Fremantle Dockers 2013 Report Card

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Aaron Sandilands shares a celebratory hug with regular-sized human Michael Walters. Photo: George Salpigtidis

DO the Dockers get a pass for the 2013 season? See our verdict and have your say.

SNAPSHOT

Wins: 16
Losses: 5
Draws: 1
Ladder position: 3rd
%: 134.1

WHAT WENT RIGHT

THE Dockers surged up the AFL table and into the Grand Final in their second year under Ross Lyon. The defensive mastermind got the best out of Garrick Ibbotson, before an Achilles injury ended his 2013 campaign, former Port Adelaide speedster Danyle Pearce, Zac Clarke, Michael Walters and one-time fringe dweller Nick Suban. Dockers star Nathan Fyfe emerged as one of the best in the game while David Mundy and Michael Barlow worked hard around the stoppages. Once upon a time, Subiaco was West Coast’s House of Pain. In 2013, the Dockers won 12 of 13 matches on their home deck. Walters’ rise to All Australian ranks and Chris Mayne’s emergence across half forward also boosted the Dockers’ stocks. Ryan Crowley, love or hate him, he does his job every week.

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Who’ll win Fremantle’s B&F? VOTE in our poll at the bottom of the story.

WHAT WENT WRONG

POOR kicking ultimately cost the club its first flag. The Dockers kicked 1.6 (12) to half time, making matters worse several shots dropped short or missed altogether in swirly conditions at the MCG. Injuries and suspensions to key players (Matthew Pavlich, Aaron Sandilands, Garrick Ibbotson, Michael Johnson and Luke McPharlin) at key times stretched the Dockers at times during the season. Hayden Ballantyne had a Grand Final he’d rather forget… when he wasn’t slipping over he sprayed his kicks and fumbled possessions.

Michael Walters

THE LIST

Elite: Nathan Fyfe, Ryan Crowley, Matthew Pavlich, Michael Johnson, Michael Walters
Big improvers: David Mundy, Chris Mayne, Garrick Ibbotson, Nick Suban
Gone: Peter Faulks, Jesse Crichton, Jayden Pitt (retired), Alex Forster, Haiden Schloithe and Alex Howson
Trade bait: Alex Silvagni, Viv Michie, Jon Griffin, Nick Suban (contracted in 2014)

WHAT THEY NEED

WE know the Dockers have a lot of cash (refer talks of luring Travis Cloke last year) and want a key forward. A case could be made for Peel Thunder product, Scott Gumbleton, potentially squeezed out of the Bombers with the emergence of Joe Daniher. Fremantle recruiters have plenty of bargaining power with cash and finals aspirations to lure contracted forwards west.

PREMIERSHIP CLOCK

IN horse racing terms, the Dockers have their hoof on the till. The Grand Final loss will stick in their guts for the next 12 months, just the incentive to go one step further in 2014. Their game plan is solid; all that’s needed is another avenue to goal. They’ll be better for the Grand Final experience – refer West Coast dropping the big one in 1991 before winning flags in 1992 and 1994.

Michael Johnson

STATS THAT MATTER

CLUB LEADERS

Kicks: Nathan Fyfe (338)
Handballs: Michael Barlow (334)
Contested possessions: Michael Barlow (306)
Marks: Michael Johnson (159)
Contested marks: Nathan Fyfe (25)
Clearances: David Mundy (133)
Inside-50s: Danyle Pearce (109)
Rebound-50s: Michael Johnson (76)
Frees for: Chris Mayne/Hayden Ballantyne (33)
Frees against: Zac Dawson (34)
Goals: Michael Walters (46)
Goal assists: Chris Mayne (24)
Time on ground: Zac Dawson (2691mins)
Players used: 39
       
TEAM STATS (Average + AFL Rank)

Disposals: 364.9 (10th)
Contested possession differential: -1.3    (12th)
Tackles: 65.6 (6th)
Clearance differential: +0.0 (10th)
Inside-50 differential: +3.8 (8th)
Scoring % inside 50: 49.7% (7th)
Av points for: 91.3 (12th)
Av points against: 69.6    (1st)
Av winning margin: 43
Av losing margin: 37   

DID YOU KNOW?   
Fremantle retained possession from 61.5 per cent of Nathan Fyfe's disposals during the H&A season - the worst percentage of the top-50 ball winners in the competition.

Stats courtesy of Champion Data