The Dockers booted five goals while keeping the Swans goalless in the final term at the SCG to snatch a spot in their second AFL grand final
Thanks a lot for following along. What a game – at least for Dockers fans, and dare I say the neutrals too. We’ll be back tomorrow to find out which team will face Fremantle in the grand final next week. For now, catch up on the match report …
Shai Bolton helped turn the game as Justin Longmuir and the Dockers pushed him deeper forward. The livewire speaks to Channel Seven as he begins to dream about being one of the first Dockers to win an AFL premiership.
Oh mate, it’ll be crazy. I grew up supporting Freo and that was why I wanted to come back home and to win our first is going to be crazy.
Andy [Brayshaw], he wrote us a letter on our locker and says, ‘the first boys to win a premiership would be immortal’. So yeah, I can’t wait to get there and just super excited.
Fremantle captain Alex Pearce is ecstatic as he speaks to Channel Seven about the Dockers reaching a grand final.
It’s something we’ve all thought lot about. Thinking about it doesn’t make it happen though. Playing free like we did in that last quarter, that’s what won it for us. So yeah we’ll do what we normally do.
We’ll review this game, look the good stuff, look the bad, connect together and go again and try and play like that because that was special in the end.
The Dockers won the inside 50 count 23-6, clearances 12-5 and contested possessions 49-27 to turn the game in the final term. They kicked 5.4 to 0.1 after the last change in a comeback.
The Dockers have come from the clouds in the final to overrun the Swans and earn a spot in their second AFL grand final.
Q4: 1 min remaining: Sydney 10.11.71 – Fremantle 12.10.82
Tom Papley has one last chance to give the Swans a sniff. But his shot crashes into the post.
Q4: 1 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 12.10.82
The Dockers surge the ball forward. A handpass to Dudley allows the speed demon to sprint to the goalline and put the Dockers into their second ever grand final
Q4: 2 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
The Swans can’t find a way out of their defensive half. And the Dockers are looking to slow the play down with a grand final spot int their sights.
Q4: 3 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
The Dockers win the stoppage in their defensive 50 and slowly move the ball forward. More stoppages in their attacking 50 help them manage the clock.
Q4: 4 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
The Swans surge the ball into their forward half but Tom Papley scuffs the kick and two Dockers are able to lock it in.
Q4: 5 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
Andrew Brayshaw wins the ball back in the centre square and finds Josh Treacy outside the arc. The forward picks out Dudley closer to goal but he mistimes the set shot from 40m and fails to even score. Any score would have been handy.
Q4: 6 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
The Swans defence is defending with all their might as the Dockers keep pushing and pushing. Twice they win the ball back but have no one to kick to on the wing.
Q4: 7 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
Murphy Reid picks out Josh Treacy 30m out and directly in front. The forward has had a dirty night but gets hands to this one as Tom McCartin comes back with the flight and brushes the arms. If it isn’t a mark, it’s a free kick. But the umpires see it another way and the Swans eventually clear.
Q4: 8 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
The Swans lock the ball forward for a couple of throw-ins and a ball-up. But the Dockers have edged the stoppages throughout and move the ball safely out of defence. How this game has swung.
Q4: 9 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.10.76
The Dockers win the centre clearance – no surprise there as that makes it 12-5 tonight. Fredericks gathers a bouncing ball in the pocket but the snap drifts the wrong side of the near post.
Q4: 10 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 11.9.75
The Swans are the team looking for answers as they struggle to find a way past the middle of the SCG as the Dockers set up an old fashioned wall. Wicks beats Fredericks and bombs clear for McDonald to mark but the ball had sailed out of bounds. Mason Cox takes a large grab on the lead, kicks and sets off in celebration. The Dockers lead for the first time since early in the first term.
Q4: 11 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 10.9.69
Shai Bolton outmuscles Sam Wicks deep in the forward pocket. The Dockers livewire kicks and lets his opponent know all about it.
Q4: 12 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 9.9.63
A throw-in deep in the Dockers forward pocket and a quick kick off the ground drifts the wrong side of the behind post. Every score counts now.
