Last month, Justin Longmuir was asked an interesting question about his spearhead Matt Taberner and provided an interesting answer.
On whether Taberner could become a liability at some point given his ongoing injury issues, Longmuir responded: “Maybe at some point, but we’re definitely not there yet.”
Six weeks on, the management of not just one, but three injury-affected forwards is looming as the defining issue of Fremantle’s finals campaign.
If they’re available, Taberner, leading goal kicker Rory Lobb and captain Nat Fyfe all appear automatic selections in an individual sense.
But it will be fascinating to see whether the cumulative risk is something the Dockers might baulk at.
If Fremantle take Taberner, Lobb and Fyfe into their first final, it would mean having three players in their forward line who have each broken down during their previous two games.
Throw in Sam Switkowski off a long-term back injury, and that’s four forwards with compromised preparations.
Since first hurting his shoulder against Sydney in round 18, Lobb has played a starring role against the Western Bulldogs, with four goals under the Marvel Stadium roof in round 21, to go with two goalless games in the wet.
Fremantle’s leading goalkicker Rory Lobb injured his shoulder in the second half of this season. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian
Regardless of whether he is physically comfortable with rucking in the finals, Lobb has been Fremantle’s most viable forward target this season.
He’s kicked a career-high 34 goals in 19 games to be the leading goal kicker for a team that will enter September as the lowest-scoring finalist.
In other words, he’s pretty indispensable.
Approaching 31 and with more than 20 operations behind him, Fyfe is no longer the dual Brownlow Medal-winning midfield wrecking ball he once was.
His return from a double shoulder reconstruction followed by serious back surgery was always likely to be a rocky road, and when he had just one kick, to go with 14 handballs, in the loss to Sydney in round 18 it was a pothole.
A week earlier, Fyfe kicked three goals to go with 21 touches in the win over St Kilda. He also took four marks inside 50 and had 10 score involvements that night in a hybrid forward-midfield role.
It was the kind of performance that showed even the 2022 version of Fyfe is capable of having a fair say in the club’s final fortunes.
Nat Fyfe has been battling injuries for a number of seasons. Credit: Iain Gillespie/The West Australian
Mick Malthouse infamously left John Worsfold out of a final in 1998, but the captain being told he’s not wanted is not a scenario that will be repeating here.
Which leaves Taberner.
When the key forward booted seven goals against Essendon in round five, it was the biggest bag kicked by a Docker since Matthew Pavlich a decade ago.
As Longmuir recently noted, Freo aren’t exactly overflowing with players who are capable of kicking bags.
Since then, Taberner has kicked 12 majors in 10 games and been subbed out with injury three times.
Should the Dockers take care of business against 16th-placed Greater Western Sydney in the final round, they will enter their first final off three straight wins but with Taberner having played just 67 minutes of those three games.
An injured Matt Taberner passes on advice to Fremantle teammate Jye Amiss and Peel’s Blair Bell at the weekend. Credit: daniel wilkins/The West Australian
Complicating the equation is the fact Taberner impressed with eight marks and two goals in those 67 minutes before getting injured in round 21 against the Bulldogs, a team Fremantle could end up facing in an elimination final.
And muddying the waters further still is that a Taberner recall for the first final could require a brutal selection call on somebody else.
If you want to play Taberner, Lobb, Fyfe and Griffin Logue forward, with regular smalls Michael Walters, Michael Frederick, Lachie Schultz and Sam Switkowski, then eight into the normal seven places allotted won’t go.
The Dockers might feel more comfortable about bringing Taberner in for their first final if he got through a WAFL game on the pre-finals bye weekend.
Nat Fyfe and Matt Taberner are not certain to be fit for finals. Credit: JOEL CARRETT/AAPIMAGE
But if pushing for that contributed to any sort of setback, his final series would be over before it began.
The old adage about not taking injured players into finals is pretty hollow. Important players bravely play through injury all year to get their side into the finals in the first place.
Brisbane famously won the 2003 flag after using 18 vials of painkillers on players.
And the medical sub rule might provide the Dockers with an added layer of comfort about rolling the dice with their forwards.
There’s plenty of water to go under the bridge and a fresh injury to somebody against the Giants might mean all of the pieces fall into place.
