Follow all the action from our live AFL Saturday mega blog as Geelong face Collingwood in the first qualifying final and Fremantle host the Western Bulldogs ...
The Western Bulldogs lead Fremantle in front of a packed Perth Stadium, with both teams fighting for their survival in the finals. Follow the action in our ...
LIVE AFL Finals: 'Dead and buried' Freo find life in HUGE swing in 'extraordinary' eliminator.
Welcome to news.com.au's live coverage of the elimination final contest between Fremantle and the Western Bulldogs from Optus Stadium.
Optus Stadium officials have been left scrambling to fix a wobbly goalpost less than an hour before Fremantle's final against the Western Bulldogs — their ...
Fremantle are preparing to make their Optus Stadium finals debut in front of a sell-out crowd starved of finals action since 2015, but it's the Western ...
Fremantle have finalised their team for Saturday's elimination final against the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium. There are no late changes to the ...
FREMANTLE and the Western Bulldogs will go into their elimination final at Optus Stadium as selected. The Dockers and Bulldogs opted against late changes, ...
Follow all the action from our live AFL Saturday mega blog as Geelong face Collingwood in the first qualifying final and Fremantle host the Western Bulldogs ...
Fremantle stared humiliation in the face in front of their biggest home crowd before conjuring a stunning fightback to steamroll the Western Bulldogs in an ...
“Sonny” Walters finally ended the run of outs when he notched Fremantle’s first major after earning a free kick against Ed Richards, and the Dockers, finally, were away. His second major - following Caleb Serong’s costly switching turnover - was followed by another to Cody Weightman and the visitors were up 5.5 to 0.1 at quarter-time. Leigh Matthews trophy winner Andrew Brayshaw and the prolific Serong got right on top, while the home side’s forward line stopped misfiring. Captain Marcus Bontempelli was as devastating as he was stylish and Toby McLean seemed intent on making up for lost time with a spirited start. His radar rectified, Walters proved a pivotal figure in the comeback, snapping his second in the third term as the deficit continued to be carved into, and then his third as Fremantle pushed clear in the fourth. He missed a sitter in the second term as the Dockers were still searching for their drought-breaking first major.
Fremantle will meet Collingwood in a semi-final after edging the Western Bulldogs in a thriller.
The Bulldogs still had the edge in contested ball (87-74), tackles (48-29) and inside 50s (31-26), but the Dockers lifted in all aspects after the main break. With their largest ever home crowd behind them, they continued gathering momentum to the end and secured a famous comeback win for the club with four goals to one in the final term. Amiss had his moment for redemption after the half-time siren and delivered, converting his set shot after taking an impressive contested mark and giving the Dockers all the momentum at the main break, with the margin cut to just 15 points. Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli set the tone for his team with a superb first quarter, marking and playing on from 45m to kick the opener after just two minutes and launch the ambush. The win was confirmation that the young Dockers have arrived as a team to be reckoned with and locked in the club's fifth semi-final appearance in its history, with an MCG date with destiny awaiting. Ambushed by the Bulldogs at Optus Stadium in their first final for seven years, the Dockers were forced to come from 41 points down early in the second quarter to beat last year's Grand Finalists 11.7 (73) to 8.12 (60).
A record crowd watches Dockers turn tables on Bulldogs with a stunning comeback win.
In Brayshaw, 22, and Serong, 21, Freo will boast one of the most talented midfields for the next decade. Serong's grit with the Dockers’ backs against the wall in the second term was a sight to behold. Caleb Serong and Jye Amiss both goaled in the final two minutes of the half to frenzy the previously silenced crowd. The Dockers hadn’t played in the finals since 2015 and only four Fremantle players had previously tasted finals footy compared to 20 from the Dogs, and that showed early. But the bulk of those fans were left stunned for most of the first half with the margin blowing out to 41 points until a spine-tingling 10-minute burst before the long break brought the game, and the crowd, to life. Winning a final after trailing by 41 points in front of a record crowd is simply epic.