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The Fremantle Dockers will be hoping they can come away with back-to-back wins today as they take on Melbourne at Etihad Stadium. We’ll have live scoring plus live commentary throughout the afternoon.
Today is a key moment for the Dockers as they continue their quest for an unlikely finals spot. Their run over the next couple of means they’re a good chance to be ten wins and seven losses with five games to go in the season.
It’s a game that they would win and win comfortably if it was Patersons Stadium. So the question is a simple one: can they win on the road?
The away record for Freo has always been a concern. However in their last two genuine road trips (both to the MCG) they were able to get a come-from-behind win against Richmond, while push Collingwood and keep the scoreboard against the top team respectable.
Matthew Pavlich is playing out of his skin of late – 20 goals from his last four games is testament to the dominance of this guy on the footy field. It gets forgotten how good this guy is when he plays on the other side of the country.
While Jon Griffin has done very well stepping into the big shoes of Aaron Sandilands in the ruck, getting some good assistance from Matt de Boer and Michael Barlow.
We know the woes of Melbourne in season 2012. It’s a time for them to finish off on a positive note, and for them it starts today.
Fremantle’s record at Etihad Stadium since mid-2010 has been deplorable with just one win (coming Round 4 this year against St Kilda) from their last seven. So in all reality, this could be a winnable game for a Dockers line-up that has been nowhere near their potential.
But I’ve got bad news for Demons fans – it’s been even longer since a win at Etihad for the red and blue. Round 19 2007 was the last win here against the Western Bulldogs. That equates to 12 losses with an average losing margin of 44 points.
The only positive is that Melbourne is two wins from two matches at Etihad Stadium against Fremantle. But they were back in 2000 and 2001 when the club was going okay, and Fremantle were on struggle street.
Today they’ve made a total five changes, including Brad Green and Ricky Petterd’s returns as well as ruckman Mark Jamar.
They’ve had some more bad news during the week with Aaron Davey gone for the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his right foot. He could have been an important inclusion in the last few games of the season to give the young Demons some run and carry through the middle.
But this gives recently elevated rookie Tom Couch a chance to shine on the big stage this afternoon.
Green could be a serious weapon up forward, after kicking a bag in the VFL last week, while Jamar’s return gives Stefan Martin a chance to go into the forward line and be a potent target.
The question though with Melbourne lies with ball use and whether they can improve on past weeks.
They’ve shown glimpses of decent footy. However, they have been few and far between and nowhere near four-quarter performances. If they can produce close to a full game today, who knows…
Join us from 1:45pm AEST for what is another season defining game for Freo. It’s Melbourne versus Fremantle from Etihad Stadium. Make sure you have your say on who you think will win and if you’re watching along with us, add your thoughts to the game.
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