As a Freo supporter, this week pretty much sucked. Do Eagles supporters have some kind of tracking device to seek out Freo supporters? For the sole purpose of rubbing a loss in our faces??
That’s what it feels like! I’ve been dodging people left, right and centre since last weekend’s derby, which saw West Coast Eagles bury the Fremantle Dockers by 33 points. Despite the loss, Freo did look like their form had improved from previous weeks. Especially considering that Aaron Sandilands copped a punctured lung and majority of Fremantle’s game was played without a ruckman.
Sandilands is a HUGE play maker for the Dockers and losing him is a MAJOR blow. The midfielders are going to have to work extra hard and pick up any loose balls around the ruck and around the ground to have a chance at creating plays and moving the ball into their forward line.
Jon Griffin will step in to ruck for Sandilands, and forward Hayden Crozier has made his way back in to the side for Fremantle, which could be a handy inclusion. I expect to see smaller guys like Lachie Neale and Stephen Hill be the biggest performers for the Dockers, hopefully they can get enough of the ball through the midfield.
Kangaroos are going to be fired up coming into this game after a close win over Melbourne last week. Veteran Brent Harvey booted 6 goals last week and is always going to be one of Fremantle’s biggest worries, especially playing on his home turf. Another big worry for Freo: Todd Goldstein. He not only dominates in the ruck, he knows where the goal posts are, which he showed last week when he kicked 5.
Freo have not had a great start to the season and may not have all the answers coming into this game. However, I hope they can just play well together as a team and focus on the basics and who knows what could happen!? A little bit of magic from Nat Fyfe around the ground, a level head from Michael Johnson in the back line and some fire in the forward line from Michael Walters/Matt Pavlich may just be enough to get them over the line.
I am going to stay positive and have faith in my team and tip Fremantle Dockers to beat the Kangaroos by 7 points.
Let us know your #AFLNorthFreo predictions at @TweetPerth @EmmaLianaPayne
