Fremantle have soared into Premiership favouritism with a systematic demolition of the once fancied Carlton Blues and their 25 time failed coach, Mick Matlhouse whilst other teams of note appear to be crumbling under the weight of the business end of the season.
It wasn’t a pretty game but this time that wasn’t of Ross Lyon’s design. Fremantle went in hard, throwing themselves at the contest and the man, with Carlton following suit and trying to out muscle Freo in the hope they would wilt under the pressure. They didn’t.
Carlton took an early lead thanks to some generous support from the men in fluoro green but the Dockers, as is their preference, kept chipping away until the scoreboard eventually fell in their favour. By half time, Fremantle looked on target for a hard fought but uninspiring ground out victory.
But things went wrong quickly in the third term. Carlton kicked two early, easy ones and the Fremantle line were looking vulnerable. That’s when everything was turned on it’s head. Like the Ewok army bringing down the evil Empire, the sublime skills of Michael Walters, Hayden Ballantyne and Lachie Neale in front of goals, took Carlton by surprise and changed the tone of the match from a defensive slog to a free flowing shootout, relatively speaking. The midget brigade ran amok, Carlton run out of legs and the Dockers cruised in for a 36 point win.