Regardless, Fremantle’s selection meeting leading into their first final is shaping as their biggest of the year.
A dozen Fremantle and West Coast players have been fined more than $20,000 combined following a brutal western derby clash on Saturday.
Eagles forward Liam Ryan copped the biggest punishment, a $3000 fine for striking Dockers speedster Brandon Walker in the first quarter of the Optus Stadium clash.
The incident was deemed intentional, low impact and body contact by the AFL’s Match Review Officer Michael Christian.
Ryan was also fined $1500 for his role in the first term melee that momentarily stopped play.
Fremantle star Andrew Brayshaw, who was heavily tagged by West Coast’s Jackson Nelson, was among six Dockers fined $1500 but remains eligible for the Brownlow Medal. Nelson was also fined.
West Coast midfielder Jack Redden and Fremantle star Caleb Serong, who had his shirt torn open in the scuffle, were also fined $1,500.
Eagles defenders Liam Duggan and Tom Barrass all copped a $1,500 fine for their part in the melee, while Jamaine Jones was fined $2,500 as a second offense.
Rory Lobb, Heath Chapman, Brennan Cox and Walker rounded out the Dockers hit with $1500 sanctions.
Liam Ryan of the Eagles wrestles with Luke Ryan of the Dockers during the 2022 AFL Round 22 match between the Fremantle Dockers and the West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium on August 13, 2022 in Perth, Australia. Credit: Daniel Carson/AFL Pictures
Ryan can accept a $2,000 and $1,000 fine, respectively, with an early plea, while Jones can accept a $1,500 sanction. The remaining 10 players fined can all accept $1000 fines with an early plea.
Meanwhile, Western Bulldogs premiership player Zaine Cordy was referred directly to the court for his bump on Greater Western Sydney young gun Tanner Bruhn.
The incident, which appeared to be a bump to the body and shoulder of the young GWS player but left him concussed, was ungraded meaning it will be up to the court to determine whether Cordy faces any punishment.
David Mundy has returned to an almost empty Optus Stadium nearly an hour after his final western derby to have a kick with his three children.
The retiring Fremantle great was given a rousing reception by more than 53,000 home fans in his last ever regular season game in Perth.
He spent time in the rooms with teammates before returning to the western end of the ground, kicking a ball with his children and wife Sally.
Extended family and friends, who had watched the game from a box on level four, then joined them on the ground for a group photo.
The Dockers held on to beat the Eagles by 24 points and win a third-straight western derby, before Mundy completed a lap of the playing surface and was given a guard of honor by West Coast players.
David Mundy on his lap of honour. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian
Mundy will retire at the end of the season, with the Dockers to play Greater Western Sydney in Canberra next week, while the win over the Eagles secured Fremantle a final at home in either the first, second or third week of September.
In the 16th minute of the first quarter, Dockers fans stood and applauded Mundy as part of the moving tributes.
The games record holder recognized the adulation with a subtle thumbs up before a center bounce, which came just moments after the two teams were split from a spiteful melee.
Former Wallabies fly-half Matt To’omua has opened up about his “brutal” divorce from Australian cricketer Ellyse Perry, admitting the taxing order was “not fun at all”.
The sporting power couple, who tied the knot in 2015, announced their divorce in July 2020, confirming the news in a joint statement.
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“It’s with the greatest of respect for one another that we decided to separate earlier this year,” the pair said at the time.
“We felt this was the right course of action and is in the best interests of each other and our current lives. This is something that has evolved and is a mutual decision.
Throughout our relationship we have remained private and we ask that our space and privacy continue to be respected during this difficult time for both of us.”
The couple went public in 2013 when they appeared at the John Eales Medal awards night together before getting engaged the following year.
Ellyse Perry and ex-husband Matt To’omua.Source: InstagramEllyse Perry and ex-husband Matt To’omua. AAP Image/Scott BarbourSource: AAP
speaking to the Sydney Morning HeraldTo’omua revealed he had not spoken to Perry in more than a year,
“It was tough,” he confessed. “Not fun. Not fun at all. It sucks.
“You can see why it breaks people. I’m very lucky that I’ve found someone now who’s amazing, but at the time, it was brutal.
