Fremantle Dockers

Nat Fyfe made a triumphant return to football, but the Hawks were magnificent in defeat, their hustle and pressure forcing one of this year's leading ...

His milestone moment was befitting of the exciting career he has had, finishing a coast-to-coast play in which the hosts ran the ball up the guts with a dribbling kick on the run. Ned Reeves did not have the greatest day against Sean Darcy but the young Hawks ruckman had a big win in the last quarter, out-muscling the Dockers’ enforcer to take a clutch contested mark deep in attack and boot a vital goal. Playing a near even forward/midfield split role, Fyfe collected 21 possessions, of which only five were kicks, and kicked a goal in the third term. They told me where to set up in stoppages and that was a nice feeling.” Lewis and Mitchell are both expected to return to face the Western Bulldogs after the bye, but Sam Frost is under an injury cloud. They beat Fremantle at their own game, outscoring them by 26 points on turnover.

Fremantle has overcome a significant scare from Hawthorn at Optus Stadium to earn a hard-working 13-point win on Saturday afternoon.

The Dockers have built their brand off defensive excellency, rating No.2 in the competition for least points conceded. The Hawks also lost Sam Frost to a knee injury late in the game. While the roars echoed around Optus Stadium from the purple army after the clash, concerns will quickly turn to Blake Acres after the former Saint suffered a hamstring injury in the final term. He still pushed forward to kick 1.2 and looked shaky for much of the contest, however the 30-year-old had several trademark moments to have the Fremantle faithful on their feet in his 21 possessions. Saturday’s contest marked the return of Nat Fyfe, the Freo skipper defying pre-game expectations to largely play on the footy for much of the contest. However, the Dockers found a way to get over the line and move into the top four.

Nat Fyfe's comeback got the headlines. Andy Brayshaw and Caleb Serong made sure Dockers got the points.

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Brisbane need a win to hold onto their top-two spot, but nothing will come easy against a St Kilda team with lofty aspirations of their own.

Fremantle turned for home with a handy 14-point edge, but the margin was just six when Luke Breust booted his second goal of the match with six minutes remaining. Fyfe had the chance to produce a memorable highlight late in the second quarter when he collected the ball in the pocket, but his dribble kick was never on track and went through for a behind. The Dockers booted the opening two goals of the match, but Hawthorn worked their way into the contest and made the most of their chances in attack.

Joe Daniher flew high to pull in a contested mark and he has gone back and converted the goal. The Lions are in front. Now the test is whether they can ...

“They’re working out who to put in the midfield. Just the ability to apply pressure and get it going forward. Did you continue talking about how to run and outwork there? We did the defensive part well today and everything came from that. The Saints have used their medical sub and also lost Daniel McKenzie to concussion while the Lions look to have lost Dayne Zorko to a hamstring injury and have Darcy Gardiner on the bench receiving treatment as the third term ended. A few boys are playing different roles.

Fremantle superstar Nat Fyfe says his return was a successful one and he was following the instructions of young guns like Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw.

We had to grind it out and it will be one of those wins that you appreciate at the end of the year. They told me where to set up in stoppages and that was a nice feeling.” “I feel like we are getting consistency around the stoppages. Dockers 82, Hawks 74 with 12 mins to go. Dockers 88, Hawks 75 with nine mins to go. Dockers 88, Hawks 82 with six mins to go. Travis Colyer has stepped up for the Dockers to snap a goal and extend the margin. Dockers 94, Hawks 82 with five mins to go. The Dockers were puffing and panting post game as the Hawks asked them every possible question but didn’t have the quality to keep with them in the second half. The Hawks are within a goal of the Dockers after Luke Breust marked and goaled from deep in the forward line. “I told the boys to treat me like a first-gamer and tell me where to go,” Fyfe told Fox Footy. I said to Caleb [Serong] and Andy [Brayshaw] to treat me like a first-gamer and set me up and they did that. The two-time Brownlow Medallist had 21 possessions and a goal in his first game of 2022 while the Dockers improved to 10-3 [win-loss] on the season.