Ross Lyon prophesied that a time would come when Fremantle were over run by injuries and would tip over the edge from premiership contenders to a pack of chumps in silly looking jumpers. The Dockers fell over that tipping point in their game against Geelong, adding Mundy and Barlow to the injury list during the week, losing their best defender Lee Spurr before the game, Paul Duffield’s leg falling off early in the second quarter and Michael Johnson and Chris Mayne limping their way through most of the game.
Geelong weren’t taking any prisoners either. They seemed to have cooked up some sort of rivalry in their heads that saw them run out breathing fire, with no Fremantle player too small, young or skinny to escape their thuggery. A brave, young Fremantle side stood tall for the first half, curtailing the Cats scoring in the first quarter before a dazzling display of footy in the second had the two teams just 10 points apart at half time.
But the third quarter was one of the worst in the history of the football club. They took the ball inside their fifty metre line once for the quarter and didn’t bother the goal umpire at all. Their only hope came from Geelong’s effort in front of goals of 2.9. But it wasn’t long into the last quarter before it was obvious Fremantle had no shots of consequence left to fire. They managed a few goals but finished the night 41 points down, their first loss since Round 4.