Roar Guru
Fremantle remain at the top of the AFL ladder with a 42 point win over Carlton at Domain Stadium on Saturday night.
FREMANTLE 13 17 95
CARLTON 8 5 53
In a match that was tight for three quarters, Fremantle would kick away in the last quarter, and keep the Blues scoreless to record the win.
Early on it was the Blues who kicked the first two goals of the match, to give themselves a 12 point lead.
>>MATCH REPORT: Mayne kicks four as Dockers beat Blues
Fremantle would respond though, kicking six of the next seven goals, and lead by 18 points at quarter time.
Matt Pavlich kicked two goals, with David Mundy and Chris Mayne also getting on the goal-scorers list.
They increased it to 24 points early in the second term, before Carlton responded.
Two goals, including a running goal to Simon White, reduced the margin to 12 midway through the term.
To the Blues credit, they wonn the term with gritty football and had the margin down to at 15 points at half time.
That would be as close as they got however, as Fremantle kicked away in the second half.
They kicked the first two goals, and then wasted chances, as the margin extended to 28 points during the term.
Carlton reduced the margin to 21 points, with two great Tom Bell goals, but Fremantle ran away with the game in the final term.
It was the Michael Walters show as rain started to fall at the stadium. He took two mark of the year contenders, and kicked a great snap at goal, as the Dockers kicked away.
Despite being inaccurate – they kicked 2.9 – they were able to almost kick 100 points, and win by 42.
Carlton were kept scoreless in the final term.
Chris Mayne starred for Fremantle with 4 goals, with Lachie Neale getting 31 disposals.
Ed Curnow collected 32 disposals for Carlton with Tom Bell kicking two goals.
Fremantle will now travel to the MCG to face the Tigers on Saturday. Carlton face the in-form Hawks in what will be a tough encounter.
The Fremantle Dockers will be looking to bounce back from a loss to the defending premier’s last week when they face the Carlton Blues at Domain Stadium on Saturday night. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 7:40pm AEST.
To put it simply, the Dockers were smashed by Hawthorn last week. It was a big dose of reality for the team who had lost just one game before that.
They were beaten at the contest and couldn’t stop the vast scoring options the Hawks had.
The Dockers were also kept to just one goal in the first half and had their worst loss in almost two years of football.
Ross Lyon will be expecting them to come back, and make a statement, against the Blues tonight.
The Blues also have plenty to play for after losing last week to Richmond by 30 points. After starting AFL life well with new coach, John Barker, they will be hoping to avoid a slide and end the season on a high.
Playing well against Fremantle will be vital. They have made three changes from that loss with Richmond, with Sam Rowe, Bradley Walsh, and Sam Docherty in for the team.
Out is Bryce Gibbs, Dennis Armfield, and Cameron Wood.
Fremantle, after their smashing, have also made big changes. Out is Paul Duffield, Clancee Pearce, Tendai Mzungu, and Zak Clarke.
In comes Jonathon Griffin, Cameron Sutcliffe, Hayden Crozier, and Matt Taberner.
Carlton actually have a pretty good record against Fremantle in Perth, having won three of the last five matches there.
Last year they lost by just five points after leading into the final change. Inaccuracy cost them dearly as Dale Thomas had one of his best games for the club in the loss.
They have no fear of Domain Stadium and won’t be intimidated by the matchup, so this will be closer than people think.
With Fremantle not scoring well in the last few weeks, Carlton could get into the match if their tall forwards find form.
Levi Casboult and Lachie Henderson could provide Freo with trouble if they can get enough of the ball tonight.
Fremantle should win the match, based on form and ladder position, but don’t be surprised if this match is close for the majority of it.
Prediction: Fremantle by 18 points.