Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said his team had nothing to prove earlier in the week.
Well, they just proved they have courage, they just proved they have skill, they just proved they can beat anyone. They also proved they never give up, and they just proved they can overcome the challenge of three six-day breaks in a row.
Teams don’t win when handed three consecutive six-day breaks. It’s considered Mission Impossible. So when you trail Hawthorn by 19 points during the final quarter, you’re facing the challenge of every movie in the entire series.
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Fremantle had already proven they could win from behind. But not like this.
The game looked over when Jack Gunston kicked his sixth goal midway through the term.
But the Dockers said hell no and kicked five unanswered goals to win 12.16 (88) to 11.7 (73) at Optus Stadium to record their eighth straight win and momentarily sit atop the AFL ladder.
Their finish was extraordinary, Josh Treacy kicked a goal to give them a chance, then Michael Frederick kicked the goal to bring Wharfie Time.
They believed Hayden Young produced an extraordinary effort of courage to bring the ball to ground and Amiss kicked his third to put Fremantle in front.
Jye Amiss. Credit: Iain Gillespie/The West Australian
And if you want an example of what Fremantle can do: Luke Jackson threw himself over Jai Newcombe’s boot, smothered the footy, the Dockers went forward and Frederick kicked another. It was truly unbelievable.
All that was needed now was for someone to kick the sealer, and Hayden Young stepped up again.
This was a win for the ages. This is the win that will have airlines demanding even more money to fly to Melbourne in grand final week. It was the win that put the league on notice.
It was a win that will have every Fremantle player believing anything is possible.
Teams haven’t been able to beat Fremantle with a range of modern tactics this season, so Sam Mitchell played a card from Hawthorn’s playbook in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
Not only was he playing deep, the Hawks pushed everyone else up the field and gave him the sort of space we rarely see in modern footy. Luke Ryan’s head was spinning. Defenders are never one-out like that.
Gunston took five marks in the first term and kicked 2.2. It could have been worse because one of Gunston’s behinds was originally signalled as a goal before a review showed the ball hit the post.
Jack Gunston Credit: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos/AFL Photos via Getty Images
Fremantle then asked Brennan Cox to take over the job but he had just as many problems.
First Cox got caught by Nick Watson and was penalised for holding the ball. Watson kicked the goal. Then Gunston booted three goals in five minutes.
He took a clever contested mark from a centre clearance, then set up another on a lead and when Cox stood in front of him, Gunston used the space behind him to take another grab.
Eight disposals, eight marks and five goals. That’s called tearing the game apart.
Watson was wreaking havoc too. He had three goals from only seven touches. Every time he got near the footy, it felt like something magical was about to happen.
Hawthorn led by 15 points at half-time and the only thing that mattered for Fremantle was finding a way to stop the dynamic duo.
Brennan Cox Credit: Janelle St Pierre/AFL Photos/via Getty Images
Fremantle had six individual goalkickers and they also missed several set shots they would usually kick.
The Dockers won clearances, took the game on, the tackled aggressively and their key forwards looked imposing. Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw had a combined 24 disposals and six clearances so that part of the game was going well.
Cox was doing everything possible to stop Gunston from getting in front of him. At one point, the Fremantle defender was in the centre square when Gunston was 40m from goal.
He forced Gunston to reconsider his tactics. The Hawk briefly left the 50m arc during the third term. That was a win.
The Dockers had only one inside 50 in the first 15 minutes of the third term. But Amiss kicked the goal when they finally got the ball forward, the Dockers now had a multiple goalscorer and the deficit was back to 16 points.
Caleb Serong Credit: Paul Kane/Getty Images
Fremantle’s defenders had a massive focus on getting back in numbers to help Cox. Three flew for the ball late in the third quarter and forced it out of bounds.
Serong had 10 possessions for the third term and was huge.
But Fremantle still trailed by 15 points at the final change and had to find the energy to come from behind on the back of their third six-day break in a row.
Brennan Cox then slipped and hurt his ankle which made him horribly vulnerable on the last line of defence. But in an amazing coincidence, Gunston hurt his leg moments later too and they were both hobbling.
He somehow managed to kick his sixth and seemingly seal victory. But Fremantle said no. This was a win for the ages.
