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Fremantle star Luke Jackson leads impressive comeback over Roos

A third quarter blitz allowed Fremantle to continue its solid start to the season, roaring past North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.

Ben Cotton
3 min read
March 23, 2024 - 6:30PM
Luke Jackson starred in Fremantle’s win over the Roos. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Luke Jackson starred in Fremantle’s win over the Roos. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Fremantle used a seven-goal third-quarter blitz to complete an impressive comeback win over North Melbourne, 15.12 (102) to 11.10 (76).

Luke Jackson (24 disposals, 21 hit-outs, two goals) starred in the ruck and Caleb Serong (35 touches) backed up his sensational Round 1 performance as the Dockers stayed unbeaten on the season at 2-0.

Meanwhile the Roos fell to 0-2, with promising signs including their young brigade, led by Harry Sheezel and Tom Powell, stepping up.

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There were no late changes, with Eddie Ford (North Melbourne) and Jaeger O’Meara (Fremantle) named the starting subs.

It was a hot start contest including the Roos challenging the Dockers with extreme heat on the ball.

Luke Jackson starred in Fremantle’s win over the Roos. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Luke Jackson starred in Fremantle’s win over the Roos. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Paul Curtis kicked the opener for North before Josh Treacy instantly responded at the other end.

Nick Larkey extended the Kangaroos’ lead to 18 points in a promising start for Alastair Clarkson’s troops.

Demons great Garry Lyon noted the Dockers “need to take a deep breath” after getting jumped by the Roos.

“It’s a stark contrast (between the two sides) here,” Lyon said.

Clarkson’s side led 4.1 (25) to 2.1 (13) at quarter-time.

The Roos came out with the same attitude in the second term, kicking the first two goals to balloon their lead out to 30 points.

It was all one-way momentum going North’s way in the second term, with Lyon noting the Dockers looked “shell-shocked”.

Clarkson’s side’s wayward kicking in front of goal hurt though during a dominant stretch when it could’ve extended its lead — kicking three straight points.

A potential Caleb Serong goal on the half-time siren was denied — reviewed and overturned to a point — with the Roos leading 8.4 (52) to 5.5 (35).

It was a different story to start the second half as the Dockers came out with a renewed intensity to put the Roos on the backfoot.

“This is a good test for a young side … now they’re confronted with something a bit different,” Lyon said of North.

Matt Taberner started getting busy, taking three marks inside 50 and converting two of them to make it just a four-point game.

Jackson took a big mark inside 50 on a tight angle, then got a 50m penalty to get an easy opportunity to put the Dockers ahead.

Next, Andrew Brayshaw bopped up with a classy goal from stoppage to push the Dockers’ lead out to eight points, earning praise from Lyon for responding to a slow start.

“It’s a tsunami now, this a tidal wave,” Lyon said of the Dockers charge after Michael Frederick kicked their seventh-straight goal.

Fremantle kept pushing, getting the next clearance as Nat Fyfe kicked a long-range bomb — the club’s ninth goal in a row — to extend its lead to 29 points.

“What a turnaround, what a response,” Lyon exclaimed during the 46-point turnaround since half-time.

Freo led 12.10 (82) to 9.5 (59) at the last change.

Both clubs activated their subs, with Fyfe and Charlie Lazzaro coming out of the game.

The Roos had their chances to get back in the game in the last term, but couldn’t compose themselves in front of goal.

Jye Amiss kicked his first goal of the game to extend the Dockers’ lead to 26 points and risk shutting the door on the Roos.

Jeremy Sharp would do just that in the dying minutes though, launching a long-range goal — his first at his new club — to seal a big win for Longmuir’s side.

Jackson made a statement, the star ruckman dominant against the Kangaroos.

Jackson was particularly important when the chips were down for Fremantle, helping will his side back into the game along with the rest of the star Dockers on-ballers.

So impressive was Jackson that suddenly Longmuir has a dilemma — and not a bad one to have — with what his best ruck setup looks like when Sean Darcy returns, with his side 2-0 and dominant through the midfield.

In fact, Jackson has a case to be the All-Australian ruckman right now, albeit at Round 2.

It came in an exciting matchup against Tristan Xerri, and though the Roos ruckman was also impressive, Jackson had more impact on the contest.

“The most impressive thing about Luke Jackson is his relentlessness in wanting to test Xerri physically. Now, Xerri’s been OK. I mean, he got out-pointed by a rare talent,” Lyon said.

Triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown added: “It’d be an ominous sight, it’d be a fearsome sight, looking across the centre-bounce circle, wouldn’t it? Luke Jackson’s standing there, growling at you.

“He’s so active at ground level. We saw it obviously when he burst on the scene early on in his career for Melbourne, when he was part of that premiership. He’s like a big panther, isn’t he? His ground level stuff is unbelievable for a man his size.”

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Originally published as Fremantle star Luke Jackson leads impressive comeback over Roos

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Original URL: https://www.themercury.com.au/sport/afl/fremantle-star-luke-jackson-leads-impressive-comeback-over-roos/news-story/5bff3ec4c106e1406c70c7b8ddedaf86