Roar Guru
Collingwood have secured a top-four berth after overcoming a major scare to beat Fremantle by nine points at Optus Stadium on Saturday.
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Final score
Fremantle Dockers 9.13.67
Collingwood Magpies 11.10.76
The Collingwood Magpies travel west this Saturday afternoon to tackle the Fremantle Dockers at Optus Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 4:35pm (AEST).
It was a shocking day out in Geelong last Saturday for the Dockers, who were dished a 133-point thumping by the Cats.
Things were not pretty after quarter time for Fremantle, they kicked five behinds to Geelong’s 23 goals in the final three terms.
Meanwhile, at the MCG, Collingwood improved their top four hopes, and crushed Port Adelaide’s finals chances, with a convincing 51-point victory.
A seven-goal run to start the final term set up the easy win for the Magpies.
At team selection, Fremantle have made four changes to their side following their dismal effort against Geelong.
The Dockers have omitted Bailey Banfield, Ryan Nyhuis and Stefan Giro, while Michael Walters will miss with a hamstring injury.
Joel Hamling, Darcy Tucker, Stephen Hill and Sam Switkowski will return from injury to take on Collingwood in the final game of the home-and-away season.
Collingwood have named the same side as last weekend, a nice change from the selection challenges faced by the Magpies this year through injuries.
While plenty still rides on this game, Nathan Buckley has shown confidence in a number of inexperienced players to get the job done in Perth.
It was an easy 10-goal win for the Magpies in Round 11, the most recent outing between these two teams.
Docker Michael Johnson has called time on his career, running out for the final time on Saturday and finishing on 244 AFL games played.
Prediction
Fremantle’s players simply need to improve their effort, if they want to show their appreciation in Member Thank You Round.
The Magpies will be too strong and classy for the Dockers though, and run out big winners, heading into September on a high.
Collingwood by 53 points
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 4:35pm AEST.