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If you listened closely at Patersons Stadium late on Saturday night, you could almost hear it.
Amid the sighs of disappointment of another season realistically coming to nought, was the sound of the mythical premiership window not slamming shut, but slowly closing even further.
Just how far ajar it now remains may depend on how coach Ross Lyon shops during the off season.
For the Dockers and Lyon, this was supposed to be their season. After all, as the saying goes, you have to lose a grand final to win one – well they served their apprenticeship last year. With that experience, this was now their time.
But it wasn’t.
Lyon knows as well as most how quickly the window can close. At St Kilda in 2009 they were grand finalists. Again the year later they made the decider, and the replay after the first attempt ended in a draw. But by 2011 they slid to making up the numbers in the eight, and that slide was complete this season when they won the wooden spoon.
It’s been well documented that Fremantle have the oldest list in the AFL. It’s also known that key defender Luke McPharlin may decide to pull the pin right now, and veterans Matthew Pavlich and Aaron Sandilands – both vital cogs in the Dockers machine – are year-to-year prospects. As we all know – having seen it so often – once you hit the other side of 30, the end can often come quicker than you expect.
It was not surprising Lyon rejected claims the window was closed.
He said he was confident they will be there again, that they were about “sustained success” and the club would do whatever it took to improve – through the draft, free agency, and the trade period.
The Dockers have plenty of quality and plenty of potential leaders among their list, and I’m sure they will again visit the eight next season, but they missed a good opportunity this season. Going into the finals, most people thought there were only three live chances: Hawthorn, Sydney, and the Dockers. I don’t know if we’ll be saying the same thing about the Dockers as we head into September in 2015.
Regardless of Fremantle’s performance, credit where it is due to Port Adelaide. To persevere when it seemed the Dockers had them on toast, and then to go on with the job once they did take the lead, was meritorious
They might be young, but the likes of Ollie Wines and Chad Wingard have shown they are ready-made for finals footy.
When you add to the experienced heads in the Port line-up and that talented middle level of players, you can see why they are having success.
Can they continue the fairytale run? I’d imagine most footy fans whose teams are no longer playing in 2014 – with perhaps the exception of Crows supporters – would love to see the dream continue. But I can’t see it.
Hawthorn, lying in wait for their prey, won’t be as generous as the Dockers were. The Hawks can, and I expect will, be ruthless, and march on for a shot at back-to-back premierships.
On the other side of the draw, the Kangaroos also have been living the dream, but I also think that will come to an end this week. I can’t see anything but a comfortable Swans win in Sydney, setting up the grand final most anticipated, with the two best teams of the season, Sydney and Hawthorn.
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