off the Dockers' pedal in the second term, to the point that they failed to trouble the scorers. After the Power's John Butcher kicked a behind in the first minute, Port went on a goal-kicking spree that saw it kick the next eight goals straight without a miss. Schulz kicked two more of those and Justin Westhoff also kicked two as the Power took a stranglehold on the contest to lead by five goals at the half.

Schulz's fourth made the difference six goals with two minutes of play commencing after the long break but a brace of goals to Nick Suban and Taberner cut the margin back to 24 points after  10 minutes. Two goals to Robbie Gray stretched the margin back out to 37 and by three-quarter time it was Port 40 points to the good.

Clancee Pearce cut the deficit to 34 points with a goal after just 17 seconds in the final term but Fremantle's resistance ended then and there. Port dominated completely from that point and, after four missed shots at goal, straightened up to add another five goals to run out winners by 69 points and cement ninth place on the ladder, just a game behind North Melbourne.

Best for Port included Sam Gray (34 disposals, five marks), Westhoff (13 marks, 25 touches) and Hamish Hartlett (28 possessions, nine tackles), while Fremantle was well served by Michael Barlow (35 disposals, seven tackles), Taberner (15 possessions, two goals) and debutant Ethan Hughes (eight marks, 22 touches).

Port Adelaide, having come within a kick of playing in the 2014 Grand Final, will have several months to ponder a mid-season slump that saw it miss the finals this year, while for Fremantle, the 'real' season starts next week with a home Qualifying Final against Sydney at Subiaco.

GOALS 
Port Adelaide: Schulz 4; R Gray 3; Westhoff, White 2; Hartlett, Butcher, Neade, S Gray, Krakouer, Ryder, Pittard
Fremantle: Taberner 2; De Boer, Neale, Duffy, Suban, Barlow, C Pearce

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Port Adelaide: Westhoff, Hartlett, R Gray, S Gray, Butcher, Ebert
Fremantle: Barlow, Taberner, Duffield 

BEST - THE SUNDAY AGE
Port Adelaide: S Gray, Westhoff, Hartlett, Ebert, Boak, Ryder
Fremantle: Barlow, Duffield, Mzungu, Sheridan, Taberner, Hughes

INJURIES 
Port Adelaide: Nil 
Fremantle: Nil

SUBSTITUTES 
Port Adelaide: Karl Amon replaced Jay Schulz in the third quarter.
Fremantle: Jacob Ballard replaced Lachie Neale in the third quarter.

UMPIRES: Farmer, Hosking, Pannel

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Dwayne Russell, Brad Johnson, Mark Ricciuto, Ben Dixon