Fortunately I chose not to make the effort to head down to Geelong for this game. The conditions were apparently atrocious, and the Dockers were never really competitive.
Gerard Neehsam's comment on the game? "We got an absolute lesson in stationary contest football". Reading between the lines, I'd say that Freo were soft, soft, soft. Neehsam also labelled the loss as one of the worst in the club's history. Which is slightly less significant when it refers to Fremantles two and a bit year history, as opposed to Geelong's hundred year history, but which nevertheless indicates that he wasn't a happy camper.
Even with Barnes as high as a kite (and not playing) the Geelong bigs seem to have dominated around the ground. This sort of left the Fremantle game plan, of "get the ball and hanging onto it until we can score" at a slight disadvantage, as they struggled to get the ball. And presumably to hang onto it in the greasy conditions.
Daniel Parker played at fullforward, with Neehsam choosing not to play Kingsley Hunter - perhaps because the conditions didn't suit him, or perhaps because he was still unfit. Either way, Hunter will have been glad not to have been out there, as Parker was held scoreless, and Freo was forced to rely on the likes of BenAllan and Callaghan coming forward from the midfield to supply their pitifully few goals.
At the other end the goals were flowing for Ronnie Burns. After he had scored three opposed to Harding, Neesham swung Shane onto him, but even that wasn't enough to stop him. He finished with six, very nearly scoring enough to have beaten the Dockers single-handed.
Final Score : Geelong 14.13-97 defeated Fremantle 6.7-43
timnfromoz
© 1997 timnfromoz@hotmail.com
Return to TimN's Home Page