The outside chance of a home qualifying final will be driving Fremantle as they come into their final tune-up before the finals begin. Today they take on St Kilda at Etihad Stadium. Live scores and commentary kicks off from 1.45pm AEST.
For just the second time in the club’s short history, the Fremantle Dockers have found themselves making the top four and giving themselves the double chance.
But if things are able to go their way, they could even move into the top two and firm their chances of a premiership.
A lot has been made of the soft draw Fremantle has had over the last few weeks, but that’s what’s been put in front of them and they’ve been able to get comfortable wins.
Leading into the finals, Ross Lyon has decided to rest a large chunk of his key players – ten in total, in fact.
Having said that, bringing back the likes of Garrick Ibbotson, Alex Silvagni and some guy called Aaron Sandilands shows the great depth of this team.
For St Kilda, today is all about farewelling a couple of superstars of their club.
Justin Koschitzke, Jason Blake and Stephen Milne will hang up the boots at the conclusion of this afternoon’s game.
Koschitzke has been described as the ultimate team man, but has been plagued with injuries and strange moments in his life – take for example the day he fainted on live TV.
Blake is a man who shuns the limelight and comes with no fuss, but his work in defence on the taller forwards was instrumental during the glory years of the Saints.
While Stephen Milne is by far one of the great small forwards to ever grace the VFL/AFL stage.
While he’s had some controversy come his way, ‘Tiprat’ as he’s been dubbed by some in the media, has kicked 572 goals in his career and was just centimetres away from handing the Saints a premiership.
This season has been a strange one for St Kilda with some promising performances, but the wins just haven’t shown that.
They’ve been competitive in a bulk of their games, including two games against last year’s premiers the Sydney Swans, and a gutsy effort against today’s opponents, Fremantle, at Patersons Stadium.
The fast track of Etihad Stadium doesn’t lend itself for a game to be a scrap, where St Kilda have been at their competitive best this season, so they’ll need to rely on their two best players of the year to step up – Nick Riewoldt and Jack Steven.
Expect to see Fremantle to shut out the Saints this afternoon, but I’m sure the Saints will step it up a notch as they say goodbye to some champions.
Cat
Roar Guru
Geelong lucky to get the win. Umpiring the worst it has been all year, bad decisions both ways so in the end it made little difference but I hope none of those umpires screw up a final that badly.
Cat
Roar Guru
This is Joe, Geelong is not a Melbourne team, it is a Geelong team, it should play a home final in Geelong.
joe blackswan
Guest
I think the point is the AFL is acting in a prejudicial manner by only allowing geelong to host a true home final if they play an interstate team, or forcing an interstate team to play at a Victorian regional ground when Melbourne teams are not forced to do so. It is biased, and by no stretch of the imagination is it equality.
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
And that's partly the point - the supporter base can be sacrificed in a way because it's an interstate side.
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
Ball up with 9 seconds left... forward pocket for BL... Lester snaps... RUSHED THROUGH FOR A BEHIND! And Geelong win!!! At Simonds Stadium – FINAL – GEEL 15.22 (112) def. BL 17.9 (111)
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
Daniel Rich has kicked a brilliant kick inside 50 with the outside of the boot to find Jordan Lisle... kicks a GOAL!!! At Simonds Stadium – Q4 0:56 left – GEEL 15.22 (112) lead BL 17.8 (110)
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
Quick snap from Joel Selwood 35m out - GOAL!! Cats by 8pts At Simonds Stadium – Q4 2:05 left – GEEL 15.22 (112) lead BL 16.8 (104)
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
Mark by Jordan Lisle 50m out for Brisbane... kicks a GOAL!!! They're within 2 points!!! At Simonds Stadium – Q4 3:18 left – GEEL 14.22 (106) lead BL 16.8 (104)
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
Harry Taylor sets up Travis Varcoe at the top of 50m, then passes to Allen Christensen around 40m from goal... kicks to the goals, but rushed through for a behind At Simonds Stadium – Q4 8:21 left – GEEL 14.22 (106) lead BL 15.7 (97)
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
Ash McGrath, by the way, has kicked 6 goals in this game today!
