So good for so long this year, Fremantle chose an inopportune time to put in — by some distance — its worst shift of the AFL season.
But that assessment is unkind to a Hawthorn side who were nothing short of brilliant in Thursday night’s qualifying final at Perth Stadium.
The Hawks dominated on the ground, in the air and particularly down back, holding Fremantle to 40 points, its lowest score of the season.
The victory was built on manic pressure, the visitors forcing the Dockers into turnovers and denying them the chance to get their running game going.
Hawthorn’s 32-point win puts it into a home preliminary final, the club now two MCG wins away from its 14th premiership.
Fremantle, meanwhile, toppled from joint-premiership favouritism, and will have to do it the hard way if the club is to bring a first flag to the port city.
The concerning thing for the Dockers was the manner of the defeat.
No Wharfie Time
Other than the first two minutes of the game, the result rarely looked in doubt.
There would be no Wharfie Time comeback against the Hawks this time, as there had been in round nine when the Dockers emerged from a titanic scrap with a 15-point win.
The Hawks came, saw and conquered the Dockers at Perth Stadium. (AAP Image: Richard Wainwright)
Last night Fremantle, who had been unbeaten at home all year, just couldn’t get close enough to push the button.
So good was Hawthorn’s defence that the Dockers’ three-headed forward line leviathan — Josh Treacy, Jye Amiss and Pat Voss — combined for only two goals.
Voss and Treacy managed just one mark between them.
Credit must go to Hawthorn’s three-headed beast of its own — backmen James Sicily, Josh Battle and Tom Barrass proving majestic in getting their blend of destruction and creativity just right.
James Sicily was masterful in defence for the Hawks. (AAP Image: Richard Wainwright)
After Fremantle kicked the opening goal of the match, Hawthorn then banged on the next six to take a 33-point lead into the long break.
The Dockers needed to make a move in the third quarter, and they emerged from the sheds with renewed vigour.
But every time Freo struck, the Hawks replied.
The Dockers failed to kick two goals in a row all night, and most of the 59,446 fans who poured through the turnstiles would have been resigned to their fate long before the final siren.
On a night when few Dockers beat their direct opponents, Jordan Clark was outstanding — the All Australian defender notching up 38 disposals and dragging down a spectacular mark.
Sicily was Hawthorn’s best with 26 touches, while Jack Gunston, Dylan Moore and Nick Watson kicked two goals apiece.
‘Not dead and buried’
Speaking after the match, Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir backed his decision to select Brandon Walker for his first game since round one to curtail the influence of Nick Watson, describing their contest as a “pretty good tussle”.
But Walker’s rolled ankle ended that tussle early, the dashing defender in tears on the bench after being ruled out of the game.
Watson capitalised on his absence, kicking a goal late in the third quarter and then producing a moment of pure wizardry early in the fourth, handballing to himself before burning off Luke Ryan to set up a goal for Harry Morrison, who extended the lead to 38 points.
Nick Watson prepares to activate the jets to get past Luke Ryan and send Hawthorn inside 50. (AAP Image: Richard Wainwright)
There was no way back for the Dockers, who have now lost three of their past four games.
But Longmuir denied his side was out of form.
“Go back and have a look at the Adelaide game [in round 23], I thought we played a good brand of footy against a really desperate team who had it all to play for,” he said.
“We had a couple of away games where we didn’t play our best footy, but I’ve got a lot of faith in this group to bounce back from that.”
The coach, who has preached the value of “process” all year, backed his men to get the process spot on over the next week ahead of a cut-throat home semi-final against either Carlton or Geelong.
“It’s not the way we wanted it to go, but we’re not dead and buried,”
he said.
Emotional win
For Hawks coach Sam Mitchell, the overwhelming feeling was one of pride.
Teams like Geelong, Sydney and Adelaide had been able to meet Fremantle’s fire for quarters and halves this season, but no one has been able to douse it completely for an entire game at Perth Stadium like the Hawks.
Sam Mitchell was proud of the intensity his players showed. (AAP Image: Richard Wainwright)
“The relentless pressure that we had on them in that game was what we thought would be required,” Mitchell said.
“Full credit to the players for being able to produce that level of effort for that long.“
The coach paid tribute to Will Day, the midfielder outstanding in his first final after a dreadful run with injuries.
An emotional Day let the tears flow on the final siren, and Mitchell said he was feeling it too.
“He’s so resilient, he’s been through so much,” Mitchell said.
“He showed it more than I did, but I felt exactly the way he looked after the game.”
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