AFL Round 16 Sydney v Fremantle: All the news and analysis from the SCG
Josh Draper stood tall in the absence of skipper Alex Pearce, helping lift Fremantle to a last-gasp win victory over Sydney as West Australian Logan McDonald — who has been linked with the Dockers — missed a late chance to snatch the game.
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The most Fremantle thing that could’ve possibly happened on Saturday was that the Dockers would beat Sydney in Sydney without captain Alex Pearce.
They call it Dockery.
Fremantle has been notoriously inconsistent this year. They’ve taken it up to teams they shouldn’t but lost games they should.
Before round 16, Fremantle hadn’t beaten a top eight side in 2024. Nobody expected them to travel to the SCG, a venue the Swans have been impenetrable at this season, and do a number on the ladder leaders sans the incumbent all-Australian fullback.
Enter Josh Draper.
He’s been compared to another Dockers great in former No. 37 Michael Johnson but Draper is quickly forging his own reputation as a star of the future.
A perennial first man in, Draper was the man called upon to replace Brennan Cox when he went down with a hamstring injury. He was backed in yet again when Pearce suffered a fractured forearm despite being omitted a fortnight ago to make way for Hugh Davies.
The way Draper played in the final term when Sydney was on the march, Pearce might have to resume via the WAFL.
He was simply enormous. Playing in front of Hayden McLean who had the hot boot for the first three quarters, Draper reeled in two huge intercept marks, putting himself in the right place at the right time. He finished with seven intercept possessions and eight marks for the game but his final term will go down in Fremantle folklore.
Logan McDonald winning or even drawing the game after the final siren would’ve made a great headline. But make no mistake, the Dockers were deserving winners.
“I would’ve just said to Logan go back and back yourself in,” Swans coach John Longmire said.
“Sometimes you can overthink it a bit, but it shouldn’t have come down to that.
“At the end of the day we had some other opportunities today and we fell a bit short.”
This win gives Fremantle the credibility it’s been searching for.
A top four finish should be a minimum after claiming a scalp like that. And it all started in the midfield.
Josh Draper... There's your nab rising star #aflswansfreo#foreverfreo
— Nick Ng (@nicko_316) June 29, 2024
Errol Gulden, Chad Warner and Isaac Heeney are widely considered to be the current all-Australian midfield. They were no match for the Dockers.
Gulden compiled 21 disposals but he only had 12 at the final break and he finished with 240 meters gained, well below his season average of 629.3. Warner finished with 23 touches but again, he only had 14 in three quarter of football.
While Heeney, arguably the most damaging of them all, was held to a season-low 20 disposals. At halftime he had just six. That was largely due to the influence of Nat Fyfe.
The veteran has been the subject of unfair criticism for the past month. He’s no longer the same two-time Brownlow medallist who trounced the competition for years on end. But he sacrificed his own game to sit on Heeney and in doing so, had a massive influence himself with 23 disposals, 12 of which were contested, and eight clearances.
There was plenty more to like as Fremantle produced its best four quarter performance this year.
Sam Sturt must be a permanent member of Fremantle’s best 22 for the rest of the season. And he deserves a contract extension before opposition clubs start to circle.
The reason Sturt spent so long out of the Dockers’ senior side is because he failed to consistently apply pressure up forward. It’s harsh but he earned a reputation as a downhill skier, doing the easy stuff without giving much thought to the other side of the ball.
Last year, the switch flicked. Sturt forced his way into the side and stayed there. Yet for whatever reason, his form in the back-end of 2023 didn’t guarantee him an automatic start this year.
Since finding himself back in favour, Sturt has been a multiple goal kicker in three consecutive weeks. He’s a natural forward. He’s a finisher who can be relied upon to make the most of opportunities. Those sorts of players are worth their weight in gold, especially against the best defence in the competition.
The Swans are firing up 👀#AFLSwansFreopic.twitter.com/aoeXpvlSst
— AFL (@AFL) June 29, 2024
Then there’s Jye Amiss. The key forward has been under pressure for several weeks now with his kicking technique in the spotlight. Instead of the second year blues, he’s been a victim of the third year sorrows.
Yet on the road, he opened Fremantle’s account with a stirring set shot. Suddenly his sins of the past month were forgiven. The Dockers are a much better side when Amiss is slotting them and he had three by the final siren.
Andrew Brayshaw stood up as captain, finishing with 24 touches. His deputy Caleb Serong was just as influential with 23 touches, a goal and nine score involvements. Combined, they steered the Dockers to a 42-32 clearances win.
But this day belonged to Fremantle’s undersized, under-siege and under-fire backline.
It’s wharfie time.
MCDONALD SPURNS CHANCE TO BE SWANS HERO IN THRILLER
— Lachlan McKirdy
The Swans’ winning streak has finally come to an end at the hands of an impressive Dockers midfield who spearheaded a nailbiting one-point victory on Saturday afternoon.