“I’m very fortunate that we had no children and, of the divorces, it was a good one in the sense of the separation of those things. The one unique thing being it was public. Getting sprayed while I’m goalkicking or getting abused on some social media platform isn’t great, but they’re minor things.”
Matt To’omua of Australia. Photo by Michael Steele/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
To’omua has since started dating forensic psychologist Naomi Cameron, who he met in 2020. They recently got engaged. Earlier this year, the 32-year-old announced he would head overseas and join Japan’s League One, signing with an unnamed club.
To’omua represented the Wallabies in 59 Tests after making his international debut in 2013, also playing 130 Super Rugby games for the ACT Brumbies and Melbourne Rebels.
Meanwhile, rumors emerged last year that Perry was dating Fremantle Dockers captain Nat Fyfe.
The 31-year-old was part of the Australian squad for this year’s triumphant Cricket World Cup campaign in New Zealand.
Hawthorn has responded to his potential pursuit of Brodie Grundy.
Plus a gun Docker has revealed he reached out to Luke Jackson amid intense speculation around the Demon’s future.
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HAWKS ANSWER GRUNDY QUESTION
Hawthorn has remained tight lipped on his potential pursuit of star Brodie Grundy amid uncertain around the star ruckman’s future at the Magpies.
The Hawks have been touted as a potential landing spot for Grundy following skipper Ben McEvoy’s retirement announcement this week.
Collingwood is reportedly shopping the 28-year old to rivals and willing to chip in $300,000 of his annual salary worth around $1 million until 2025 at another club, with the Demons and Giants reportedly already meeting with the big man.
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Asked about the potential for Hawthorn to recruit Grundy, club CEO Justin Reeves told SEN: “That’s one for Mark McKenzie (list manager). I know that’s a cop out but the reality is there are so many variables in that.
“He’s probably got plenty of footy left in him, I don’t know the figures of his contract but what we should say is you look at every opportunity that you think would make your football club better.”
Grundy, who hasn’t played an AFL game since Anzac Day due to a PCL setback, had been nearing a return to the senior level before suffering a stress fracture in his ankle in a VFL match, ruling him out for the rest of the regular season.
The ruckman signed his current lucrative deal, estimated to be worth $7 million in total, at the end of 2019.
DARCY CHECKS IN ON JACKSON
Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy has revealed he reached out to Luke Jackson to check in on the Demons star amid intense speculation around his future.
Jackson, who’s out of contract at the end of the season and weighing up his future, has been heavily linked with a move to the Dockers on a lucrative, long-term deal that would see him return to his home state.
Speaking on Triple M, Darcy said he at large contacted Jackson to see how he was traveling mentally with all the external noise.
“I’ve spoken to him about how he’s going. It’s a pretty tough decision for him,” Darcy told Triple M.
“Flattest” feeling after Pies loss | 02:25
“I just checked on him mentally, with everything going around. It’s pretty tough on him. His name of him ‘s in the newspaper every day.
“I had a little bit last year when (reports said) I was desperate to leave. But that never came from me, that was more media making it up.”
As Jackson doesn’t yet qualify or free agency, he’d need to move clubs via trade.
The former Pick 3 has played 48 AFL games for Melbourne including in its drought-breaking premiership win last year.
Former Fremantle Dockers ruck Zac Clarke has been slapped with a ban for a scary on-field incident which left a fellow former AFL player with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.
Clarke was playing for Doncaster East in Melbourne’s Eastern Football Netball League when chased St Kilda player Eli Templeton towards the boundary-line, before pushing him in the back and sending him into a water container and over a wire fence.
Templeton hit his head on a footpath just outside the fence with some force. Spectators and players appeared visibly distressed by the incident as trainers rushed to help.
Clarke was given a two-week ban but the league’s tribunal on Tuesday night, but Templeton’s club, the Balwyn Tigers are reportedly set to appeal the decision, believing the sanction to be inadequate.
The match was abandoned after an ambulance was called in the third-quarter, with the Tigers handed the win because they led at the time.
Zac Clarke pushed Eli Templeton over the fence in this incident; Credit: The Leader/Twitter
Balwyn president Richard Wilson said Tempelton’s condition had improved and he was expected to make a full recovery.
“He spoke on the phone last night (Saturday), he’s cognitive and speaking and passing all the tests, which means he’s basically going to be OK,” he said.
