AFL round 12: Fremantle defeats Gold Coast Suns by 11 points

Shai Bolton came back to haunt his premiership coach Damien Hardwick, inspiring Fremantle to a win which put Gold Coast Suns’ finals credentials under the microscope.

Damien Hardwick’s past flashed before his eyes in the final quarter at People First Stadium.

It wasn’t that long ago that Shai Bolton was winning matches off his own boot for Hardwick and Richmond.

On Saturday, Fremantle’s prized recruit was the catalyst for the Dockers’ upset victory over Hardwick’s Suns.

With 3.2 and 20 disposals, including a vital final quarter goal that put the visitors beyond reach, Bolton was the polish on a brutal and mature display from Justin Longmuir’s young side.

The better team for much of the day, the Dockers found themselves in the crosshairs late when two Sam Flanders goals brought Gold Coast back to within a kick in the dying stages.

With a minute and change to play, the Suns looked poised to break into open space when a wayward kick was put in the path of Nick Holman at the top of defensive 50.

But like a dog with a bone, Bolton came from the clouds to chase down Holman, spilling the ball into the path of Jye Amiss whose grubber from long range dribbled through and sealed the deal.

“Shai is a barometer for them,” Hardwick said during the week.

“When he is in good form, they are in good form.”

Prophetic words from the small forward’s former coach, who would have loved nothing more than to have him in his jersey on Saturday.

There was nothing vanilla about this victory from Fremantle.

The Dockers’ 11-point triumph was a flag in the ground performance from Longmuir’s men that can be the launching pad on which they set up their season.

Two weeks after taking a top eight side – GWS - to task on its home deck, the Dockers repeated the dose with their best performance of the campaign to leap inside the top eight for the first time in 2025.

Shai Bolton was crucial in an important win for the Dockers.

The longest road trip in football delivered four vital premiership points and with North Melbourne, Essendon, St Kilda and Sydney to come after next week’s bye, they are well-positioned to make a run in the back half of the year.

This was exactly the performance to take into a well-earned week off.

It was a great day for ducks and Dockers in the Sunshine State as the rain tumbled down pre-match - and the visitors made their intentions known early.

Fremantle flipped the script against the No.1 forward half intercept team in the competition, booting four goals from that source in a one-sided opening term that saw them lead the inside 50 count 20-8.

With Daniel Rioli and John Noble across halfback the Suns had established themselves as one of the best transition teams in the competition but the Dockers completely killed the hosts’ ball movement.

Sam Flanders kicks freakish goal

Jed Walter climbs over a pack.

Sam Clohesy and Matt Johnson vie for possession.

The weather might have been an excuse for the Suns, except Fremantle was much more efficient when given their chance to go from end-to-end.

Both midfields were superb but where the Dockers separated themselves was in the pressure game. The Suns were rarely afforded an inch of space and never allowed to get into the free flowing rhythm we have seen from Hardwick’s side for much of this season.

Since he arrived on the Gold Coast, Hardwick had preached the importance of winning the moments.

Luke Ryan handballs under pressure.

And there were a crucial few that his Suns let slip on Saturday.

The hosts were riding all the momentum early in the third quarter when key forward Jed Walter’s brain fade to step over the mark gifted Fremantle an easy defensive 50 exit.

Minutes later Andrew Brayshaw was dribbling a go-ahead goal from congestion to lift the Dockers back into the lead.

When Noble left the ball behind at the top of 50 and the Dockers waltzed in to add another, it felt like a dagger blow after all the good the Suns had done to drag themselves back into the contest.

Debutant Leo Lombard celebrates his first AFL goal.

After a week of scrutiny in the wake of Ross Lyon’s “nepo baby” comments there were more than a few neutral viewers eager to see how the Suns stood up under the pressure.

But this felt less like the Suns playing poorly and more a statement from Fremantle – a team many pundits had penciled in as a premiership threat before the start of the season.

Against Adelaide, the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn, the Suns had passed each of their previous tests when challenged late in tight contests.

But this time they were on the other side of the equation, having to come back from a deficit.

This will be a valuable learning tool for Hardwick and a team that still has some important areas for improvement before announcing itself as a finals force.

Next up is a trip to Geelong to face the Cats. A perfect litmus test before the bye.

Originally published as AFL round 12: Fremantle defeats Gold Coast Suns by 11 points