I’m still buzzing from Fremantle’s win over the Bombers at Optus Stadium last week!
The Fremantle Dockers come into round 3 on a high, defeating the Bombers by 16 points last week at Optus Stadium. A perfect way to christen their new home ground! Matt Taberner finished with four goals, while David Mundy, debutant Adam Cerra and Ed Langdon finished with two goals each. Connor Blakely had a great game and managed a game high 30 disposals. I was so impressed with Fremantle’s defenders, Alex Pearce, Luke Ryan and Nathan Wilson were all on fire! Very positive signs for the Dockers going forward this season.
The Fremantle Dockers take on the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday at Optus Stadium for the Starlight Purple Haze game. The Suns head to Perth on the back of a 34-point victory over the Blues, with Tom Lynch very much to thank as he finished with an incredible eight goals! They have made one change to their line-up for this weekend, with the inclusion of Pearce Hanley to replace a suspended Jack Bowes. Ex-Docker Lachie Weller (I miss him!) plays his 50th AFL game this week and David Swallow plays his 100th.
Only one change for the Fremantle Dockers this week too. Brad Hill hurt his knee in the Essendon game, and it looked quite serious when it happened. He spent a little time on the bench and then returned to the field and ran out the remainder of the game. Unfortunately, the injury has obviously caught up with him. He will miss this week against the Suns, while Tom Sheridan has been included into the squad to play his first game of the season.
Metricon Stadium will be hosting the Commonwealth Games this week instead of this clash, so Saturday’s game at Optus Stadium is actually a Suns home game. It’s a shame that this Starlight Purple Haze game falls on a weekend that is not a home game for the Freo fans… I really hope that everyone attending the game still dresses in purple and donates to the Starlight Children’s Foundation, volunteers for the foundation will be located around the ground throughout the day.
Prior to last weekend, Essendon’s Joe Daniher had scored at least one goal a game for his last 40 games. And then he met ALEX PEARCE! In Alex’s second game back in the AFL, after spending 672 days on the sidelines with injury, he kept Daniher goalless for the game and really stood out in the backline for Freo. I’m confident that he will stand up again this weekend, and if Gold Coast’s Tom Lynch thinks he is going to kick another eight goals this weekend, I think Pearce will bring Lynch back down to earth!
I’m tipping the Fremantle Dockers to beat Gold Coast by 20 points!
Let us know your #AFLSunsFreo predictions at @TweetPerth and @EmmaPaynes
Photo cred: @freodockers