Clarke played 101 games for Fremantle between 2009 and 2016, including all three of the club’s finals appearance in its only grand final season in 2013.
He then spent time at WAFL club Subiaco, before being thrown an AFL lifeline for one season by Essendon in 2019.
There are two matches remaining in the EFNL’s regular season, but Doncaster are set to play finals, which means Clarke would be available if the Tigers’ appeal fails.
They currently have an 11-5 record and it will be the club’s first finals appearance in the league’s top division.
Templeton spent three years at St Kilda for a total of 14 games before being de-listed. He is currently listed at VFL club Port Melbourne.
On Sunday, the Saints posted a message for the former player on their social media.
“Our thoughts are with former Saint Eli Templeton,” the post read.
Fremantle’s best forward line is unlikely to meet this week with a potential Sam Switkowski return dampened by Matt Taberner’s fresh injury concern.
Neither took part in the Dockers’ light recovery session on Monday but Switkowski is expected to come under selection consideration for Saturday’s western derby after recovering from back stress fractures.
Lachie Schultz said it would be a relief to welcome his fellow pressure forward back into the line-up.
But Fremantle are feeling for Taberner after his return to form in the win over the Western Bulldogs was cut short by a calf injury.
“He was a bit emotional but it’s all part of it and we back him to get back to 100 per cent really quickly,” Schultz said.
“He plays a massive part in our forward line and structure up there. To lose him hurt but we think we’ve got good depth and whoever comes in will fill that role.”
Switkowski hasn’t featured since Fremantle’s round 13 clash against Hawthorn, the Dockers manic pressure, points for and scores per inside 50 declining in his absence.
And while Schultz believes the Dockers were able to recapture that side of their game against the Bulldogs, Switkowski’s return is set to ease his workload.
Lachie Shultz and Michael Walters had fun at a wet Dockers training. Credit: Andrew Richie/The West Australian
“I feel relieved. I like to base my game on pressure as well so when there’s someone else of Switta’s caliber doing it, it makes it a lot easier for me,” Schultz said.
“We love what Switta brings to the team and forward line especially. It’s hard to compare anyone to his pressure on him so he’s a massive inclusion. Everyone else plays stronger and better.”
Fremantle also benefited from a mindset shift against the Bulldogs, choosing to play with more freedom instead of worrying about any final implications.
The club is now locked into the top eight with two rounds to come but, importantly, Schultz believes the Dockers have rediscovered their best football at the right time.
Lachie Shultz runs through the rain. Credit: Andrew Richie/The West Australian
“It was like we were protecting ourselves a little bit and what we’ve built this year,” he said.
“We had a big mindset to play more freely, really attack the game and play a more exciting brand of footy and put a score on the board. The past few weeks we haven’t been able to put up a big score which was probably due to our ball movement.
“Our confidence will grow from the weekend. A few boys were a bit down on confidence and a little bit of belief in their own abilities after the past month. To turn it around on the weekend will reverse that thinking.”
Schultz added it was a “big relief” retired Eagle Josh Kennedy won’t make one last derby appearance after kicking eight goals against Adelaide.
Rory Lobb looks on at Dockers training. Credit: Andrew Richie/The West Australian
“Knowing that he’s not going to be out there next week, I was sitting there thinking ‘thank god for that,’” he said.
“We’re going through all of those emotions this week with Dave (Mundy).
“I’m sure they’ll like to put a sour taste on our season and try and disrupt it. It’s a big game. We’ll treat it like any other week on the track.”
As the Bulldogs watched their final hopes fade on Saturday, there was a cruel irony in front of them.
Plus the ‘five years with a mulligan’ theory that helps explain Collingwood’s year.
The big issues from Round 21 of the 2022 AFL season analyzed in Talking Points!
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CRUEL IRONY AS FREO’S FLAG-WORTHY RECORD GROWS
Saturday was bad for the Bulldogs in 2022; their loss, combined with Richmond’s win, has them outsiders to make the eight (though Carlton’s loss to Brisbane keeps them alive).
But it might’ve been good for them in 2023 and beyond.
The irony wasn’t lost on Fox Footy’s commentary team as Rory Lobb, reportedly on his way to the Kennel in free agency on a deal of around $1.5 million over three years, dominated the game.
