Melbourne vs. Fremantle AFL Round 19 2024: All the news, injuries and analysis

Media pundits who claim ruckmen are overrated had the perfect case study for a game where one side had two, highly paid rucks and the other had none. MARK DUFFIELD writes Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson had an absolute day out.

Jye Amiss celebrates a goal on Sunday. Picture: Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Melbourne’s banner for the match against Fremantle read: “Write us off and you’ll regret it. We are Melbourne don’t forget it.”

It should have read: “Where is our ruckman? We forgot one. Freo had two and we had not one”.

Clearly the fact that Max Gawn was unfit for this match hurt the Dees. Equally clearly, the fact that the Dees chose not to play Tom Fullarton in his place hurt too.

How Fullarton might have coped against Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson is debatable but the following stats suggest that it could hardly have made things much worse.

Sean Darcy and Jacob van Rooyen compete in a ruck during the Dockers’ demolition of the Demons. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

The Dockers won clearances 47-15. They won centre clearances 17-8 and around the ground clearances 30-7. They won contested possession by 36, the inside fifty count 60-47 and the game by 50 points.

And Melbourne had to kick the last three goals of the game to make it that close. They also had to rely on some early Fremantle inaccuracy and lapses in the second and third quarters to keep this game alive a lot longer than it should have stayed alive.

If Fremantle are harsh and clinical, the one question they will ask themselves out of this game – apart from how is skipper Alex Pearce after a knock to his broken arm – is how did they leave the Dees in the game for so long.

As impressive as Fremantle’s sling shot run was, as dominant as their rucks were, as impressive as their mids were – Andy Brayshaw had 41 disposals, Caleb Serong 36 and Hayden Young 28 – they could still have made the Dees pay a little more on the scoreboard.

That says a lot about their dominance because Jye Amiss kicked four goals, Josh Treacy, Michael Walters and Sam Sturt all kicked three and Fremantle managed 17. They just left a few out there when they had their foot on Melbourne’s throat.

If you are one of those critics who believe ruckmen are overrated – the first quarter didn’t help your argument. About the only damage that wasn’t irreparable was on the scoreboard where Fremantle’s 10 shots on goal had produced 3.5 and two complete misses.

The Dockers had two ruckmen – Darcy and Jackson doing pretty much whatever they wanted.

Fremantle won the first term hit outs 10-1, the clearances 14-0, the centre clearances 4-0 and the inside fifty count 21-6.

The Dockers mids were dining out. Brayshaw had had 11 disposals, so had Serong. Young had just the five but they were frequently forward of centre with his belly button pointed at leading targets and time to use his left foot.

Luke Jackson celebrates a goal against his old side. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

The only thing that changed in the second term was that Fremantle got careless with the ball – both in field play and in front of goals.

And it gave the Dees a brief window of opportunity which kept them alive.

This is probably the remaining part of the unsolved problem for the Dockers and how much progress they make in solving it will determine how far they can go this year.

Too often an unforced error gives an opponent oxygen when every other aspect of the game suggests the game is on the Dockers terms.

Treacy, Walters and Sturt all missed second term shots. Sturt shanked a midfield kick which would have set up Jeremy Sharp for a shot on goal and instead became a Melbourne counter attack and there were several other instances of teammates biting off more than they needed to trying to get the ball inside the corridor.

The Dees had cut what had been a 37 point lead back to 24 and they had youngster Koltyn Tholstrup streaming inside fifty ready to shoot when he was mown down by the superb two way run of Brayshaw. That stopped a goal and then a goal after the siren to Walters meant the Dockers were five goals clear and comfortable enough at half time.

Hayden Young and the Fremantle midfield ran amok at Optus Stadium. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

And as if to underline the point the Dockers lapsed again in the third term when they were the best part of nine goals clear.

The Dees kicked three goals in a row to pull the margin back to 36 points at three quarter time.

And for the first time in the match they had a toe hold around stoppages. It was mainly about greater intensity more than method. Makeshift ruckmen Harry Petty and Jacob Van Rooyen bullocked and pushed and the Dees had the better of contested possession in the term by 15.

They were still 36 points down at the final change but they had life and hope.

So the question was could the Dockers take away that hope quickly in the final term?

And the answer, finally, was yes. They kicked the first four goals of the final term to finish a game on the scoreboard that had been finished around the contest from early on in the opening term and may have been decided in Melbourne’s selection meeting when they left Fullarton out.