Match report
Thanks a lot for following along. What a game – at least for Dockers fans, and dare I say the neutrals too. We’ll be back tomorrow to find out whether Hawthorn oir Brisbane will face Fremantle in the grand final next week. For now, catch up on Jonathan Horn’s report from the SCG …
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Shai Bolton helped turn the game as Justin Longmuir and the Dockers pushed him deeper forward. The livewire speaks to Channel Seven as he begins to dream about being one of the first Dockers to win an AFL premiership.
Oh mate, it’ll be crazy. I grew up supporting Freo and that was why I wanted to come back home and to win our first is going to be crazy.
Andy [Brayshaw], he wrote us a letter on our locker and it says, ‘the first boys to win a premiership would be immortal’. So yeah, I can’t wait to get there and just super excited.
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Fremantle captain Alex Pearce is ecstatic as he speaks to Channel Seven about the Dockers reaching a grand final.
Clearly it’s something we’ve all thought a lot about. Thinking about it doesn’t make it happen though. Playing free like we did in that last quarter, that’s what won it for us. So yeah, we’ll do what we normally do.
We’ll review this game, look at the good stuff, look at the bad, connect together and go again, and try and play like that because that was pretty special in the end.
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The Dockers won the inside 50 count 23-6, clearances 12-5 and contested possessions 49-27 to completely turn the game in the final term. They kicked 5.4 to 0.1 after the last change in an incredible comeback.
Full-time: Sydney 10.11.71 lose to Fremantle 12.11.83
The Dockers have come from the clouds in the final term to overrun the Swans and earn a spot in their second AFL grand final.
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Q4: 1 min remaining: Sydney 10.11.71 – Fremantle 12.10.82
Tom Papley has one last chance to give the Swans a sniff. But his shot crashes into the post.
Q4: 1 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 12.10.82
The Dockers surge the ball forward. A handpass to Dudley allows the speed demon to sprint to the goalline and put the Dockers into their second ever grand final
Q4: 2 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
The Swans can’t find a way out of their defensive half. And the Dockers are looking to slow the play down with a grand final spot int their sights.
Q4: 3 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
The Dockers win the stoppage in their defensive 50 and slowly move the ball forward. More stoppages in their attacking 50 help them manage the clock.
Q4: 4 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
The Swans finally surge the ball into their forward half but Tom Papley scuffs the kick and two Dockers are able to lock it in.
Q4: 5 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
Andrew Brayshaw wins the ball back in the centre square and finds Josh Treacy outside the arc. The key forward picks out Dudley closer to goal but he mistimes the set shot from 40m and fails to even score. Any score would have been handy.
Q4: 6 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
The Swans defence is defending with all their might as the Dockers keep pushing and pushing. Twice they win the ball back but have no one to kick to on the wing.
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Q4: 7 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
Murphy Reid picks out Josh Treacy 30m out and directly in front. The key forward has had a dirty night but gets hands to this one as Tom McCartin comes back with the flight and brushes the arms. If it isn’t a mark, it’s a free kick. But the umpires see it another way and the Swans eventually clear.
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Q4: 8 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
The Swans lock the ball forward for a couple of throw-ins and a ball-up. But the Dockers have edged the stoppages throughout and move the ball safely out of defence. How this game has swung.
Q4: 9 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
The Dockers win the centre clearance – no surprise there as that makes it 12-5 tonight. Fredericks gathers a bouncing ball in the pocket but the snap drifts the wrong side of the near post.
Q4: 10 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.9.75
The Swans are the team looking for answers as they struggle to find a way past the middle of the SCG as the Dockers set up an old fashioned wall. Wicks beats Fredericks and bombs clear for McDonald to mark but the ball had sailed out of bounds. Mason Cox takes a huge grab on the lead, kicks truly and sets off in celebration. The Dockers lead for the first time since early in the first term.
Q4: 11 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 10.9.69
Shai Bolton outmuscles Sam Wicks deep in the forward pocket. The Dockers livewire kicks truly and lets his opponent know all about it.
Q4: 12 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 9.9.63
A throw-in deep in the Dockers forward pocket and a quick kick off the ground drifts the wrong side of the behind post. Every score counts now.