The Dockers key forward has always shown flashes amid an inconsistent career – this is the first season where he’s reached the 30 goal mark – his four big majors at Marvel Stadium showed him at his absolute best.
Best three kicks at goal since Plugger | 00:58
“First four kicks were goals, it looked like he could kick them from everywhere,” goalkicking legend Jason Dunstall said at three-quarter-time on Fox Footy.
Melbourne great Garry Lyon added: “If you believe everything that’s been said, the Western Bulldogs whilst they’d be shattered if they lose and Rory Lobb leads them (Fremantle) to victory, they might be rubbing their hands together, given many think he’s heading to the Western Bulldogs.
“That’s what they’re saying; he’s playing unbelievably well.”
Some have questioned whether the Bulldogs need Lobb, given they’ve got Aaron Naughton (three goals on Saturday), Josh Bruce, No.1 pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and father-son prodigy Sam Darcy, who made a strong debut with a team -leading eight marks and seven intercepts.
But as those intercepts suggest Darcy played in defense, where the Bulldogs desperately need tall help – while Luke Beveridge remains a Ryan Gardner stan and defends his backs when questioned, they’ve long struggled to defend one-on-ones.
So if Lobb truly is coming on board, that just adds more tall weapons to their armory.
More magnets to spin for the AFL’s most prolific magnet-spinner can’t hurt, surely?
Meanwhile for the Dockers, their win on the road was yet another example of their terrific away record in the 2022 season.
They’re the only non-Victorian team to win more than one game in Victoria this season – and they’ve won five, plus that draw against Richmond.
Taking 22 premiership points from trips to the home of footy is a big reason the Dockers are current flag contenders this season. After all, if they can win in Melbourne, they can win on the biggest day of all.
Buckley on 2018 Crows: ‘It’s harrowing’ | 06:33
AFL’S BIGGEST SHOCK SURGE COME AFTER ‘FIVE YEARS OF GOOD FOOTY’…WITH A MULLIGAN
Few experts pre-season tipped Collingwood to feature in this year’s finals series. Nathan Buckley, however, did.
And while the former coach didn’t expect his Magpies to be sitting second on the ladder with two rounds to go, he’s of the firm belief the side’s 2022 surge is a result of an exciting five-year build.
The Magpies’ destiny is in their own hands. Win two more home and away games and they’ll jump from the bottom-two last year to the top-two this year – a simply remarkable feat. Those last two games will be tough – Sydney at the SCG and Carlton at the MCG – but it seems nothing, not even the prospect of watching The Exorcist in the dark, scares this team.
While many outside the club had low expectations for the Magpies this year after a 17th-placed finish in 2021, Buckley said it was important to remember the build and list turnover in the previous three years.
“I’m going to suggest – and I’ve been involved in the footy club – but this is five years of good footy with a bad year last year,” Buckley told Fox Footy on Friday night.
“The nucleus of this side is established and we’re seeing some young players come in and play really big roles – and it’s brilliant and it’s exciting to see.
“This Collingwood side has exceeded my expectations. I thought they were 15 wins at the top end – and they’ve still got two more to go. What ‘Fly’ (McRae) has done has been amazing, but it’s been built off the nucleus of a senior core that have been there for five or six years doing this now.”
Maynard BUZZING after big hit and win | 00:47
The Magpies on Friday night claimed a remarkable 11th straight win – the first time they’ve achieved the feat since 2011 – in another tantalizingly close game.
Asked how the Pies keep winning such tight games, coach Craig McRae told reporters: “Yeah, this group’s got some belief hasn’t it? We just get ourselves into positions where at three quarter-time, there’s a few smiles on their faces – like, ‘here we go again’.
“It’s just been our story. I haven’t been part of a team like it that gets themselves in a situation that they just think: ‘Here we go, we’ll get the job done.’”
The On The Couch team last week compared the profile of Collingwood’s 2022 team to the Richmond premiership side of 2017. Like the Tigers, the Pies aren’t a strong clearance team, but are among the top-four clubs for interceptions, pressure and opposition score per inside 50.
Brownlow Medalist Gerard Healy added to the comparison on Friday night.
