AFL Round 22 West Coast v Fremantle: All the news, action and fallout as Dockers demolish Eagles in Derby
West Coast started well on Saturday night, but then it went very, very wrong as the Dockers went on a blitz that shattered Derby records. Here’s what happened.
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With the pressure of finals off, Fremantle started its preparation for 2024 by thumping cross town rivals West Coast at Optus Stadium on Saturday night.
The Dockers showed no mercy, going on a 17-goal run to set up a 101-point win over West Coast.
They’ll sit back after this season, with wins against Sydney at the SCG, Melbourne at the MCG, Geelong twice, including once at GHMBA Stadium, and wonder how they are in the bottom five teams on the ladder.
Lachie Schultz was damaging with 24 touches and five goals. Sam Sturt and Jye Amiss kicked four apiece, as the Dockers forwards were spoilt with opportunity and delivery.
There will be no talk of West Coast tanking during this week, as the Eagles were completely outplayed.
Andrew Brayshaw was again good, with 33 possessions, but Caleb Serong was the main culprit, dominating the Eagles undermanned midfield early.
He picked up 30, reaching that mark for the 12th time this season.
The 22-year-old had 20 disposals to half-time when the Dockers led by 51 points.
Fremantle had 68 points on the board at the main break, having averaged 68.4 per game over the previous 10 weeks.
The 20.14 (134) to 4.9 (33) result is now easily the Eagles’ biggest loss to Fremantle, beating the 75 points they lost by back in 2010.
It’s also the lowest score the Eagles have recorded against the Dockers, far from the previous mark of 7.5 (47).
West Coast looks destined to claim just its second ever wooden spoon, needing to beat either Western Bulldogs or Adelaide in its remaining two games to jump ahead of North Melbourne.
No quarters given
West Coast won just one game and only nine quarters in the first 17 rounds this year.
But over the three weeks leading into the Debry, they notched up one victory after winning seven quarters.
There were expectations that they’d push the Dockers, at least.
And they were on fire early, leading by 14 points before Fremantle looked like being competitive.
They had the first 10 inside 50 entries.
But the second half of the opening term belonged to the Dockers and the remainder of the game.
Justin Longmuir’s side scored three goals in less than 50 seconds of playing time midway through the first term to take a 14-point lead into the first break.
Fremantle then kicked 17 consecutive goals.
In fact, from the 20 minutes mark of the first term, to the four-minute mark of the final term, the Dockers outscored the Eagle 17.11 to 0.5.
Worth every cent
It’s hard to believe there were people questioning Fremantle’s recruiting of Luke Jackson earlier this season.
The 21-year-old ruckman may have taken a few games to find his feet at his new home, but those days seem so long ago now.
He’s taken on the number 1 ruck spot with Sean Darcy sidelined and is flourishing.
In the opening term on Saturday night, his tap in the middle of the ground to Jaeger O’Meara, for a classy centre clearance, got his team going.
Then his tap behind to Shultz early in the in the second term, who snapped the Dockers eighth goal, was all class.
The young premiership ruck took the game by the scruff, finishing with 19 possessions, 26 hit outs and a goal.
He also tied (but lost on a countback) with Schultz for the Glendinning-Allan Medal for the best player on the ground.
Don’t interchange the sub
West Coast did nothing to settle down the recent calls for changes to the sub rule.
The Eagles named their sub Greg Clark, then elevated two players ahead of him as late changes.
Jack Petruccelle was removed from the side well before bounce-down due to illness. Luke Foley replaced him in the starting 22.
The start to the game was then delayed by two minutes as the Eagles called a very late change, with Brady Hough, who hadn’t trained all week, also feeling ill.
Jack Williams suited up and then warmed up as the game started.
He, too, leapfrogged the sub, Clark, into the starting 22 and was on the ground midway through the first term.
Williams finished off the unexpected appearance with the last goal of the game, sadly it was only the Eagles fourth.
Scoreboard
EAGLES 2.2 2.5 2.6 4.9 (33)
DOCKERS 4.4 10.8 17.11 20.14 (134)
BEST
Eagles – Duggan, Kelly, McGovern, Witherden, Hewett, Gaff.
Dockers – Schultz, Serong, Jackson, Brayshaw, Clark, Cox.
GOALS
Eagles – Kelly, Allen, Gaff, J Williams.
Dockers – Schultz 5, Sturt 4, Amiss 4; Walters, O’Meara, Johnson, Jackson, Frederick, Erasmus, Aish.
VOTES
3 L Schultz (DOCKERS)
2 C Serong (DOCKERS)
1 L Jackson (DOCKERS)
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Originally published as AFL Round 22 West Coast v Fremantle: All the news, action and fallout as Dockers demolish Eagles in Derby
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