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The Gold Coast Suns have beaten Fremantle for the second time in this AFL season, taking a 24-point win at Metricon Stadium.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Gold Coast 16.9.105
Fremantle Dockers 12.9.81
» What’s next? Follow our Eagles vs Demons live blog
Both the Fremantle Dockers and the Gold Coast Suns are looking to salvage something from the back end of this season when the do battle this afternoon. Join The Roar from 2:10pm (AEST) for all the live highlights and action.
Considering that 17th and 18th are playing each other this week, it only seems fitting that 15th (Suns) and 16th (Dockers) continue the battle of the bottom sides over the weekend.
After a shocking start to the year that saw them lose their first ten games on the trott, Fremantle struck back and lifted themselves off the bottom of the ladder, piecing together three wins in a row during a mid-season surge.
It was to be short lived, though, and they have lost their last three since then with injuries mounting.
The Suns were in the exact same boat just three weeks ago, holding a 3-10 record, but where the Dockers stumbled, Gold Coast has taken a quick dip in the winner’s circle.
Wins over Brisbane and St Kilda in the last three rounds has seen them open up a slight gap on the Dockers, pushing two games ahead on the table, with a chance of jumping over Carlton by the end of the weekend.
These two sides have already played each other this year, back in Round 2, and it was the Suns who took home the bacon in a high-scoring affair, recording their first ever win against Fremantle.
Team News
The injury problems that have been straining both of these teams all year continue to bite at them, with players being forced to watch on from the stands on both sides.
For the home team, midfielder Aaron Hall has been ruled out for up to three weeks after a hamstring strain at training on Thursday.
Hall joins Gary Ablett (shoulder), Dion Prestia (knee), Michael Rischitelli (knee), David Swallow (knee) and Jaeger O’Meara (knee) on the sidelines, leaving the Suns midfield harshly weakened.
The Hall injury and Mitch Hallahan being dropped opens the door for Matt Rosa and 19-year old Josh Schoenfeld, making his AFL debut.
For the Dockers, Ross Lyon will be without some of his big names this week, after the injury bug walked through Freo.
Despite a gutsy effort last week that saw him play half the match with a swollen face, Hayden Ballantyne will head in for surgery on a fractured cheekbone that will see him miss a fair chunk of the season remaining, if not all of it.
Similarly, Michael Barlow will go under the knife as well in the coming days, with a shoulder injury likely to keep him sidelined for a while.
Veteran Matthew Pavlich has been rested as the final change to this week’s squad, and he’ll get a chance to play his 350th at home next week.
The aforementioned injuries have made way for an inspirational debut for the Dockers this week, with 27-year old Shane Yarran getting his first game just three years after being released from jail and turning his life around.
Prediction
Both sides are limping towards the finish line with injuries and poor form, but a win here could boost either of them towards a strong run at the back end of the season.
They’re fairly evenly matched coming into this one, but the Suns should just sneak the win with home ground advantage.
Gold Coast to win by 14
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