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Fremantle have emerged from the opening month of the AFL season as the league’s top team, standing alone without a loss and doing so with two wins against premiership contenders.
Could this be the year Ross Lyon finally goes all the way in September?
There are a few reasons to get excited. And one pretty obvious reason not to: It’s early days.
If anything, this could be a dangerous time of year to be finding form – it could instil complacency, rendering them underprepared for the inevitable charge of rivals later in the season.
But for now, credit needs to go to the Dockers. Out of the teams that made up most people’s predicted top four – Hawthorn, Sydney Swans, Port Adelaide and Fremantle – they were the ones on the outer.
Those predicting a shake-up of that particular four were typically leaving the Dockers out.
That’s now changed. Indeed, the Dockers sit atop not just the real ladder but a certain four-team ladder that could quite possibly be studied very closely as the season rolls on:
This ladder will be worth keeping an eye on. Games involving the four clubs most expect to see action toward the pointy end of September will become the key focus.
Last week against the Swans, there was plenty to like for the Dockers.
The ball was in Fremantle’s forward half for only 42 per cent of the match.
Even as they built a commanding 48-point half time lead, the inside 50s were dead even – both sides had an equal number of entries from which to score.
By game’s end, Sydney would win the inside 50 count by eight.
But Freo soaked up that forward half pressure and spat out those inside 50s, and did it effectively.
Their rebound 50 leaders were Clancee Pearce (six), Michael Johnson and Lee Spurr (five), Garrick Ibbotson and Stephen Hill (four) and Luke McPharlin (three).
The scary part? All bar one of these players had a disposal efficiency of 83 per cent or more. Spurr and McPharlin were north of 90 per cent.
The Dockers have all the hallmarks of a well-oiled defensive machine. If there aren’t any further injury interruptions beyond Zac Dawson, who’s due back soon, and Alex Silvagni, who re-injured his hamstring last weekend, they could already possess the foundation for a serious flag tilt.
We all know that Ross Lyon and defence are synonymous with one another.
But the nature of that defensive dominance has shifted. In 2009, the Lyon-coached St Kilda averaged 10 more tackles than their opponents, the best in the league.
In 2015, Freo are currently last in the ranking, averaging 10.8 less tackles than their opponents. Lyon even told Perth radio the team hardly practices tackling.
In place of constant pressure by tackling, Lyon oversees a team that simply knows how to defend – and can remain calm once that defending pays off.
That puts them in good stead for the pressure-cooker games later in the year.
Yes, that didn’t necessarily come to the fore last season, when the side was knocked out of the finals in straight sets, but the absences of McPharlin, Pearce and Johnson tells a story there.
We can see a noticeable difference now that those players are back.
Looking ahead, Freo don’t face a member of the already-anointed top four until Round 16, a date with Hawthorn in Launceston.
There are some challenges between now and then – notably from teams looking to upset any notion the top four is locked in – but the Dockers should be in a good position at the two-thirds mark of the season.
Indeed, there’s no reason why that can’t continue their dominance. They don’t play Sydney or Hawthorn again after that and a return battle with Port Adelaide isn’t until Round 23.
Right now, they are your safest bet for minor premiers.