Q4: 13 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 9.9.63
The Swans are under siege and running out of petrol tickets. But the Dockers are still to make them pay despite locking the ball forward for a good five minutes.
Q4: 14 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 9.9.63
Frederick streams forward in space on the wing but his kick to Amiss is punched clear. The Dockers have numbers once the ball hits the deck and ends up in Frederick’s hands but his snap doesn’t have enough on it.
Q4: 15 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 9.9.63
The Dockers lock the ball in their forward half but the long kicks to a pack inside 50 just aren’t getting the job done.
Q4: 16 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 9.9.63
The Dockers press forward again and Voss finds space to float in a snap for a behind. But the premiers aren’t done yet as they win the ball back on the wing and Bolton has time to snap from the pocket. A pair of Swans defenders are on the line to knock the ball through. But signs of fatigue are starting to show.
Q4: 17 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 9.7.61
The Dockers bounce off half-back with some smooth ball handling. Bolton spills a mark running with the flight of the ball inside 50 but the ball ends up with Voss running around the boundary. A large fend off opens up a path for Voss to finish with a checkside on the run. That’s a couple of large teamlifting goals as the Dockers are on the charge.
Q4: 18 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 8.7.55
The Dockers win the ball back on the wing and Bolton earns a free kick as he is taken out in a marking contest. The livewire has been relatively quiet tonight but he nails the set shot from outside the arc. Game on!
Q4: 19 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 7.7.49
Josh Treacy takes out Errol Gulden has he releases a kick from the back pocket. Play on is the call and rightly so.
The Swans or Dockers are in place and ready to rock …
The Swans have got more out of their forwards though Logan McDonald is their only multiple goalkicker with three, while Luke Jackson has a couple for the Dockers.
Errol Gulden has once again stepped up in the absence of some of his notable teammates with 27 disposals, five clearances and 652 metres gained. Jai Serong (20, 5, 449) has continued his first season while the Swans tackling machine James Rowbottom has helped set the tone.
Hayden Young (20, 4) could be the player to turn the Dockers’ hopes around, along with Jackson, while Caleb Serong (21, 7) has been around the stoppages.
The Swans extend their lead as they have done in each of the three terms. But Hayden Young reduces the damage with a mark just inside 50m and the right side of the boundary that sails through for a goal. That was just what the Dockers needed to take some belief into the final term.
Q3: 1 min remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 6.7.43
McInerney fumbles a mark and the Dockers rebound at pace to find Patrick Voss tracking back inside 50. The forward slices his set shot for a behind when the Dockers (and neutral fans) needed him to own the moments.
Q3: 3 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 6.6.42
The Dockers can get the ball in their hands between the arcs but lack the overlap run to open up the Swans even with one term still to come.
Q3: 4 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 6.6.42
The Dockers control the ball along the wing while the Swans close all viable avenues forward. The premiers are running out of time to kick the one or two goals that might give them momentum heading into the final term.
Q3: 6 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 6.6.42
Jackson fights for front spot with great intent but after one, two, three grabs at the ball he fails to take the mark across half-back. It hasn’t been the Dockers ruck’s night but he has about 35 minutes to make amends.
Q3: 7 mins remaining: Sydney 10.10.70 – Fremantle 6.6.42
Curnow marks on the lead as the Dockers are too slow to get back to clog up the space near the pocket. The spearhead’s shot misses to the near side. But the Dockers are hanging on now.
Q3: 8 mins remaining: Sydney 10.9.69 – Fremantle 6.6.42
Charlie Curnow outmuscles Oscar McDonald in the goalsquare but after doing all the hard work he fails to hang on to the mark.
Q3: 9 mins remaining: Sydney 10.9.69 – Fremantle 6.6.42
The Dockers are back searching for a target inside 50. But yet again their chances go begging as the Swans win the ball back a little too.
Q3: 10 mins remaining: Sydney 10.9.69 – Fremantle 6.6.42
Charlie Curnow steams out on a lead and takes a large grab in front of Oscar McDonald. The Coleman medallist kicks from a tight angle, and the Swans have extended their half-time lead.