“This could be a premiership built on pressure, like Richmond in 2017,” Healy told Fox Footy Live. “They didn’t win all the stats, but they won the flag, so there’s a lot to like about this Collingwood side.
“They are certainly in the conversation – you can’t win 11 in a row and beat last year’s premiers twice and not be a genuine chance.
“Collingwood and Sydney sit underneath most people’s favorites of Geelong and Melbourne, but we do know they are capable of beating the top sides.”
Asked if he’d reassess his message to his playing group considering the circumstances, McRae said: “We’re living in the moment of getting better. That’s always been our message. We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves.
“You look at the stats sheet (after the Melbourne game) and there’s a lot of red in it, so we’re not naive and we’ve got a little work to do.
“We don’t know where our ceiling is at – and that’s exciting. We’re in discovery mode… and that’s an exciting place to live.”
Consider comments heard! | 00:26
‘MORE OF IT’: ‘ALL DUCK NO DINNER’ LEADS TO FOOTY FEAST
Ed Langdon was something of a sitting duck when he was swamped only moments into Friday night’s epic between Collingwood and Melbourne.
We wouldn’t normally put so much time into dissecting a wingman’s game, particularly one as consistent as Langdon. But after the former Freo man spoke on radio about Collingwood being “all duck and no dinner” and a “one trick pony”, all eyes were on Langdon.
It created one of the most memorable moments of the season – and added some spice to a game that barely needed it.
Sitting second and third on the table respectively, Melbourne and Collingwood were playing on a Friday night for the first time since 2007, so the stage was already set for a dynamite contest.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae made light of Langdon’s comments pre-game, telling Fox Footy’s Kath Loughnan he had “duck for dinner last night”.
Feet assistant Brendon Bolton told Fox Sports News’ AFL Tonight he “loved it”, while Adem Yze reiterated the respect the Demons have for the Pies.
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The 24 hours prior to the opening bounce were gripping as a football lover. All that anyone was talking about were those comments and how good the game was going to be. The AFL even bumped up their crowd estimates off the back of the comments.
And when Brayden Maynard and co. engulfed Langdon in a brutal gang tackle, we got one of the most memorable and electric moments of the season — and the game itself didn’t disappoint either.
Ex-Saints and North Melbourne star Nick Dal Santo suggested it might have been a slip of the tongue after similar language was used in a team meeting, but the triple All-Australian noted “we shouldn’t be knocking that down”.
“Our game needs more of that,” Dal Santo told Fox Footy Live after the game.
“Our game is a combative game. The people who least speak about that combativeness is the players.”
“We need to embrace the rivalry and the competitiveness. If someone is to put out a comment like that, brilliant. More of it.”
The Melbourne media department, privately, would’ve been scrambling after the comments were made. The beauty of it was being so close to bounce-down, everyone could just enjoy the ride — even Ed, who had a smile pre-game, got booed by Pies fans and performed solidly in the 7-point loss.
“All duck no dinner” made for a footy feast.
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HOW DOES MCSTAY FIT INTO FEET?
Amid doubts already over whether Collingwood should be pursuing Dan McStay, just how does he fit into this Pies forward line?
The Magpies have been heavily linked to the Lions free agent on a five-year deal worth $3 million as the club looks to add another marking target in attack.
But this is a Collingwood side already firing on all cylinders, with Friday night’s epic win over Melbourne seeing it climb into second place on the ladder.
Jamie Elliott and fourth-gamer Ash Johnson were both instrumental with four goals apiece, while Brody Mihocek, who’s led the goalkicking in each of the last three seasons and is on track to do so again in 2022, chipped in two goals.
“Mihocek, Elliott and Johnson look so good — so where does Daniel McStay fit into all this?” Demons great Garry Lyon posed on Fox Footy.
Heck, if McStay was available to play for Collingwood next week, it’s hard to see him cracking into the 22, especially with star ruckman Brodie Grundy and young gun Ollie Henry already out of the side.
McStay has booted 16 goals from as many games this year and been held goalless on eight occasions, while the key forward’s 28 majors in 2021 mark his best-ever return.
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There’s a possibility that Collingwood could look to play McStay in defence, although it still raises questions of whether he’s worth the $650,000-a-season price tag and at a club that’s only two years removed from a trade exodus due to salary cap pressure.
