‘No reason’: Brutal Dockers snub still stings

Gather Round was going to be painful for Fremantle as soon as it was announced, now an AFL slight is hurting more than ever.

Luke Jackson has a big night ahead. Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Fremantle knew its Gather Round headache was coming a mile away, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less.

The club’s historic spectacle against the Gold Coast Suns at Norwood Oval was a special moment as the venue became the 47th venue to host an AFL/VFL game.

The picturesque suburban oval was a treat and rare heritage novelty for footy fans — but they won’t be celebrating it in Perth.

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The first bounce of the ball arrived at 3.10pm local time in Perth, leaving many fans stranded trying to watch the match during office hours.

A reminder that for absolutely no good reason at all, the AFL scheduled @freodockers to play at 310pm WST, on a Friday - a time and day when most of their fans won’t be able to watch the game. Can imagine scheduling Gather Round was tough - but surely there was another option?

— Ryan Daniels (@FootyRhino) April 13, 2023

As highlighted by Channel 7’s Ryan Daniels, the scheduling disaster for Fremantle was a slight that was entirely avoidable right from when the fixtures were first confirmed in December.

WA broadcast host Clint Wheeldon also took to Twitter to pump up ABC radio’s coverage of the match for those fans “stuck at work or out with the kids”.

Caleb Serong of the Dockers and Touk Miller of the Suns in Norwood. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Michael Walters was everywhere early in the match. Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images.

The Dockers have been screaming out for Friday night prime time matches in recent years - but this is not what the club had in mind.

Dockers CEO Simon Garlick said when the fixture was announced that the club was happy to cop it.

“We’re clearly disappointed in a sense that it’s such an early game to be telecast back into Perth for our supporters,” he said.

“We looked to alter that where we could but it just didn’t fit. We’ll wear that one.

“You can’t have it all in that sense.

“One upside is we don’t have to go to the Gold Coast – which mitigates a really significant travel for us.”

The Freo fans able to tune in would have liked what they saw early with the Dockers booting three of the first four goals of the match, including two for Michael Walters.

However, the Suns began to wrestle control of the contest in the second quarter — led by Jack Lukosius who had 14 disposals and 10 score involvements — and kicked away to a 23-point lead at half time.