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Fremantle go into one of the most important games of the year this Sunday, taking on premiers Hawthorn in a grand final rematch.
Coming off a painful two-point defeat last week, as a David Mundy miss gave the Geelong Football Club a remarkable victory up in the west, a win for the Dockers this week against the reigning premiers in Hawthorn is almost a necessity.
The Dockers are a force to be reckoned with, but after losses to Geelong and St. Kilda, as well as a very close win against Carlton, they need a win against Hawthorn not only to show that they are a credible team for this year’s grand final, but that they actually have a shot at winning it for the first time in their illustrious history.
Fremantle have been in the competition for close to 20 years now, and last year was the closest they have come to premiership glory. But after a heartbreaking loss, while many of their stars disappeared on the day, they were forced to watch Hawthorn hoist the cup above their heads.
Ross Lyon and his troops could only look on and ask themselves, what if?
Fremantle should be a serious contender for the premiership this year, and should not be nearly one loss out of the top four.
A team whom boasts a midfield of Michael Barlow and Nat Fyfe, while having the tallest ruckman in the country at your disposal in Aaron Sandilands should not be dealt with lightly.
A forward line of Matthew Pavlich, Hayden Ballantyne and Kepler Bradley is also handy, as well as a solid defence of Ryan Crowley, Tendai Mzungu and Zac Clarke.
This is a team that also has one of the best coaches in the league in Ross Lyon, who in his own right was horribly unlucky to not have at least one premiership after going to three grand final appearances with the St. Kilda Football Club.
This is a football club that should be competing with Hawthorn for the top spot on the ladder, not fighting to stay in the eight.
The Dockers have lost some legitimacy from their top four rivals, and if clubs such as Carlton, who themselves have been under enormous scrutiny, can arrive in the West and get as close as they did, what do you think a super-drilled team like the Hawks can do to Fremantle?
Fremantle are enormously better as a football club than they’ve shown in the past three weeks.
A win this week against the Hawks would be huge, as it shows that they still are a legitimate contender for the premiership, and they are able to knock off last year’s premiers, and this year’s favourites.
It would also re-establish Patersons Stadium as a fortress, and skyrocket the players confidence levels.
A loss, though, would be disastrous. The confidence levels would drop once again, the Hawks go 3-0 against Fremantle and the scrutiny would intensify even further.
This coming Sunday will answer questions about the Fremantle Dockers.
And it may just reveal one more piece in the puzzle that is the 2014 AFL Premiership.
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