Fremantle really had to win this game in order to stay in touch with the top 8, and given that they had never previously been defeated by the Swans, and that the game was being played in Perth, you would have had to have had them at good odds to win.
The first quarter did not start off too promisingly for the Dockers. Sydney were able to get the ball out of the centre relatively easily, and when they went forward, both O'Farell and Lockett were providing good targets. As the quarter went on, though, Fremantle were able to get a better share of the ball, and when they went forward they seemed to have good options in Maher and Hunter. Maher had been brought off the rookie list for this game, and he showed enough in this first quarter to make it look unlikely that Mann will ever be back. By quarter time Fremantle had managed to hit the lead.
The summary of the second quarter is that Sydney, aided by some helpful umpiring, turned the flow of the game around, and hit the lead. From here on in, the Dockers never headed the Swans.
If the Dockers were unlucky in the second quarter, they were just silly in the third. This was a real tight quarter, with lots of packs forming, but nowhere near as much unfriendliness. The Dockers had plenty of possession, but seemed incapable of crossing into their forward 50. They left Hunter one out at full forward for most of the quarter, with Maher leading well down the field to get a sight of the ball. If Lockett had been playing for the Dockers, this might have earnt them a goal or two, but as it was, the Big Man kicked the only goal for the quarter.
At the start of the final quarter the Dockers were 15 points down, with no noticeable breeze, and light rain falling. It was always going to be a big ask for them to win from there. Things didn't get any easier for them when Lockett scored the first goal of the quarter. But there were just a few moments where it looked possible. Callaghan and Toia kicked a goal apiece, and suddenly the margin was back to just 7 points. Then the umpires decided to step in again. From a kick in the depths of defense, O'Reilly just missed Maher, who marked, but over the boundary line. The umpire gave Schwass a free for out on the full, and Maher dropped the ball behind himself. The umpire deemed that to be a naughty, and gave Schwass 50, so that he was able to line up from about 10m out. Suddenly its all Sydney, and Lockett kicks two more to seal the game. The Dockers picked up one more, apparently, but I had sopped paying attention by then.
Despite my feelings about the umpiring, at the end of the day, Fremantle lost this game because they weren't good enough to win it. They failed to make enough out of their opportunities to go forward, particularly in the second and third quarters. At the other end, they didn't do enough to hold Big Tone. O'Reilly had a good day man on man with Tone, but even so, Lockett kicked six, and could have had more. The defense needed to be more organised in order to give O'Reilly a chance.
One other thing that this game demonstrated is that Fremantle really need to get hold of one or two superstars, like Schwass, Kelly or Lockett. A Dunstall or a Carey would do too. Not to improve the quality of the Dockers play, just to earn the dodgy free kicks for the team. There is no doubt in my mind that the big name players do get a better deal from the umpires. If Jess Sinclair had been Wayne Schwass, Troy Cook would be up at the tribunal now. As it is, it was allegedly a fair bump.
Final Score : Fremantle 10.9-69 lost to Sydney 13.14-82
timnfromoz
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