Geelong have started their season in style, cruising to a 42-point victory over Fremantle 18.7 (115) to 10.13 (73).
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Final score
Fremantle Dockers 10.13.73
Geelong Cats 18.7.115
It’s the Nat Fyfe vs Patrick Dangerfield show in Perth as the Fremantle Dockers take on the Geelong Cats to close out Round 1. Join The Roar for live scores and rolling coverage from 7:40pm (AEDT).
It was the season from hell for the Dockers in 2016, with a spate of injuries combining with some middling form to see them finish sixteenth on the ladder with just four wins.
One of those injured players was 2015 Brownlow Medallist Nat Fyfe, but the manbun-rocking superstar is back – and in an extra twist, he returns as a newly minted captain as well.
But it’s not just Fyfe’s return that has the Dockers looking better on paper- Freo’s line-up barely resembles the rabble they became last year.
A quartet of recruits in key defender Joel Hamling, mid-sized forward Shane Kersten, young goalkicker Cam McCarthy and speedy winger Brad Hill will all front up in the purple for premiership points for the first time, while rangy backman Michael Johnson is another welcome addition after injuries wrecked his 2016.
Of those five, Hill and McCarthy are under the most pressure; Hill is coming off a subdued final season with Hawthorn in which he played like he was out the door come trade period, while McCarthy’s desire to return home was so strong that he was willing to sit out an entire year after GWS vetoed his trade request at the end of 2015 to make it happen.
Geelong, meanwhile, are out for redemption as well, after a strong campaign culminated in a thrashing at the hands of Sydney in the preliminary final.
After crossing from Adelaide, Patrick Dangerfield took over from Fyfe as the competition’s biggest star after a stunning, Brownlow-record-smashing season, while Joel Selwood did nothing to diminish his reputation as a modern great.
But it’s their depth that has onlookers concerned about the Cats’ ability to back up last year’s success in 2017, with several players – notably enigmatic forward Steven Motlop, steeplechaser-turned-utility Mark Blicavs, and established midfielder Mitch Duncan – under a bit of pressure after going missing in that preliminary final loss.
Third midfielder in line Cameron Guthrie has been scratched from the starting team after failing to overcome a calf complaint he sustained in a VFL practice match, so the onus will be on this trio, plus potential breakout candidate George Horlin-Smith, to fill the void.
The Cats aren’t without new names of their own, with Zach Tuohy crossing from Carlton to attempt to replace Corey Enright across the half-back line, while mature-aged defender Tom Stewart and young midfielder Brandan Parfitt are making their AFL debuts.
Prediction
I’ve tipped the Cats for the premiership, oddly enough, so I know which way I’m going this week.
But it’s going to be fascinating to see whether coaches Ross Lyon and Chris Scott allow Fyfe and Dangerfield to go head-to-head in midfield like they did in the now-infamous Adelaide-Fremantle clash of 2015.
It’s a battle within a battle, but I’ll go for Danger – and his Cats – to win this round in a tight one.
Geelong by 12 points
Will Geelong take the first step on the path to redemption for their nightmare of a preliminary final? Or will Nat Fyfe lead the Dockers to a glorious home victory?
Tune into The Roar’s live blog of the match from 7:40pm (AEDT), and don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Henry
Guest
Boy oh boy are Fremantle are rabble. Is it possible they are worse than last year? Backwards, sideways, turnovers galore. Absolutely no system whatsoever. Dark days ahead for all things purple
Don Freo
Guest
If that happens, yep..but you'll be barred, you are way too unpleasant. When you watch Dockers training regularly and attend Peel games and then dismiss these young players as viable AFL players, then you might have some valid points for discussion. It is pointless when you attempt to echo from a vacuum.
SportsFanGC
Roar Guru
Wow - Young players haven't played many games. You are kidding right? You are the one talking up young players on the Freo list like they are some sort of missing ingredient to Freo's ongoing form problems. Maybe you haven't realized that kids who have yet to debut or have played less than 50 games are wildly inconsistent and cannot be relied upon as key contributors to a side that dropped off the perch last year. What will you be cooking at the BBQ this year?
Don Freo
Guest
Did you know that young players often haven't played many games at the start of their careers? That's because they are young...not because they are bad. It's because 1 comes before 2 and 15 comes before 423.
SportsFanGC
Roar Guru
Good response DonFreo. I don't think there is anyone else as delusional on this site as you regarding the performance of their team, particularly when you refer to a guy that just debuted for Freo as a faithful servant, and then prattle off a bunch of kids who either 1. Haven't played AFL level footy or 2. A group of guys injured long-term that is somehow going to lift Freo out of the bottom 6 this year. Hope your BBQ skills are good...
Don Freo
Guest
No. I guess there's a few things you don't understand...but it doesn't stop you trying.
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Yeah, 2017's totally proven you right! One round's proven you right - who cares what happens in the remaining 21 rounds! Geez.