Q4: 13 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 9.9.63
The Swans are under siege and seemingly running out of petrol tickets. But the Dockers are still to make them pay despite locking the ball forward for a good five minutes.
Q4: 14 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 9.9.63
Frederick streams forward in space on the wing but his kick to Amiss is punched clear. The Dockers have numbers once the ball hits the deck and ends up in Frederick’s hands but his snap doesn’t have enough on it.
Q4: 15 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 9.9.63
The Dockers lock the ball in their forward half but the long kicks to a pack inside 50 just aren’t getting the job done.
Q4: 16 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 9.9.63
The Dockers press forward again and Voss finds space to float in a snap for a behind. But the minor premiers aren’t done yet as they win the ball back on the wing and Bolton has time to snap from the pocket. A pair of Swans defenders are on the line to knock the ball through. But signs of fatigue are starting to show.
Q4: 17 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 9.7.61
The Dockers bounce off half-back with some smooth ball handling. Bolton spills a mark running with the flight of the ball inside 50 but the ball ends up with Voss running around the boundary. A huge fend off opens up a path for Voss to finish with a checkside on the run. That’s a couple of huge teamlifting goals as the Dockers are on the charge.
Q4: 18 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 8.7.55
The Dockers win the ball back on the wing and Bolton earns a free kick as he is taken out in a marking contest. The livewire has been relatively quiet tonight but he nails the set shot from outside the arc. Game on!
Q4: 19 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 7.7.49
Josh Treacy takes out Errol Gulden has he releases a kick from the back pocket. Play on is the call and rightly so.
The Swans or Dockers are in place and ready to rock …
The Swans have got more out of their forwards though Logan McDonald is their only multiple goalkicker with three, while Luke Jackson has a couple for the Dockers.
Errol Gulden has once again stepped up in the absence of some of his notable teammates with 27 disposals, five clearances and 652 metres gained. Jai Serong (20, 5, 449) has continued his hugely impressive first season while the Swans tackling machine James Rowbottom has helped set the tone.
Hayden Young (20, 4) could be the player to turn the Dockers’ hopes around, along with Jackson, while Caleb Serong (21, 7) has been immense around the stoppages.
3QT: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 7.7.49
The Swans extend their lead as they have done in each of the three terms. But Hayden Young reduces the damage with a mark just inside 50m and the right side of the boundary that sails through for a goal. That was just what the Dockers needed to take some belief into the final term.
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Q3: 1 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 6.7.43
McInerney fumbles a simple mark and the Dockers rebound at pace to find Patrick Voss tracking back inside 50. The firebrand forward slices his set shot for a behind when the Dockers (and neutral fans) really needed him to own the moments.
Q3: 3 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 6.6.42
The Dockers can get the ball in their hands between the arcs but lack the overlap run to open up the Swans even with one term still to come.
Q3: 4 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 6.6.42
The Dockers control the ball along the wing while the Swans close all viable avenues forward. The minor premiers are running out of time to kick the one or two goals that might give them momentum heading into the final term.
Q3: 6 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 6.6.42
Jackson fights for front spot with great intent but after one, two, three grabs at the ball he fails to take the mark across half-back. It hasn’t been the Dockers ruck’s night but he has about 35 minutes to make amends.
Q3: 7 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 6.6.42
Curnow marks on the lead as the Dockers are too slow to get back to clog up the space near the pocket. The spearhead’s shot misses to the near side. But the Dockers are hanging on now.
Q3: 8 mins remaining: Sydney 10.9.69 – Fremantle 6.6.42
Charlie Curnow outmuscles Oscar McDonald in the goalsquare but after doing all the hard work he fails to hang on to the mark.
Q3: 9 mins remaining: Sydney 10.9.69 – Fremantle 6.6.42
The Dockers are back searching for a target inside 50. But yet again their chances go begging as the Swans win the ball back a little too easily.
Q3: 10 mins remaining: Sydney 10.9.69 – Fremantle 6.6.42
Charlie Curnow steams out on a lead and takes a huge grab in front of Oscar McDonald. The Coleman medallist kicks truly from a tight angle, and the Swans have extended their half-time lead.
