As a Fremantle Dockers supporter, you can only imagine how much I copped it this week after Freo’s disappointing last game…

I don’t think I am fully recovered yet HOWEVER, as I continue to tell the Freo haters, IT WAS ONLY ROUND 1!

It was an awful, horrible, unpleasant game. I will happily admit it. Fremantle could not get a grip on the Bulldogs and were out played in every aspect of the game. They looked like a team who were just up for a scratch match- not an AFL game. The absence of defender Michael Johnson and big man Aaron Sandilands should be no excuse for the poor form, the team cannot be so reliant on one or two players.

I still have NO idea how Zac Dawson continues to get a game but he needs to step up and be the defender that Ross Lyon seems to think he is. Fyfe was kept out of the game and he will continue to be tagged and targeted all season so Freo need to come up with a plan to free him up to let loose and cause havoc around the ground.

The only thing that the Fremantle Dockers should take away from that game is how NOT to play, and I hope they can learn from some of their mistakes- there were a lot of them!

Ok, let’s all try and forget about that match now…

On to this week’s game against the Suns. Freo have the home ground advantage, which everyone knows can help to win games. Sandilands is back and I think Johnson will be back too. Johnson is a steadying figure in the back line, which the Dockers clearly lacked last week. Sandilands will hopefully kill it in the ruck and set up the plays for Fyfe, Dave Mundy and Lachie Neale in the midfield.

I want to see Hayden Ballantyne fire up in the forward line and have a good game. His form has been up and down but if he and Michael Walters gel well together they will hopefully be able to get around the Suns defence. They may be small but they are both quick and can produce magic in front of goals.

Suns super star Gary Ablett had an excellent game last week against Essendon and will be looking to continue that form this week- and we all know what he is capable of! Gold Coast have never won a game at Domain Stadium and I am hoping that trend continues after this weekend.

Fremantle have not lost the first two games of a season since 2009 and Ross Lyon has NEVER lost the first two games of a season as head coach- with St Kilda or Fremantle. My fingers and toes are crossed that this will not be the season that ends that streak for Ross…

I think Freo will have gotten their butts kicked after last week’s game and they have a lot to make up for in round 2.

For that reason, plus the home ground advantage, I am tipping the Fremantle Dockers to win by 12 points.

Let us know your #AFLFreoSuns prediction at @TweetPerth @EmmaLianaPayne