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
Ash McGrath... then Pearce Hanley... finished off by Josh Green to kick a GOAL for Brisbane! At Simonds Stadium – Q4 9:57 left – GEEL 14.21 (105) lead BL 15.7 (97)
joe blackswan
Guest
No way it would happen if it was a Melbourne team...poor Freo supporters.
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
Paul Chapman takes a strong mark in the forward pocket... then kicks a relieving goal for Geelong. At Simonds Stadium – Q4 10:49 left – GEEL 14.20 (104) lead BL 14.7 (91)
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
Brent Staker (BL) a chance to bridge the gap to just 2 points... behind only At Simonds Stadium – Q4 12:34 left – GEEL 13.20 (98) lead BL 14.7 (91)
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
At Simonds Stadium - Q4 13:44 left - GEEL 13.20 (98) lead BL 14.6 (90)
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
FINAL | St Kilda 16.16 (112) def. Fremantle 6.5 (41) Okay, a massive game about to start for the Carlton Football Club - they're taking on Port Adelaide in about 15 minutes. If Carlton win, they'll make the finals... but there's a chance there could be other's that pounce. Live coverage here - http://www.theroar.com.au/2013/08/31/port-adelaide-vs-carlton-afl-live-scores-blog/ I'll be back tomorrow for the Collingwood vs. North Melbourne match at the MCG... which could ALSO be a chance of the Roos making the finals. If anything big transpires in the Geelong vs. Brisbane game, we'll bring you up to date.
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
FINAL | St Kilda 16.16 (112) def. Fremantle 6.5 (41) Quarter by Quarter St Kilda 4.4 9.6 12.9 16.16 (112) Fremantle 0.0 4.3 5.5 6.5 (41) Goalscorers STK (12) – Tom Lee 3, Leigh Montagna 2, Stephen Milne 2, Lenny Hayes 1, Tom Ledger 1, Sebastian Ross 1, Nick Riewoldt 1, Jack Steven 1, Nick Riewoldt 1, Ben McEvoy 1, Tom Curren 1, Jason Blake 1 FRE (6) – Jack Hannath 1, Josh Simpson 1, Matthew Taberner 1, Matt de Boer 1, Matthew Pavlich 1, Hayden Crozier 1 Team Stats Disposals: STK 519-291; Disposal Efficiency: STK 80%-72%; Kicking Efficiency: STK 71%-68%; Contested Possessions: STK 142-115; Uncontested Possessions: STK 384-171; Marks: STK 142-67; Clearances: LEVEL 29-29; Hitouts: FRE 45-22; Tackles: STK 46-41; Inside 50’s: STK 62-27 Player Stats Jack Steven (STK) 47 disposals, 15 contested possessions, 6 marks, 6 clearances, 4 tackles, 1 goal Leigh Montagna (STK) 47 disposals, 12 marks, 12 inside 50’s, 2 goals, 2 goal assists Nick Dal Santo (STK) 34 disposals, 13 contested possessions, 5 marks, 1 goal assist Jarryn Geary (STK) 34 disposals, 7 marks, 3 tackles, 7 inside 50’s, 1 goal assist Clinton Jones (STK) 34 disposals, 9 contested possessions, 7 marks, 6 clearances, 4 tackles
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
FINAL | St Kilda 16.16 (112) def. Fremantle 6.5 (41) We'll have the full stats in a moment... but just to show how much Freo didn't care about today's game... Disposals - StK +228... Inside 50's - StK 35... Uncontested Possesions - StK +213
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
FINAL | St Kilda 16.16 (112) def. Fremantle 6.5 (41) Okay, I understand Fremantle wanted to rest the bulk of their stars... but they put themselves in a very vulnerable situation today by playing half their team. Knowing that a win would keep them in the hunt of a possible home Qualifying Final, they treated this game with disdain and were suitably thumped by the Saints. It may work out for them in the end that Geelong might just get their win... but they could have at least stopped the talk of "why do we have to play at Simonds Stadium in a Qualifying Final" by actually winning their game and putting the pressure on the Cats. Anyway, that's a story for another day.
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
FINAL | St Kilda 16.16 (112) def. Fremantle 6.5 (41) Meanwhile, at Simonds Stadium, it's just gone Three Quarter Time - GEEL lead by 20 points over BL. That could mean the Dockers take a massive sigh of relief... but, we'll keep an eye on that one, just in case the Lions swing it back.