Q3: 11 mins remaining: Sydney 9.9.63 – Fremantle 6.6.42
Oscar McDonald forgets where he is for a moment as he collects on the last line and takes on Tom Papley. The small forward wraps him up in a tackle to earn a free kick. But the set shot misses to the near side.
Q3: 12 mins remaining: Sydney 9.8.62 – Fremantle 6.6.42
The Swans have lifted along with the Dockers and we have a red-hot preliminary final. Jordan Clark looks to burst clear down the wing but is caught holding the ball. The Dockers win the ball back and move quickly inside 50 but Joel Hamling has Patrick Voss in his pocket right now.
Q3: 13 mins remaining: Sydney 9.8.62 – Fremantle 6.6.42
The Swans win a centre clearance and lock the ball forward. A sky high snap from Dane Rampe from lands in the goalsquare and the Dockers fail to clear. Logan McDonald pounces and the Swans have stared down the Dockers third-term challenge.
Q3: 14 mins remaining: Sydney 8.8.56 – Fremantle 6.6.42
The Dockers win another centre clearance and Dudley has the space to punish the Swans. But he mistimes the shot and the low kick is rushed through. The Swans go end-to-end and Sheldrick steps around the rushing defender to snap a settler.
Q3: 15 mins remaining: Sydney 7.8.50 – Fremantle 6.5.41
The Swans have been so good at moving the ball out of their back half. But this time the hurried kick ends up in Jackson’s hands inside the arc and directly in front. The star ruck has been quieter tonight. But he makes it back-to-back goals for the Dockers.
Q3: 17 mins remaining: Sydney 7.8.50 – Fremantle 5.5.35
Tom Papley is left hobbling as he tries to kick the ball off the ground. Karl Worner goes low to smother and takes out the Swans forward’s legs. That looked nasty and Papley heads for the bench.
Q3: 18 mins remaining: Sydney 7.7.49 – Fremantle 5.5.35
Caleb Serong is trapped in a tackled on the wing but the umpire calls play on. That was a tough call on the Swans. But Jye Amiss collects the ball off the deck with a sublime pick up and snaps a team-lifter for the Dockers.
Q3: 19 mins remaining: Sydney 7.7.49 – Fremantle 4.5.29
The Swans transition the ball around the wing and unleash Braeden Campbell to set sail with a long bomb. Campbell is one of the more exquisite kicks in the game but this time the bounce works against the Swans and the ball dribbles through for a behind.
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Q3: 19 mins remaining: Sydney 7.6.48 – Fremantle 4.5.29
The Dockers win the centre clearance to make the count a remarkable 10-2 in their favour tonight. Justin McInerney cuts off the dump kick forward.
The Dockers of course booted 100 points in the second half to overrun the Swans the last time these sides met. A lot would have to change for similar to occur tonight, but the Dockers have a lot of room for improvement left in their big men. Jackson and Grundy are about to get us started again.
The Dockers are making a point of how little the basic stats can mean to a result. The minor premiers lead 169-154 for disposals, 22-14 for clearances and 31-27 for inside 50s. But the Swans have been better in their ball use when in transition and especially when in their forward half. Part of that is down to the Swans’ pressure rattling the Dockers, but the minor premiers have also been too slow with their ball movement through the middle of the field while bombing long inside 50.
HT: Sydney 7.6.48 – Fremantle 4.5.29
The Swans take a 19-point lead into the main change. And if anything, it should be a bit more. The Dockers have been stronger at the stoppages but wasteful going forward, while the Swans have carved up the minor premiers in transition and have got more out of their attack.
Patrick Voss earns a free kick just outside the 50m arc for a nudge that kept him out of the marking contest. The shot falls narrowly short and the Swans keep it out with ease.
Q2: 1 min remaining: Sydney 7.6.48 – Fremantle 4.5.29
The Swans win a free kick deep in defence and slow the game down with the main break now a minute away.
Q2: 2 mins remaining: Sydney 7.6.48 – Fremantle 4.5.29
Dudley is the next Dockers forward to blast the ball forward. The ball bounces in the goalsquare but is easily covered by the Swans defence for a rushed behind.
Q2: 3 mins remaining: Sydney 7.6.48 – Fremantle 4.4.28
The Dockers win the ball back in the centre square and unleash Andrew Brayshaw streaming past. But his kick to the edge of the goalline allows the Swans to clear without even conceding a behind.
