The “purple patch Dockers” have done it again.
Five goals in 10 minutes during the third quarter amid a stunning period of dominance has lifted Fremantle to a 28-point victory over Port Adelaide.
But the 15.12 (103) to 11.9 (75) victory isn’t one they’ll look back on with much fondness because former Docker Josh Carr coached the Power extremely well to give Fremantle a run for their money.
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There was a feeling of inevitability about the game given Fremantle were on top of the ladder with only two losses and Port Adelaide were stuck in the bottom four.
The Power were missing their captain Connor Rozee, their acting captain Zak Butters, their star midfielder Jason Horne-Francis and their best key forward Mitch Georgiades.
Their injuries were so bad that Kane Farrell withdrew from the game on Friday and then the guy who replaced him, Harrison Ramm, was a late withdrawal on Saturday.
On paper, this was a mismatch, but footy isn’t played on paper and the Power had a massive crack from the start of the game.
While their team was full of players you’d struggled to recognise, Fremantle looked unrecognisable for lathe periods.
Neil Erasmus is tackled Credit: Mark Brake/Getty Images
I doubt you’d be able to name Mitch Zadow if you saw his face on a piece of paper. But the West Aussie kicked the first goal of the game after 30 seconds and he booted three for the day.
Jack Whitlock was giving the Dockers headaches inside 50 and only inaccuracy stopped him from really hurting them on the scoreboard.
Joe Richards isn’t known as a midfielder but his 10 possessions in the first term was more than Caleb Serong and Hayden Young combined. Nobody would have expected Dante Visentini to be the leading goalkicker at quarter time.
The Power laid relentless pressure and that shocked Fremantle.
Port controlled the first quarter and booted five goals but didn’t get reward the ultimate reward for their efforts.
Andrew Brayshaw Credit: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos/AFL Photos via Getty Images
They led by two points at the first change and it would have been more, if not for Young’s snap on the siren being deemed to have occurred before the quarter finished.
Andrew Brayshaw wasn’t using the footy well, Serong couldn’t get his hands on the ball at all, Murphy Reid’s decision making was off and Alex Pearce lacked composure.
You never see Pearce make a mistake on the last line of defence but he failed to rush a behind and Visentini soccered a goal. Pearce was also caught in a tackle and paid the penalty from a holding the ball free kick.
Brayshaw got caught too and complained to the umpire. That’s highly unusual.
Justin Longmuir Credit: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos/AFL Photos via Getty Images
By midway through the second term, the Power led the inside 50 battle 21-13 and the Dockers reacted strangely.
Neil Erasmus had a set shot from 55m. Michael Frederick took a long shot too instead of passing. Reid took advantage after a great Pat Voss tackle but attempted a banana shot from long range and it went straight to Aliir Aliir.
Moments later, Reid sent the ball forward again and he kicked it straight to Aliir for a second time.
Port then kicked two goals before half-time and led by 12 points at the long break.
It was clear that Fremantle had to change. Pearce, Serong and Josh Treacy held a private meeting in the middle of the ground while Brayshaw addressed the rest of the team.
Alex Pearce Credit: James Elsby/AFL Photos/AFL Photos via Getty Images
Something had to change and it did as the Dockers returned to the team that has been unstoppable all season.
Pearce took a courageous mark in the opening minute. That was a captain making a statement.
Erasmus didn’t blaze away when he had the ball at half-forward. He chipped to Luke Jackson and the ruckman took his first mark of the day. Then Jackson nailed the set shot.
Now Port knew they were under pressure again. Aliir kicked the ball straight to Dudley, he passed to Treacy and the Dockers had another.
Scores were level after just five minutes.
Michael Frederick Credit: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos/AFL Photos via Getty Images
Serong got his hands on the ball at the next centre bounce, Amiss kicked his third goal and Fremantle were back in front. This looked like the Dockers we’ve known all season.
Reid somehow got his hands clear in a tackle, Jordan Clark hit Treacy on the chest and the Dockers had four goals in 10 minutes.
And when Frederick kicked their fifth, the Dockers were 19 points in front. They’d had 42 possessions to Port’s 14 in just 13 minutes and kicked five goals to none. It was a stunning change based on returning to the way they’ve played all year.
That was all that was required to put the game to bed. Port fired all of their shots to get themselves into the contest and once the Dockers broke them, they had no chance of getting back.
Fremantle kicked the first two goals of final quarter to break clear by 32 points.
Amiss finished with four goals, Young got through the match injury free and had 20 disposals and the Dockers held Port Adelaide to only three goals in the second half. The result was what we expected. It just needed a purple patch to get there.
SCOREBOARD
FREMANTLE 5.1, 6.6, 12.8, 15.14 (103)
PORT ADELAIDE 5.3, 8.6, 9.7 11.9 (75)
Goals – FREMANTLE: J Amiss 4 J Treacy 3 M Frederick 3 H Young P Voss L Jackson N Erasmus I Dudley.
PORT ADELAIDE: M Zadow 3 D Visentini 2 C Durdin 2 J Whitlock J Richards J Burgoyne J Berry.
Best – FREMANTLE: C Serong J Amiss J Treacy A Brayshaw N Erasmus J Clark.
PORT ADELAIDE: J Richards J Burgoyne O Wines M Bergman A Aliir.
Injuries – FREMANTLE: J O’Meara (ankle).
Umpires: C Jones C Deboy T Bryce P Bailes. Crowd: 28,727 at Adelaide Oval.
