Attention all Dockers fans! If a an upcoming Fremantle clash is pumped up as a big game do as follows until the game in question is over:

1) Do not read newspapers

2) Do not listen to the radio

3) Do not watch the TV

4) Do not, I repeat, NO NOT ATTEND the game or watch it on the TV!

5) And most importantly, don't get your hopes up!

The Dockers have shown once again that in the big, tough, crunch games the team just cannot rise to the occasion. It is a disappointing for all concerned because these are the games when millions of people are watching on TV, 40,000 rabid fans are there at the ground that you want to see your team do well. It's purely a matter of home town pride.

As it stands, until Fremantle can win one of these big games, (and hopefully in the next four weeks we can do just that) we are always going to be criticised as "pretenders". It's a fair call at present, as the entire organisation is coming to grips with being more than merely mediocre, that next transitional step that the perennial top clubs have achieved of consistent big time footy, is so far proving out of the Dockers reach.

And so it was again against the Collingwood Magpies, who but for poor kicking for goal should have belted us. It was the Maggies who were desperate, aggressive and savoring the contest, while the Fremantle boys seemed to saunter, expecting that the four points would come purely by virtue of the ladder positions. It was hoped that similar shock losses throughout the season would have shaken out all complacency but the hardness for the ball was simply not there.

It was the Collingwood players with the Western Australian connections who did the most damage; Leon Davis played a blinder amassing possessions at will and kicking three goals in a game where they were hard to come by, ex-Docker James Clement was stoic in marshalling the defense despite a fractured cheekbone keeping the Dockers to 2 goals in the first half, Brodie Holland was tough in the clinches all night and kicked a deflating goal for the visitors at a crucial stage in the last quarter, and Shane Woewodin did as he pleased at centre half back, while apparently playing on Matthew Pavlich, although you could have been excused for mistaking him as a spare man.

There were a few Dockers who tried hard despite it all. Jeff Farmer continued his improved form, Haselby battled manfully, Longmuir was good in patches and new player Dylan Smith showed a bit.

The run home looks dodgy now for Fremantle, but there should be enough belief in the group that they can fist out enough wins to make the eight for the second time. Geelong away, the Derby and the Saints at the Dome will not be easy though. Good Luck Freo....

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