Q2: 4 mins remaining: Sydney 7.6.48 – Fremantle 4.4.28
Caleb Serong tries from long range but can only kick a behind.
Q2: 5 mins remaining: Sydney 7.6.48 – Fremantle 4.3.27
The Dockers get the ball forward but lack the poise to pick out a player on the lead.
Q2: 6 mins remaining: Sydney 7.6.48 – Fremantle 4.3.27
Justin McInerney is held without the ball and earns a free kick just inside the arc. The returning midfielder steps around the man on the mark and slots the goal.
Q2: 7 mins remaining: Sydney 6.6.42 – Fremantle 4.3.27
Logan McDonald snaps a shot and Luke Ryan and Oscar McDonald let the ball bounce thinking their teammate will gather. That has happened twice between a pair of Dockers in as many minutes.
Q2: 8 mins remaining: Sydney 6.6.42 – Fremantle 4.3.27
The Swans lock the ball forward but can’t quite find a finishing touch. Errol Gulden sets off on a run around the wing and even his kick sails too high for Curnow to mark on the lead.
Q2: 9 mins remaining: Sydney 6.6.42 – Fremantle 4.3.27
The Dockers win a stoppage on the wing and can choose between the leading Amiss and Treacy. The ball splits the two key forwards and perhaps in a sign of their mental state they each leave it for the other.
Q2: 10 mins remaining: Sydney 6.6.42 – Fremantle 4.3.27
The Dockers win the ball from the middle and a rocket of a handball from Hayden Youngs hits Isaiah Dudley and the goalsneak slots the shot.
Q2: 11 mins remaining: Sydney 6.6.42 – Fremantle 3.3.21
Curnow marks on the Swans forward 50 arc and bombs the ball to the top of the goalsquare. The Dockers are able to clear but Bolton’s panic kick out of the pocket lands in Caiden Cleary’s lap. The Swans academy graduate nails a tricky and sets off on a celebratory run.
Q2: 12 mins remaining: Sydney 5.6.36 – Fremantle 3.3.21
A fierce contest on both sides at the top of the Dockers goalsquare. Angus Sheldrick fends off a Frederick tackle but his arm goes high. The Dockers get one back but that had to come the hard way.
Q2: 13 mins remaining: Sydney 5.6.36 – Fremantle 2.3.15
The Dockers lock the ball forward but once again are unable to find a marking target within range of goal.
Q2: 14 mins remaining: Sydney 5.6.36 – Fremantle 2.3.15
The Swans surge the ball forward around the wing again and earn a couple of free kicks on the way. Papley takes the advantage and snaps to the top of the goalsquare where McDonald has his arms chopped. The Swans forward isn’t going to miss from there and he extends his side’s lead.
Q2: 15 mins remaining: Sydney 4.6.30 – Fremantle 2.3.15
The Swans cut through the corridor but a turnover gives the Dockers another chance. Amiss marks on the lead but his shot goes across the face to be punched through for a behind.
Q2: 16 mins remaining: Sydney 4.6.30 – Fremantle 2.2.14
Michael Frederick keeps up the chase to earn a free kick near the boundary. The shot goes across the face and out of bounds. Jackson wins the tap off the throw-in and punches the ball forward for Serong to swing a boot but the shot goes wide.
Q2: 17 mins remaining: Sydney 4.6.30 – Fremantle 2.1.13
The Swans transition with ease – as I’ve been saying on repeat. Alex Pearce tries to clear the defensive 50 but is wrapped up in a James Rowbottom special. The midfielder slices his kick for a behind.
Q2: 18 mins remaining: Sydney 4.5.29 – Fremantle 2.1.13
Caleb Serong wins the ball on the wing and bombs it forward. Jye Amiss gets his hands on the ball for the first time tonight as he slides across the arc to take a mark. Amiss mistimes the kick and Grundy stands tall in the pack to mark in the goalsquare.
Q2: 19 mins remaining: Sydney 4.5.29 – Fremantle 2.1.13
The Dockers win the centre clearance but the Swans pick up where they left off in cutting off the attack across half-back.
