Fremantle are set to finish their season this Sunday, at Etihad Stadium, in 14th position on the ladder with a record of 8-14.
It actually makes them look better than they are, having only averaged 10.3 goals a game – the lowest average in the league.
The Lions and Kangaroos may be battling it out to decide who finishes last, but both clubs average three goals more than the Dockers.
In Round 12 this season, the Brisbane Lions smashed the Dockers at the Gabba by 57 points in a match where the Lions had 121 more disposals, 22 more inside 50s, 13 more shots on goals and 18 more clearances.
While the Dockers beat the Kangaroos twice this season, in Round 5 by four points and Round 16 by five points, we all know the Kangaroos outplayed the Dockers for most of both games and it took a little bit of luck for Freo to get the wins.
In Round 5 the Kangaroos lead by as much as 29 points in the third quarter but surprisingly, not only did a heroic snap by Shane Kersten put Freo up with only seconds to go, the Dockers side also had 21 more disposals than the Roos and five more inside 50s. The Dockers also had five more scoring shots and seven more clearances.
In Round 16 the Dockers had outdone the Kangaroos all game until the last quarter, where North hit the lead until debutant Ryan Nyhuis kicked his fourth goal of the game and then veteran ruckman Todd Goldstein missed a set shot.
We’ll get back how important the Kangaroos-Dockers matches are, but as we know this Fremantle side have had four big smashings this season coming from Port Adelaide, Adelaide, Sydney and Richmond.
In the context of where the Dockers were before the Round 12 match against Brisbane, the club was 6-5 and the Freo faithful were talking about finals.
In my opinion, the 57-point loss to the Lions was worse than any of the big four smashings. The Dockers started to believe their own hype and they had what I call ‘false hope’.
A David Mundy goal after siren against the Tigers early in the season, another early win over the Demons with a Cam McCarthy goal, coupled with the two Kangaroos matches had given this false hope to the Fremantle.
The club honestly believed they were better than they were.
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If Fremantle had not won the earlier games against the Kangaroos, Tigers and Demons, they would have gone into the Brisbane match 3-8, placed in the bottom four – a position which actually would have reflected where the club was at that time in the season.
Instead, the Dockers were 6-5 and in the eight.
This season, the Dockers will be the first team to lose three games by 100 points or more in a season since GWS in their inaugural season in 2012.
The only positive comparison of the Giants in 2012 to Freo in 2017 is the Dockers average 1.3 more goals a match.
So are the Dockers so bad that they’re really the same level as the Giants in 2012? We all know how bad they were but look at the Giants now. Are the dockers on the track to be what the Giants are now in 2020?
Who knows?
But while the Kangaroos and Lions battle it out for the wooden spoon on Saturday, they don’t deserve this year because the Dockers have truly been the worst team in the league.
Some will say that they are lucky, but are they?
If it wasn’t for those four goals – against the Kangaroos twice, Richmond and Melbourne – Fremantle could be getting pick one in the draft and getting the best player available. If it goes the way the experts are saying, the Kangaroos will get the spoon and also the pick the Dockers must now be frustrated they’re not getting.
The question for next season is will the Dockers improve?
Considering they should really be finishing with four wins, is five wins next season a pass mark for them? Will Ross Lyon have a job at the end of 2018 season? Fremantle need to answer a lot of questions and the only way they can do that is with results.
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