Suns humbled as Dockers snare sweet revenge in Perth
Justin Chadwick
The pressure on the Gold Coast is set to go into overdrive after the Suns put on a horror show en route to a 51-point defeat to Fremantle at Optus Stadium.
Murphy Reid (28 disposals) produced a masterclass in midfield and Michael Frederick kicked an equal career-high four goals as Fremantle claimed their 14th win with an 11.14 (80) to 3.11 (29) victory in front of 50,602 fans in Perth.
The victory moved Fremantle (14-1) clear of second-placed Sydney, with two wins, and third-placed Hawthorn, with three-and-a-half wins, and a top-two finish that was well within their grasp.
Gold Coast (7-8) started the year as one of the Premier League favourites, but they are currently on a five-game losing streak and face a huge challenge to turn their season around.
The Suns had only two majors against Fremantle until Jed Walter came up with an open goal in the dying minutes of the game.
Some of Gold Coast’s mistakes were so bad they left coach Damien Hardwick frustrated in the penalty area with his hands over his head.
Despite winning the clearing battle 36-24, Gold Coast failed to capitalize on the situation due to some terrible decision-making and a lack of skill.
Damn, Gold Coast lost the challenge point 66-44 despite having 64 fewer disposals in the match.
Noah Anderson (32 disposals, eight disposals) battled hard but remained quiet as fellow midfield star Christian Petracca (17 disposals, five disposals) spent long spells in attack.
Striker Bailey Humphrey (no points from six disposals) again endured a poor start, while out-of-contract frontman Ben King was restricted to 1.2 from seven disposals.
Fremantle had winners across the board.
And Dockers ruckman Sean Darcy made a welcome return, tallying six disposals, 20 kicks and a goal in his first AFL game since round five.
The Suns beat Fremantle by a point in last year’s qualifying final in Perth and the Dockers emerged like a team possessed at the start of Sunday’s rematch.
The intense pressure from the Dockers proved too much for the Suns; Frederick cashed in with three quick goals and Luke Jackson added another from a contested spot to give Fremantle a 28-2 lead at quarter-time.
The damage would have been even greater had it not been for two misses from Dockers spearhead Jye Amiss and a pinout from Patrick Voss.
Fremantle led the inter-50s 15-7 in the second quarter, but their reward for their lowest-scoring period of the season was a meager three down.
King scored the only goal of the season and brought the difference to 20 points.
However, Jackson broke the game at the beginning of the third quarter and made a 50-meter set shot and provided another assist to Voss.
By the time Frederick scored his fourth goal, the lead was 40 points and the game was over.
AAP