The Dockers had their share of the ball with 90-81 disposals while the Swans edged the inside 50s 17-16. But the hosts piled on the pressure and were much more composed in their attacking half as they hit targets and booted four straight goals.
QT: Sydney 4.5.29 – Fremantle 2.1.13
The Swans take a strong lead into the first change after four consecutive goals that might have been more if not for a couple of posters. The Dockers got off to a flying start but hardly fired a shot from there.
Q1: 1 min remaining: Sydney 4.5.29 – Fremantle 2.1.13
The Dockers have slowed things down with the first break now in sight. But the kicks around the 50m arc fail to find a free player.
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Q1: 2 mins remaining: Sydney 4.5.29 – Fremantle 2.1.13
The Dockers cut off a Swans attack at half-back. But a long kick down the line is too easy to defend. Perhaps an early sign of Longmuir’s side falling back into old habits.
Q1: 3 mins remaining: Sydney 4.5.29 – Fremantle 2.1.13
Another opportunity for the Swans in what has really become a dominant quarter of football. Campbell scrambles a kick off the deck right on the goalline but gets his boot too far around it as the ball dribbles around the post.
Q1: 4 mins remaining: Sydney 4.4.28 – Fremantle 2.1.13
Luke Jackson wins the centre clearance before Shai Bolton takes a grab just outside the centre square. The Dockers livewire slices his kick and just as they have done all night, the Swans go end-to-end with ease. Jesse Dattoli earns a free kick 30m and on a tricky angle. But the Swans have a second poster of the night.
Q1: 5 mins remaining: Sydney 4.3.27 – Fremantle 2.1.13
The Dockers finally get the ball into their forward 50 but a miskick allows the Swans to force a stoppage and soon clear. A quick transition around the boundary opens up the Dockers defence. Tom Hanily is first to react as the ball bounces off a pack at the top of the square and a quick off the ground dribbles through.
Q1: 6 mins remaining: Sydney 3.3.21 – Fremantle 2.1.13
The Dockers defence has had to dig in as the Swans keep peppering away just inside the arc. But the visitors have hardly been past the wing in the past 10 minutes as all the pressure is going one way.
Q1: 8 mins remaining: Sydney 3.3.21 – Fremantle 2.1.13
McLean very nearly takes another pack mark but drops the ball as the umpire goes to blow the whistle. The Swans launch a second attack but the kick goes over the leading Curnow’s head and out for a throw in. The Swans are giving the Dockers a lesson on forward 50 entries.
Q1: 10 mins remaining: Sydney 3.3.21 – Fremantle 2.1.13
The Dockers win the ball out of the middle but the hurried kick is cut off at half-back. The Swans slice through the corridor and Hayden McLean takes a strong pack mark. His shot crashes into the goalpost in a let off for the Dockers. But alarm bells are ringing.
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Q1: 11 mins remaining: Sydney 3.2.20 – Fremantle 2.1.13
The Swans go end-to-end around the wing to the arc where Campbell keeps the ball alive inside the boundary when others had given up on it. A smother off Curnow’s boot almost sends the ball the other way, but it ends up in the Swans spearhead’s hands to pick out Logan McDonald on the lead. McDonald goals and the Swans have three in a row.
Q1: 12 mins remaining: Sydney 2.2.14 – Fremantle 2.1.13
The Dockers ease the ball forward from the goalsquare but are unable to find a target inside 50. Jye Amiss gives away a needless free for a push in the back in the goalsquare.
Q1: 13 mins remaining: Sydney 2.2.14 – Fremantle 2.1.13
The Swans find Papley inside 50 again as Judd McVee keeps giving him more room than would be advisable. The firebrand slices his shot through for a behind.
Q1: 14 mins remaining: Sydney 2.1.13 – Fremantle 2.1.13
The Swans are level after a fast start from the Dockers and that was all Tom Papley. The livewire wins the ball off the ruck’s hands from a throw-in and scrambles a kick forward. Both sides are unable to find a clean possession before a handball comes out from the bottom of the pack to find Papley standing 15m away to snap a goal. He sets off on a trademark run with arms swinging and fiery emotion written all over his face.
Q1: 15 mins remaining: Sydney 1.1.7 – Fremantle 2.1.13
The Swans surge the ball forward and with a couple of release handballs inside 50 Braeden Campbell finds enough space to snap the home side’s opening goal.
