AFL round 24 Fremantle vs. Port Adelaide: Power locks in home final
Fremantle had a simple equation: win and you’re in. For Port Adelaide, it was win and you secure a home final. For Carlton, it was pray. ELIZA REILLY unpacks the crazy end to season 2024.
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Football can be a complicated game. Fremantle’s finals equation was not.
St Kilda’s stunning last-gasp win over Carlton earlier on Sunday left the door ajar for the Dockers. Fittingly, it was former Fremantle mentor Ross Lyon who fitted the door stop.
It mean that the eyes of the AFL world turned to Optus Stadium for the final game of the final round of the season. And as Lyon tweeted way back in 2016, “Strap yourselves in.”
It felt like a final. That’s because three club’s September hopes rested on the result.
Port needed to win to lock in a top two spot and home final. The Dockers were desperate to sneak into the top eight. At home in Melbourne, Carlton players and fans were similarly holding their breath.
One of the closest seasons on record deserved a grandstand finish. But when push came to shove, Port played a finals-like brand of football and that’s why they’ll feature in September and the Dockers won’t.
This game was all about taking your opportunities. And plenty of Fremantle’s went awry in a frenetic final quarter.
Caleb Serong, who fought hard all day to escape the clutches of Willem Drew, missed his third shot on goal with just over 10 minutes to play. When you’re being tagged, you need to make the most of any time and space you do receive and the co-vice-captain couldn’t. Serong finished with 19 disposals, ending an unmatched streak of 20+ touches that stretches back to 2021.
Michael Walters has been such an incredible finisher across the course of his career. But with a fraction of a second to respond, he couldn’t get a clean kick away in the goalsquare. The veteran fumbled another handball with just over six minutes to play that would’ve given the Dockers a deep entry inside 50.
There were plenty of moments across the course of four quarters, with each one seemingly more crucial than the last. But Fremantle fumbled the ball and their finals chance.
The Dockers’ pressure didn’t dissipate. But Fremantle failed to handle the ball cleanly under immense Port pressure. And Willie Rioli, returning to the place where his career begun, was the instigator in the final term, kicking two goals to put the game beyond reach.
It didn’t help that Hayden Young couldn’t run out the game after suffering what appeared to be a calf injury. Young had been the conductor of so much of Fremantle’s play, finishing with 19 disposals, three goal assists, six clearances and five inside 50s. It also didn’t help that the Dockers went another game without Sean Darcy, Alex Pearce and Sean Darcy.
Fremantle did plenty right. You can’t question their commitment, pressure and desire to compete. But that finesse and finishing touch just wasn’t there. It hasn’t been there the past month, a four week patch where the Dockers slipped from third to 10th – a disappointing season by any stretch.
Fremantle started the better of the two sides, something we haven’t been able to say of the Dockers too often across the past two years.
Sam Switkowski opened the Dockers’ account. Jye Amiss followed not long after, converting a long bomb from outside 50, a distance he’s struggled with across the course of his short career.
Nathan O’Driscoll powered through traffic to give Fremantle its third. The Dockers have missed his speed and confidence. And then Pat Voss nailed a set shot from a contested mark, sending the purple army into raptures.
Port lead the AFL this season for marks inside 50. They didn’t take one in the first quarter. The only thing stopping the Dockers from scoring more heavily was the efforts of Brandon Zerk-Thatcher who had five intercept disposals in the first quarter, capitalising on the absence of Josh Treacy.
Horne-Francis capped his early dominance with the first goal of the second quarter. The No. 1 pick caught Michael Frederick on the top of the 50, putting Port back in front after starting the scoring chain himself.
His cool finish was juxtaposed by Fremantle’s inaccuracy. The Dockers had four behinds before they kicked a goal, two of which were rushed, one was off the boot of a Jeremy Sharp set shot and the other Serong on the run.
Late inclusion Dante Visentini added insult to injury with another for Port, easily accounting for Josh Draper in a marking contest.
The Power were hit by injury in the second term, losing Aliir Aliir to an ankle and Kane Farrell to a hamstring. Aliir was able to return after receiving treatment at halftime despite being carried from the ground. But Farrell’s finals campaign faces a delayed start.
Nat Fyfe put the finishing touches on a strong first half with a spectacular one-handed grab in the square, bringing the margin back within a kick at the main break.
Originally published as AFL round 24 Fremantle vs. Port Adelaide: Power locks in home final
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