"Some panic crept in." | First Thoughts - Fremantle vs Geelong (14.09.26)
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What were the Dockers’ key factors in their 14‑point win over the Cats?
Kane and
Kingy. Last week was really disappointing and thought, yeah, the players had a really good week. And, yeah, I think it was a total different intent from the first bounce tonight. Yeah, so I was really proud of that and really proud of the way the players settled back into the third quarter and really proud of the way we finished the game off.
All right, that was our man who has still got his trip to the Maldives alive. It is alive. Our first thoughts for Commonwealth State, Australia's most awarded extra virgin, Olive Oil. Fremantle getting it done by 14 points against Geelong. Like Brisbane, loved the response early. Shea Bolton went crazy in the first four minutes. Absolutely crazy. He was actually trying to tackle people. Then he got the offensive stuff going. And I thought everyone that needed to respond for Fremantle responded. Voss, poor. Great. Tracy, poor. He was great. Amos was strong and physical in the contest. Thought their midfield centre-bound stuff early was elite. And then we have to talk about Luke Jackson. It took them three years, but they worked out he's a ruckman.
And well done to them for doing that. And what a performance from Luke Jackson.
Yeah, and we've argued about this a lot. We've spoken about this a lot. I think they've protected him across the stages of the season. You want him at their best in September.
Not a midfielder, though. He's not a forward.
How did the midfield and ruck performances shape the game’s outcome?
He's a ruckman.
They
worked that out finally.
Well, I think they knew what they were trading for, in fairness. I think – Not a unicorn? He's a ruckman. Yeah, unicorn. If I hear there's two unicorns on the one field, I'll go crazy. I thought their composure was the gap. So their preparedness to – and they talked about it a lot during the coverage, their composure to enter traffic, handle the heat, step out. It's a leg driver's world. It really is. Finals – where leg drivers go next level. You can break a tackle. If you can step through, everything changes. So when you look at the confrontational side of the game, so they had 13 broken tackles on the weekend, but seven of them were between Bolton, Young, Brayshaw and Jackson. So they were stepping through.
Geelong had 13 missed tackles, their most for the season. their most for the year, their most important time. Fremantle had four. And it wasn't a normal Frio game, normally they chip the ball around and those numbers can lie a little bit. But this was a chaotic game that required you either make your tackles or you bleed. And I just thought that those guys set the game up really well. And I think Geelong had a few guys that took a few short steps.
You're not happy with Brad Close?
He had two horrific moments. When they were running, when they were out and going and making a real game of it in that third quarter. So he had the big fumble on the wing. Then he dropped his head and dropped the mark. And it went down for a goal.
Why did Luke Jackson’s emergence as a ruckman matter for Fremantle?
And you go, you know what? You're just not going to win games like this with those sorts of efforts. And there were a few others. There were a few others. If you go back and have a close look, you know, O'Sullivan a couple of times. Humphrey looked really, really jittery, really fumbly. Braun didn't go
back with the
fly. He ducked his head. There's just some panic crept in, like Bailey Smith just surged handball forward. That's
not them. Tom Stewart, when he's tagged, is a different discussion as well. Has he ever beaten a tag, Tom Stewart, ever?
No.
Has he ever beaten a tag? Has Tom Stewart ever beaten a tag? He may be the most, as good as he is and as much as we love him and he's going to be a Hall of Famer, Hoff or not, don't worry about that. But I'm not sure he's ever beaten a tag. He might be the most vulnerable player when it comes to being tagged in the league. It's a great question.
I had this question written down for you. Is it their aggression to defend and cut the ball off at the midpoint of the ground? Does it expose them to games like this where they can be
walked through? If you get through, you score. It's easy,
yeah. And then in games like this when that is going to happen at some points, they just looked –
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What were the Dockers’ key factors in their 14‑point win over the Cats?
0:00–1:26
2
How did the midfield and ruck performances shape the game’s outcome?
1:26–3:01
3
Why did Luke Jackson’s emergence as a ruckman matter for Fremantle?
3:01–4:32
4
Did Fremantle’s aggression and broken‑tackle count give them an edge?
4:32–6:04
5
How effective was Tom Stewart’s tagging strategy in the match?
6:04–7:24
6
What did Chris Scott keep hidden after round 15 and how did it affect the game?
7:24–8:19
7
Is Zach Butter’s potential contract the biggest deal in AFL history?
8:19–9:30
8
What lessons can the Dockers take from this win heading into the finals?
9:30–11:15
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from SEN Breakfast
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"I don't think they have enough match winners."| First Thoughts - Brisbane vs Adelaide (14.09.26)