Q1: 16 mins remaining: Sydney 0.1.1 – Fremantle 2.1.13
The Dockers go end to end and a long bomb into the forward 50 picks out Luke Jackson at the back of the pack. Brodie Grundy was all at sea in that marking contest in what might just be a taste of what’s to come.
Q1: 17 mins remaining: Sydney 0.1.1 – Fremantle 1.1.7
The Swans finally show signs of settling as they look to get the ball in Errol Gulden’s hands. But the tireless midfielder is off target with his shot.
Q1: 18 mins remaining: Sydney 0.0.0 – Fremantle 1.1.7
Josh Treacy sets the tone with a determined chase along the goalline to force Errol Gulden into a mis-kick. Neil Erasmus seals the deal to give the Dockers just the start they would have talked about.
Q1: 19 mins remaining: Sydney 0.0.0 – Fremantle 0.1.1
Shai Bolton bursts clear from the middle in a repeat of how the Dockers started last week against the Cats. But the visitors can’t make the Swans pay in the same way as Jordan Clark kicks a behind.
First ball-up
Brodie Grundy and Luke Jackson into each other in the centre circle as the AFL semi-final gets under way at the SCG. The Dockers knocks the ball back and the visitors win the first clearance.
The Welcome to Country and Advance Australia Fair are sung and done. The captain’s Alex Pearce and Dane Rampe are taking their time to deliver one last reminder of their side’s key messages. We’re just a few seconds away …
Here are the two lineups as named:
Sydney
FB: 29 Joel Hamling, 30 Tom McCartin, 24 Dane Rampe
HB: 15 Sam Wicks, 32 Harry Kyle, 27 Justin McInerney
C: 34 Matt Roberts, 21 Errol Gulden, 13 Jai Serong
HF: 44 Jake Lloyd, 6 Logan McDonald, 2 Hayden McLean
FF: 11 Tom Papley, 35 Charlie Curnow, 25 Billy Cootee
FOLL: 4 Brodie Grundy, 8 James Rowbottom, 16 Braeden Campbell
INT: 43 Lewis Melican, 12 Angus Sheldrick, 33 Caiden Cleary, 40 Tom Hanily, 9 Jesse Dattoli
Fremantle
FB: 6 Jordan Clark, 25 Alex Pearce, 21 Oscar McDonald
HB: 23 Karl Worner, 13 Luke Ryan, 5 Heath Chapman
C: 44 Matthew Johnson, 8 Andrew Brayshaw, 28 Neil Erasmus
HF: 32 Michael Frederick, 16 Murphy Reid, 39 Sam Switkowski
FF: 24 Jye Amiss, 35 Josh Treacy, 20 Patrick Voss
FOLL: 9 Luke Jackson, 3 Caleb Serong, 10 Shai Bolton
INT: 18 Mason Cox, 34 Corey Wagner, 26 Hayden Young, 17 Judd McVee, 43 Isaiah Dudley
It would take a brave pundit to tip against Sydney tonight after their shock qualifying final victory against Brisbane. If the Swans can bring that same manic intensity and commitment to moving the ball forward at speed and at all costs, the Dockers will be up against. But they finished minor premiers for a reason.
With Errol Gulden and Shai Bolton among the players sure to light up the SCG, here is where I see the preliminary final being won – and lost.
Sydney have become renowned for their run-and-gun gameplan. But they have quietly been building a brand for the added intensity of finals as the top side for scores from clearance with a 14-0 record when they outscore the opposition from the source. Cox’s side dominated scoring from stoppage in their qualifying final as they restricted the Lions to their equal season-low of one goal from the source, while exploding out of the middle themselves for 39 points from centre clearances. Fremantle showed they can be just as damaging at scoring from centre clearance as they booted 45 points from the source in their semi-final against Geelong.
Fremantle midfielder Caleb Serong is playing his 150th AFL match since being selected with pick 8 in the 2019 draft. The Dockers’ co-vice-captain won the AFL rising star award in his first season and has since claimed the club best and fairest in the past three seasons. But Serong will face a different sort of challenge tonight with his brother Jai playing for the Swans.
