Has Fremantle hit form at the right moment? Has the Ross Lyon gamble paid off? The Dockers are currently sitting in ninth on the AFL ladder, missing out on that top eight spot by just one percent.
If Fremantle can produce an upset over the Adelaide Crows on Saturday at Footy Park, surely they will make the eight by the end of the weekend.
Eighth spot belongs to Essendon, who has been in a slump for a while – their last win coming from a win at AAMI against a then Matthew Primus coached Port Adelaide.
A lot has changed since then, and not just in the coaches box. The Dockers have won their last five matches, with two being away from Patersons Stadium.
Matthew Pavlich will be looking to continue to add to his list of goals, after his bag of eight against West Coast in the derby last week and expand his lead in the Coleman Medal race ahead of Drew Petrie from North.
Their opponents this week, however, will not be as easy as West Coast. This week they will come up against the in-form team of the year Adelaide at their fortress otherwise known as AAMI.
The road ahead doesn’t get much easier, as they face a nothing to lose Richmond, a giant killing North Melbourne away at Etihad Stadium, and a Melbourne side that will be looking to get a win in their last match to put some pride back into the jumper and give the members and supporters something to hold onto until next season.
As tough as the road ahead looks for the Dockers, they have a very good chance to make the top eight and make a finals appearance after last year’s absence from September.
If I was a betting man, I would be strongly inclined to back the boys from the west to make September.
rory_s
Roar Rookie
The Dons are most likely to lose against the Roos, so the Dockers should slip in there and proabaly stay there for the week. A win away from Perth is a pretty hard task to accomplish. The Dockers have a good run into the finals to build some confidence, momentum and experience. If they do make finals, they should make it past the first round.
ChrisCantatore
Roar Rookie
If Fremantle beat Adelaide this week they will go into the top 8. North Melbourne and Essendon are tied with the Dockers on 44 points and they play each other on Sunday, so regardless of the outcome, if Fremantle win they are in for now. Not sure the Crows have been the in-form team of the year. A case could be made for the Swans. Aside from West Coast, the Dockers have beaten the Western Bulldogs (home), Melbourne (away), GWS (home), Port Adelaide (away)- those game are good momentum and confidence builders against sides they were expected to beat but they don't show if Fremantle have flicked the switch. The win agaisnt the Eagles was the start, a win this week and Fremantle are going to be a fast rising team. In fact, if they get up this week I could see them winning their remaining 3 with the game against North Melbourne being the clincher into September. The last game Fremantle lost was against Collingwood- and after a slow start, the Docker showed some resolve and makings of a team on the rise even though they lost. This last half of the season has given them something to build on, if it's not this year then 2013 should be a good one!