Brisbane threw a lot at Fremantle, but the visitors had all the answers. The Dockers are now a team with the best and most even spread of talent, capable of winning in a dozen different ways. Their impressive three-month streak has given them a whiff of history.
A trip to the Gabba is no picnic, and bookmakers installed Brisbane as favourites. Fremantle had been up for a long time, were flying across the country, missing key players, and facing a proud opponent. Yet the Lions tried control, chaos, short kicks, long bombs, and contested play, but Fremantle outclassed them. The final margin did not do justice to their dominance.
The Dockers are a hard-working, well-structured team that use propulsive handball and turn games into running races. Few teams get more value from their bottom six players. Their three tall forwards—Josh Treacy, Patrick Voss, and Jye Amiss—complement each other perfectly and have combined for 78 goals this season.
Being this good at the halfway point can be perilous, but Fremantle's draw opens up. They won't leave Western Australia until early July, and remaining away trips are mostly against bottom-third teams. The club has built its list without father-son picks, academy selections, or free agents, nailing high, mid-range, and speculative picks, and unearthing gems from the rookie draft and discarded players.
Journalist Matt Price once wrote that supporting Fremantle represents simple, honourable values: humour, loyalty, persistence, patience, and an antidote to instant gratification. Price died in 2011, but he would have loved this team—one that is no longer a joke but a genuine contender.