“They believe he can help the forward line like Josh Bruce has been able to help Jamarra Ugle-Hagan get better match-ups… Daniel McStay is coming to Collingwood, but it’s going to be some kind of juggling act, especially with Ollie Henry not in the side right now,” Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph said on Fox Footy.
To which Saints great Nick Riewoldt responded: “Josh Bruce is a brave, brave workhorse. Is that Daniel McStay?”
Triple-premiership winning Lion Jonathan Brown believes his former club see him as the “workhorse, down-the-line guy.”
“They like to kick it long to him, put it on his head. Hipwood and Daniher tend to be more the runners,” he said.
It is a region known for producing dual Brownlow Medalist Nat Fyfe, but the small community of Lake Grace-Pingrup has produced six AFL players from a combined population of fewer than 1,000 people.
Key points:
Lake Grace-Pingrup Football Club celebrates 100 years this weekend
The club has produced AFL players such as Nat Fyfe, Mark Bairstow and Liam Baker
Fyfe says the club was key in his development as a player and person
Lake-Grace Pingrup Football Club is known as the Bombers in the Ongerup Football Association – one of WA’s smallest leagues with just four senior sides.
The club marks 100 years on Saturday, a feat not many country football clubs have managed as an exodus of players and people leave many in decline.
But in Western Australia’s Great Southern grain belt, the club remains the heart of the community.
Nat Fyfe credits Lake Grace-Pingrup Football Club for molding him to succeed in the AFL.(AAP Image: Richard Wainwright)
Fremantle Dockers captain Fyfe, one of this century’s most decorated AFL players, still visits the club he says was integral to his development as a player and person, when he returns home.
“You never forget where you come from,” he told ABC Great Southern.
“It’s unbelievable for the town, there’s some real history there… to get to 100 years and hopefully 100 ahead of us, is a great milestone for the community.”
The club was where Fyfe learned the football nous that has led to more than 200 AFL games and winning the league’s most prestigious medal twice.
Among the AFL players to come from Lake Grace-Pingrup are Richmond premiership player Liam Baker, Geelong legend Mark Bairstow and the three Moreton brothers, Cale, Jarryd and Mitch.
Richmond’s Liam Baker, left, hails from Lake Grace-Pingrup.(AAP: Sam Wundke)
Fyfe said he started playing for the club around year 4, when the club’s D-grade side won four premierships in a row.
“That was my grounding roots in footy… we went out, played and won,” he said.
“We had families like the Bairstows, Moretons and Slarkes; they were teaching us how to train, play and win games of footy and get together and enjoy afterwards as a team and community.
“That was my introduction to men’s footy and that taught me a lot of the craft to then go on and play AFL.”
Just 11 years after Lake Grace was settled by European pioneers a football club was established.
Lake Grace-Pingrup football club historian Bill Trevenen.(ABC Great Southern: Olivia Di Iorio)
Self-proclaimed football historian Bill Trevenen specializes in Lake Grace-Pingrup football and spent half his life in the library going through newspaper records of the club dating back to 1922.
“I profiled all the players [over the years] and it’s about 800 of them,” he said.
Mr Trevenen said regional football is extremely important to small communities across Australia.
“I think it’s the reason people get together on the weekend,” he said.
“In towns where football clubs have disbanded, those communities do struggle because there isn’t something that everyone comes to.”
Shane Carruthers says volunteers are the lifeblood of the club.(ABC Great Southern: Olivia Di Iorio)
Club president Shane Carruthers said the club continues to flourish.
“Sporting clubs are the very social fabric of country towns — it gives people an outlet on sport days to catch up with people they haven’t seen for a little while or a long while and it’s extremely important,” he said.
Widely tipped to become a Western Bulldog at season’s end, Fremantle big man Rory Lobb destroyed his likely future teammates at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
Lobb put on a goal-kicking masterclass to inspire the Dockers to a pressure-releasing 17-point win – 14.11 (95) to 11.12 (78) – and all but cemented their finals spot.
The game-high four-goal haul, including three in the first half, to help his team end a three-game winless run and put them back in the top-four, for now at least.
Lobb was held goalless last week against Melbourne and was in doubt with a shoulder issue but showed no signs of any form or injury concerns.