SmithHatesMaxwell
Guest
I have been saying it since the start of last year before the season had started. The 2015 preliminary final showed Ross Lyon's game plan to be outdated, and I had no faith in him to be able successfully overhaul his game plan. 2016 and now 2017 has proven me right.
SportsFanGC
Roar Guru
DonFreo - Did you refer to Kersten as a faithful servant after he just made his debut for the Club last night? "reliable or as creative as Taberner, Collins, Balic, Logue, Grey or Strnadica" Taberner reliable?? There wouldn't be one coach in the AFL that would pay any attention to him and he has done nothing in his career to date that would suggest that he is reliable. How many AFL games combined has Collins, Balic, Logue, Grey or Strnadica played? Being creative in the WAFL or Under 18's doesn't mean much. The Cats cruised to a 42 point win and rarely (if ever) looked bothered by Fremantle on their home deck in Perth. Betting on the return of Bennell who has not played any AFL footy since 2015, Apeness who is yet to show anything and Ballas who has had 2 poor years in a row and now coming back from a serious hamstring injury is the height of optimism.
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Yeah, it was just a constant case of doing something right and then Geelong immediately punishing us again. I did genuinely liked the games of Mundy, Fyfe (even if he probably wasn't as good as Dangerfield, but that's debatable), young Langdon (his run was pretty good). Neale was a tad quiet though, and Kersten and McCarthy (he was inaccurate, but he'll obviously be better for the win). Yup, next week's game's is going to be a telling one. I hope we can perform substantially better than yesterday. Port played extremely well against the Swans though, so it's gonna be a lot more difficult than I expected. Fingers crossed it's an entertaining game though.
FreoFan
Roar Rookie
Frustrated is definitely the right word! The crowd was restless the whole game. Every time we would do something right we coughed the ball up again. It felt like Geelong were outnumbering us everywhere and even when we had the numbers they still managed to take possession and find an easy way out or they just fought on and scrapped the ball forwards until they could take clean possession. I'm not sure what it was like watching it on TV - I'm sure you would have seen a lot of things I didn't from where I was seated AD? It felt like we lost by more than 42 points to be honest. It is only round one though and we now travel to Adelaide to face Port which now looks a much tougher assignment than I thought it would be a couple of days ago.
Don Freo
Guest
You've been saying that for 4 seasons and it still hasn't happened. It won't ever happen.
SmithHatesMaxwell
Guest
Disturbing signs for the Dockers. Ross Lyon will be found out as a fraud this year
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Agree with all of that, Nik.
Nik
Guest
Johnson had a solidly rubbish night unfortunately.
Nik
Guest
Well Griffin hitting the post after the siren really summed up the tenor of the game. I thought Freo's work rate was good, but holy there were some extremely costly errors - I think Johnno coughed up 3 goals, and that Hawkins one was painful to watch. Cockatoo's running goal was amazing, and Cam McCarthy's was pretty great too - hopefully that will give him some confidence for next weeks game. Both the Hill brothers were stand outs for me, but geez, Kersten was a bit ordinary.
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Yeah, the kids (particularly Langdon) looked decent today. I loved Langdon's run tonight. Getting Collins in for Dawson, Balic in for Sutcliffe, Logue in for Suban and potentially Taberner in for Kersten might be a good idea. In saying that, I wouldn't be jumping to massive conclusions over one game. Geelong's an excellent side, and it was always going to be tough against them. A very, very telling game awaits against Port next week. I'll be there live.
Don Freo
Guest
I don't mind that result. Some of the young blokes have never played with Sandi, Fyfe and Johnno before. McCarthy grew as the game progressed and the kids got better. All of that will be better. I don't mind the loss because it will gradually pare out those off the pace. I admire Rossie for giving the faithful servants first shot but players like Suban, Sutcliffe, Pearce, Kersten and Dawson are not as reliable or as creative as Taberner, Collins, Balic, Logue, Grey or Strnadica (who should be elevated). When Bennell, Pearce, Apeness, Ballas and Clarke return, it will be even better. We will be better, also with Fyfe up forward more. We have Blakely and Neale who hardly played in the midfield today who can have more midfield time. Loved Mundy's game. Best afield. Stephen Hill was good too. The Fox commentators were clowns. Mundy and Neale beat Danger and Fyfe was a better player than Danger throughout. At least Pav would not go with the Anthony Hudson stupidity. Neither did Gerard Healy.
XI
Roar Guru
It's your birthday so you can cry if you want to. It's a shame that all the matches today turned out to be such "meh" contests
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Ha, I'll admit it then. I swore more times during that than I'd like to admit. I'm actually infuriated about how poor we were. I'm going to the game next week here in SA where we're versing Port, and I'm now not as excited as I was a few hours ago. Losing sucks, I hate it. But I can't just deny that Geelong played well, because they're not the ones I'm frustrated at right now. I can both be annoyed and a good sport at once.