Well, my spidey sense has been a little off lately when it comes to the Fremantle Dockers…
However, this week could be the week that Freo get their first win! (Wishful thinking…) The Fremantle Dockers have been improving from week to week and a home ground advantage against Richmond may be just what they need to get over the line and nab the 4 points. (I had a dream the other night that the Dockers beat Melbourne… They don’t play Melbourne for another few weeks but I’m hoping it was a premonition!)
Round 9. How fast has it come around?! I have heard that big man Aaron Sandilands may return in about three weeks, what a treat that will be! Although, if we look at Freo’s current position and consider this season as basically a write-off, I don’t think any of the injured players should be rushing to return. I would rather them take the extra time and ensure they are fit and healthy, instead of pushing to come back.
Fremantle Dockers have lost another experienced player due to injury this week, midfield speedster Stephen Hill, who has been ruled out with an adductor concern. The Dockers just can’t seem to catch a break on the injury front. Matthew Pavlich is back in the side this week (yay), along with Zac Dawson (no comment) and Tom Sheridan. Clancee Pearce plays his 100th AFL game this weekend, hopefully he makes it a good one!
Richmond have a fairly solid defensive set-up starring Alex Rance, who is one of the highest ranked key defenders in the competition, and he will no doubt get the job on Matty Pavlich. The Dockers are going to have to find a way to prevent Richmond’s Brett Deledio and Dustin Martin from getting too much of the ball if they want to keep the Tigers at bay.
Both sides have struggled with turnover’s and unforced errors this season, so if Fremantle Dockers can focus on making sure each possession is successful, they should be able to move the ball smoothly into their forward 50. Side note: Freo’s Matt De Boer and Michael Barlow played for Peel Thunder in the WAFL last weekend and they both finished with 39 disposals each, and yet Peel Thunder still lost the game! It just shows that disposals mean nothing unless they are effective. I don’t want to see any pointless hand-balling or kicking backwards this week!
I feel like Freo have been creating a build up over the past few weeks to a possible win, so I am going to tip Fremantle Dockers to beat Richmond by 8 points, and hope that this week is the week!
Let us know your #AFLFreoTigers predictions at @TweetPerth @EmmaLianaPayne