He connected sweetly with four long bombs from around 50m before his first blemish of the night midway through the third term and finished with 4.2.
From rebound to forward pressure, slick ball movement and some imposing tall targets, everything the Dockers had been lacking in the past few weeks was back in the first half especially which helped setup the important four points.
Lobb marks. Credit: PRECIOUS ROB/AAPIMAGE
The win didn’t come without a cost however, with Matt Taberner – who kicked two first-quarter goals in a lively start – done before three-quarter time with a right calf strain in another injury blow to the key forward.
There was also a scare with WA’s Aaron Naughton, who kicked three to take his season tally to a career-high 47, and a couple of costly turnovers sparking a third-quarter Bulldog revival.
The Bulldogs were the better team around the ground in that term but Fremantle’s remarkable efficiency, with 4.4 from 10 inside-50 entries, saw them split it on the scoreboard.
Youngster Nathan O’Driscoll, who cost one of Naughton’s goals after an errant kick into the behind post down back, made up for it soon after with a stunning long-range goal on the run and huge celebration to go with it.
Caleb Serong was the star of the show in the midfield, helping Fremantle get on top in the clearance battle.
Serong had three center clearances on his own in the first quarter and finished with eight clearances all up from his 24 possessions.
The club’s games-record holder David Mundy, who announced his retirement during the week, showed he’s still got plenty left in the tank with some silver service inside 50, using it at 82 per cent efficiency.
Livewire Lachie Schultz had his best game in a while, tackling ferociously, nailing his kicks and providing a link between the midfield and forward-line.
Winger Blake Acres also bounced back from a lean run since returning from a hamstring injury, while Brownlow Medal fancy Andrew Brayshaw’s defensive efforts and two-way running was again on display.
Recalled mid Darcy Tucker was another important contributor, transferring his red-hot WAFL form to the top level to press his case for a permanent spot in the 22.
Tucker had a whopping 10 score involvements which was the equal-most on the ground.
Speedster Michael Frederick booted three goals including the sealer midway through the final term.
Caleb Daniel is tackled by Michael Frederick. Credit: Daniel Pockett/via AFL Photos
Fremantle’s three-pronged tall forward attack, Lobb, Griffin Logue and Matt Taberner all hit the scoreboard in the opening term including two majors from the latter as the visitors opened up a nine-point quarter-time buffer.
Taberner, who was under pressure to hold his spot, looked set for a big day before his injury which saw sub Liam Henry come on and do a few nice things.
The rebound from defense was excellent from the get-go with Luke Ryan, Heath Chapman and Jordan Clark particularly damaging.
Ryan’s ability to roll off his opponent Josh Bruce was important, as was his connection with wingers Blake Acres and O’Driscoll on his way to 32 disposals and 14 marks.
For the Bulldogs, prolific midfielder Josh Dunkley was their most consistent, captain Marcus Bontempelli lifted after half-time, Naughton was their main man up forward and Tim English has his moments in a see-sawing ruck battle against Sean Darcy.
on the mark
The Dockers’ uncontested-marking game caused their opponents headaches.
In the first half alone, the victors had a whopping 44 extra uncontested marks and 61 uncontested possessions.
Their ability to hit target after target proved crucial to setting up the win.
“We didn’t go into the game looking to take so many uncontested marks, it just sort of happened,” Longmuir said at half-time.
“But I think we’ve found the good balance with our ball movement, we’ve gone at the game when we’ve needed to and we’ve found a mark when we’ve needed to.”
That differential settled down in the second half but was still significant.
Son (and grandson) of a gun unearthed
A third-generation Bulldog made his AFL debut, fittingly as the club celebrated Retro Round by wearing their old Robodog jumper design.
Sam Darcy, son of club great Luke Darcy and grandson of David, got the call up after a stunning run of form in the VFL.
The 19-year-old, who stands at 205cm and weighs 94kg, started in defense and got the big job on Matt Taberner.
His first touch was an intercept mark about five minutes into the match, getting a massive round of applause, and he flew at the footy with confidence in a promising start to his AFL career.
Remarkably retiring Fremantle veteran David Mundy played against Luke in the early years of his decorated 19-year career, likewise with Scott West, whose son Rhylee was also out there.