Dane Rampe will play his 289th AFL game and 25th final for Sydney as he steps in for injured captain Callum Mills to lead the team. Two more wins for the Swans and their former co-captain will claim a place in history when lifting the premiership cup.
Jonathan Horn is with me at the SCG tonight to report on this preliminary final, and has taken a deeper dive into how the Swans got here – all while their suspended players remained central to their story on and off the field.
Our judgments, conclusions and outrages were clouded, though not necessarily tempered, by the fact that almost none of us knew what had happened in that hotel room. The anger turned towards a few tactless tweets and comments by pundits who make a living saying objectionable things. And it blunted something that was secondary to the police investigation but still relevant – this was an extraordinary sports story. It was a story of a club shorn of several of the best players in the competition, and which had claimed to have torpedoed its own season. It was something we’d almost never seen before in the sport.
A quick reminder of how both sides have arrived at the preliminary finals stage since the home-and-away season was complete.
Fremantle might have had home ground advantage for this contest if not for copping a huge reality check when hosting a qualifying final against Hawthorn.
But the minor premiers returned to form when edging Geelong in a classic semi-final at Optus Stadium.
Sydney were widely considered to be central to the soft side of the finals draw after their side was significantly weakened when they suspended five key players for a breach of club standards. The Lions seemed to have got that same memo as they largely failed to show up as the undermanned Swans romped to a memorable qualifying final triumph at the SCG that booked them this home preliminary final.
Final teams are in with no late changes.
Sydney have been forced to make two changes with luckless skipper Callum Mills sustaining a serious knee injury in the first term of the otherwise rousing qualifying final victory against Brisbane. Veteran defender Harry Cunningham has also been sidelined with a calf injury picked up in training. Justin McInerney returns for his first game since round 13 to bolster the Swans’ midfield though he will surely find it difficult to immediately recapture the career-best form he was in before suffering a significant hamstring injury. Reliable key defender Lewis Melican steps into the backline to help cover the Dockers’ three-pronged tall forward attack. But Joel Amartey will be watching on as the Swans back in Hayden McLean after the forward-ruck booted three goals against the Lions and with one eye on containing Dockers big man Luke Jackson.
Fremantle are unchanged from the side that overcame Geelong in the semi-final, with key defender Brennan Cox to instead play in the Wafl grand final for Peel Thunder on the road back from a calf injury. The Dockers resisted the temptation to hurry back Brandon Walker after the pacey defender injured an ankle in the qualifying final loss to the Hawks, even with Swans firestarter Tom Papley looming large over this clash.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the AFL preliminary final between Sydney and Fremantle at the SCG. The Swans are one win away from the most unlikely of grand final berths after they banned five players – including three top-liners – a month ago for a breach of club standards. The Dockers’ path towards a first spot in the AFL decider since the club’s only visit to the Big Dance in 2013 was taking a much more traditional route as they stormed their way to the minor premiership. That was at least until they were blown off course in a horror home qualifying final defeat to the Hawks.
The undermanned Sydney finished as runners-up in the home and away season and – to the surprise of many, including yours truly – took a huge leap towards a third grand final in five years with a stirring triumph over the highly fancied Lions. But doubts remain over whether their galvanised group fired their shot in that qualifying final victory against the surprisingly complacent two-time reigning premiers to earn a home preliminary final.
Fremantle naturally hoped to have home ground advantage for this, their most high-stakes game since a 2015 preliminary final, after winning a club record 19 matches during the home and away campaign. But the occasion got to the minor premiers as an inspired Hawthorn came out swinging from the opening ball-up at the same time as the Dockers players’ and fans’ expectations appeared to weigh them down in a humbling defeat. Justin Longmuir’s side bounced back with a tense win in a high-quality semi-final contest with the Cats to claim just their second finals win since reaching this same stage in 2015, and should give them a calming shot of confidence heading into this crunch clash.
The winner tonight will face either Hawthorn or back-to-back reigning premiers Brisbane in the AFL grand final at the MCG next Saturday. But for now, first ball-up at the SCG is 7.40pm local / 5.40pm AWST. I’ll drop in team news shortly. Meanwhile, shoot me an email with your thoughts and predictions. Let’s get into it!
