Australian Football

Match Report

GWS has scored a win over Fremantle at the Sydney Showground to maintain its hold on a place in the top four on the ladder. And while the win was entirely predictable it was by no means achieved in the routine manner expected by the vast majority, with the unfancied Dockers taking a lead of 15 points into the final term. The Giants responded with a four-goal burst to start the final term, but two more goals from Fremantle had the Dockers within five points as late as 29 minutes into the final term before a goal from Josh Kelly sealed the win for GWS.

The Giants looked ominous in the early  minutes of the match, but inaccuracy saw them kicking four behinds to the Dockers' one before Nat Fyfe goaled on the run to give Fremantle the lead against the run of play. GWS looked to be back in control five minutes later after goals from Lachie Whitfield and ex-Docker Matt de Boer to take a nine-point lead. But Fremantle made it clear it would not be rolling over, kicking the next two goals through Shane Kersten and Bradley Hill to reclaim the lead. Jeremy Cameron, returning from injury, kicked the only goal of time on, a lovely long shot from an angle on the 50-metre arc, and GWS went to the first break with two-point lead.

As it had in the first, GWS started strongly in the second quarter but this time around was more accurate in front of goal, with majors to Rory Lobb and Jonathon Patton seeing the Giants out to a 14-point lead. But the Dockers hit back again, with two in a row from Kersten again leaving the game in the balance. A mark and goal to Matt Kennedy extended the Giants beyond a goal at the 13-minute mark, but defence (and inaccuracy) ruled for the next quarter of an hour, with the sides trading behinds before a late goal to Brady Grey had Fremantle within a point at the half.

An early third-quarter chance for the Giants went begging when a Patton snap hit the post at the two-minute mark, and not long after a mark and goal to Nick Suban had Fremantle in front by four points. Brady Grey's second major took the Dockers' lead out to 10 points but a great snap from Nick Haynes had the margin back under a goal at the seven-minute mark. Skipper Fyfe responded with his second as Fremantle's lead went back out to 10, and then both sides squandered opportunities over the next 10 minutes, exchanging behinds before Ethan Hughes' first goal saw the Dockers ahead by 15 points on he cusp of time on. Kennedy pulled one back for the Giants with his second goal but a goal from David Mundy after a free kick saw Fremantle go into 'orange time' with a 15-point lead and the prospect of a Dockers victory suddenly seemed realistic.

Whatever coach Leon Cameron said to his charges at the three-quarter time huddle appeared to work, as the Giants came out firing in the first half of the final quarter. Goals to Lobb, Tom Scully, Devon Smith and Patton, along with four other behinds turned GWS's deficit into a 13-point lead and the Dockers looked to have run their race. But a great snap from Hayden Ballantyne and another from Darcy Tucker brought the margin back to four points and the game was in the balance until Josh Kelly goaled from an angle at the 30-minute mark to seal a hard-fought 12-point win.

Returning from a long injury layoff Stephen Coniglio played a big part in getting GWS over the line, with 27 disposals and six tackles, while Kennedy's two goals and 15 touches were also very important. For the Dockers, Nat Fyfe (31 possessions, six marks) and Luke Ryan (14 marks 25 touches), in just his seventh AFL match, were great contributors.

Despite the unconvincing nature of the win, the Giants remain in third place and a top-two finish is well within reach. A win over seventh-placed Melbourne in Canberra next Saturday will enhance those chances. For Fremantle, the loss ended any realistic chance it had of making the finals. The Dockers are three games plus a huge percentage out of the eight with four to play, although the first of those will be a very winnable home encounter against Gold Coast at Subiaco on Saturday night.

GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Kennedy, Lobb, Patton 2; Scully, Cameron, Whitfield, De Boer, Haynes, Smith, Kelly
Fremantle: Kersten 3; Grey, Fyfe 2; B. Hill, Suban, Hughes, Mundy, Ballantyne, Tucker

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Greater Western Sydney: Coniglio, Haynes, Kelly, Shiel, Whitfield, Simpson
Fremantle: Fyfe, Neale, Kersten, S. Hill, Ryan, Tucker

BEST - THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
Greater Western Sydney: Kennedy, Patton, Coniglio, Williams, Kelly, Lobb
Fremantle: Fyfe, Neale, Kersten, Tucker, Ryan

INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: Setterfield (concussion)
Fremantle: Blakely (shoulder)

UMPIRES: Nicholls, Schmitt, Wallace

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