For the majority of the match, it looked as though Fremantle would run away with the game as Sydney’s midfield struggled to live up to the high expectations they had set for themselves in 2024.
And while their customary second-half surge arrived, it was too little, too late as Logan McDonald missed the chance after the siren to snatch a win from the jaws of defeat.
“I thought our second half was pretty solid, to be able to come back and give us a chance,” coach John Longmire said.
“At halftime we needed to get some things right and some things better, which we did.
“There’s an element of which that’s a good thing. When things aren’t going as well as you’d like and you turn it around.
“We had a chance, we just fell a little bit short.”
Sydney’s Achilles heel reared its head once again as they got out of the gates slower than a late scratching down the road in Randwick.
Before they could even take stock, the Dockers had kicked three quick goals, two of which came from simple marks inside 50. A third major from Luke Jackson had the men in purple up and about, reminiscing on their gritty win at the SCG last season.
The Swans steadied the ship with some big plays from McDonald and Hayden McLean helping to eat into the margin before a Sam Wicks major narrowed the visitors’ lead to seven points.
But Sydney’s best chances only came when the Dockers made mistakes. When they were clinical, you would have been forgiven for thinking Fremantle were the flag favourites and sitting three games clear on top of the ladder.
They kicked six goals in the opening term from their defensive half and finished with their best-ever opening quarter at the SCG, 7.2.44.
Sydney has made a habit of slowly working their way into games, but the Dockers’ 27-point lead at the first break felt different. It wasn’t simply a matter of making the most of their opportunities, but tactically, they were all over the Swans’ midfield.
Chad Warner, Isaac Heeney and Errol Gulden combined for just 10 touches in the first quarter. Caleb Serong had the same amount himself, with Fremantle winning the clearance battle 11-6.
An arm wrestle emerged in the second term and while the Swans were able to slowly get back on top, simple errors halted their quick ball movement at regular intervals. Handballs were missing targets, kicks were going over teammates’ heads as inefficiency became contagious.
Two quick goals to Braeden Campbell and Joel Amartey threatened to be the catalyst for one of their customary comebacks. However, a lack of consistency with their forward entries meant they couldn’t put any scoreboard pressure together.
Conversely, the Dockers’ pressure was elite and Amiss kicked his second just before the main break to consolidate their 27-point margin. It would have been even greater if it wasn’t for McLean’s impressive contested marking down the wing.
Fremantle’s dominance was there for all to see, taking a +12 clearance advantage into the main break, but John Longmire would have been disappointed with his side’s lack of intensity.
There was a noticeable lift in pressure from the ladder-leaders in the third term, but the Dockers had an answer at every turn. When Tom Papley kicked his first, Sam Sturt and Jaeger O’Meara responded in quick fashion. When Will Hayward got into the action, Jye Amiss hit back.
But in a frenetic quarter of scoring that saw 12 goals scored for the term, there was a noticeable shift in the final five minutes that saw the Swans hit their grove.
After being locked up all day, Heeney and Warner were finally let off the leash and having an impact. Three of the last four goals of the term got the Swans within 12 points at the final break and they have already proven this year that they only need a sniff.
For the first time this season, there was a nervous energy around the SCG for the majority of the final term. It was felt by both players and crowd alike as each team searched for the knockout blow.
The first goal was crucial and after a weight of inside 50s, Michael Frederick eventually delivered.
The Swans looked toothless in attack as a result of the Dockers’ pressure. They were forced into low-percentage kicks down the line, and despite missing the experience of their captain Alex Pearce, Fremantle’s defence looked composed dealing with the challenge.
Adapting on the fly has been a feature of the Swans’ year, and even if there’s only a small chink in the armour, that’s when you have to be wary of the Lizard.
Nick Blakey became a man possessed, attacking the corridor and looking forward at every opportunity. He set up Hayward’s third of the day with pinpoint delivery before a Buddy-esque finish in front of the Members’ Pavilion brought the margin back to seven points.
The Sherrin would live inside the Swans’ forward-50 for the next five minutes to little effect. That was until WA boy Logan McDonald stood tall with a strong contested mark and goal to bring the scores level with less than four minutes to play.
A vital point to Jeremy Sharp would give the Dockers the lead, but the game would end in McDonald’s hands. Despite Josh Draper’s incredible resilience in defence, McDonald would land one last mark, right on 50 metres, to give the key forward a chance to be the hero for his side.
Unfortunately, he sprayed the kick badly and was unable to even land the behind that would see the points shared. The Dockers’ elation at the final siren showed just how much the win meant for a team that had struggled on the road this season.
In the end, the scoreboard flattered the Swans with Fremantle comfortably the better team on the day. While there were some positives for Longmire’s side getting close late in the game, the overall performance might be the wake-up call the premiership favourites need as they start their run towards September.
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Originally published as AFL Round 16 Sydney v Fremantle: All the news and analysis from the SCG
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