Fremantle make the most of playing at MCG
Fremantle get few chances to play at the home of football, so they know they have to play well when the rare opportunities come.
They did just that against Melbourne yesterday, kicking 10 goals to one after half-time to run away with a convincing 68-point win.
This year the Dockers will play just two home-and-away matches at the MCG for the fourth straight season.
It was a point not lost on the players, least of all wingman Danyle Pearce, who was part of the Dockers side that lost the grand final to Hawthorn there in 2013.
Pearce used the space afforded to him by Melbourne to gather 23 possessions on a day when Fremantle did little wrong.
“This is where finals are played and finals are won, and if you want to be the premier you’ve got to win here,” Pearce said.
“We cherish every opportunity to come here and we’ve got one more through the year (against Richmond in round 15), so we’ll look forward to that.
“We’ll enjoy this win today.”
Fremantle lost captain Matthew Pavlich and livewire forward Michael Walters to concussion before half-time, robbing them of two important avenues to goal.
But they had plenty of other players ready to fill the hole.
Chris Mayne booted four goals for the first time in nearly three years.
Another five Dockers, including Pearce, chimed in with two each.
In total, the Dockers had 10 different goal kickers sharing the load as they broke the 100-point barrier for the third time in five matches this season.
“We were faced with a bit of adversity early with Sonny (Walters) and Pav going down so it was great that we could all chip in and pick up that slack,” Pearce said.
“The midfielders chipped in and Mayney popped up and kicked four and was great presenting down there.
“Tabs (Matt Taberner) was down there kicking goals and Fyfey (Nat Fyfe), so we’ve got to make sure we’ve got players who can step in and fill any role that’s needed.”
Fremantle dominated the contest for most of the day and won every quarter, but had some minor lapses throughout the game.
Some sloppy ball use saw scoring chances go begging, particularly during the second and third quarters.
But the Dockers never dropped their intensity against a Melbourne side they always expected to put up a good fight.
“We watched last week and they were great (against Richmond),” Pearce said.
“It was great to see them up and about and they were (ranked) No.1 in the AFL in tackling, so we knew that they were going to bring a fierce contest.
“We expected it to be really hot early, which it was.
“We just wanted to match the intensity they were going to bring and then continue on for the full four quarters.”
