Fremantle 110 points to Port 79 points

On a day when my Tony Modra poster fell ominously from my bedroom wall and I donned my purple knickers in a desperate bid for a good luck charm I, like many supporters, turned on the T.V. with little hope of a win at AAMI Stadium.

The Dockers’ first boost came in the form of a missing Warren Tredrea, who wasn’t quite fit enough to play (oh shame) and the second came in the form of Wayne Carey who, with that carrot still noticeably wedged up his ass, tipped us with the appearance of absolute seriousness. The absence of that current great and the confidence of that former, if fault ridden great, both encouraged that sneaking feeling of hope that Dockers’ supporters know only too well and grow to hate when things start to go pear shaped after the ball is bounced.

--the second came in the form of Wayne Carey who, with that carrot still noticeably wedged up his ass, tipped us with the appearance of absolute seriousness--

The first quarter did nothing to encourage this feeling as the Dockers dominated possession but failed to make a dangerous Port pay, with easy shots missed by a gaggle of Fremantle’s senior players including: Mathew Pavlich, Jeff Farmer and Mathew Carr. Fremantle’s saving grace came in the form of Port’s equally poor accuracy down the other end and the continued impressiveness of our young back line. The Dockers, persisting in their bid to break all the wrong records, as theirs became the only game since 1998 where neither side managed a major score in the opening quarter. Despite this deplorable inaccuracy in true Docker’s supporter’s style, we remained up beat, claiming a lead coming into quarter time.

After receiving invaluable, typically inspiring, words of wisdom from our esteemed coach, Fremantle continued to dominate but also failed to convert in the early part of the quarter. The worrying and increasingly comical drought was finally broken by a clever kick from our long-suffering captain that set up a trademark Jeff Farmer goal. This one goal succeeded in opening the floodgates as both teams’ slotted consecutive goals. At half time Fremantle’s overall control of the game was partly translated with a sixteen point half time lead and a reasonable score considering the lack of first quarter goals. The commentators, however, were questioning the Dockers’ ability to run out the game with their supreme first half running translating into little scoreboard pressure.

Half time seemed like an eternity as I began to develop a splitting headache and a decidedly nauseous gut, the Dockers, having given rise to that unwillingly harboured feeling of hope, I began to have nightmares about a second half Port Adelaide whitewash. These bitter internal musings once again gave rise to the recurring question: Why do I put myself through this?

I barely had time to dismiss this inquiry before the third quarter was upon us. To my utter relief the Dockers did not come out playing like lemons but actually stretched their lead to 33points at the thirteen-minute mark of the quarter with even Des Headland kicking an unlikely goal. This feeling was short lived however as Port rallied and banged on a number of goals to go into three quarter time only seventeen points down.

Once again the ugly side that only the Dockers can wrench out of me came to the fore. I began to snap at near by innocents and turn on my allies. Finally, I ordered my dad out of the room in a desperate search for a fixable reason for Port’s resurgence. Yet in the back of my mind I knew only too well that the rest was up to the player’s heart, admittedly this was what worried me most.

The last quarter brought high drama as a surprisingly polished Shaun McManus slotted one through, as so many before him had been unable to do, within the first two minutes to extend the lead and regain important momentum. My cheering soon turned to dismay, as the Power seemed to gain control and slotted through a few quick ones to once more reduce the lead to a winnable margin and induce a barrage of questionable language to depart my mouth and clumps of my hair to be ripped out. I soon felt guilty at my lack of faith as our captain, Peter Bell, and our future captain, Mathew Pavlich, kicked the sealers.

After feeling so depressed following rounds one and two, I felt curiously light hearted after this effort. The Dockers, after wasting early opportunities did not give up but in a strange and rarely seen fashion, lead at every change for a gutsy and convincing away victory. The major positives included the work rate and team play of Fremantle that has been noticeably lacking in previous rounds, the continued improvement of the young players, the rebound off the back line and Polak’s promising and Paul Haselby’s best on ground return.

However, once again we were pasted in the clearances with the midfield continuing to struggle to communicate with Sandilands and to win the hard ball. Major forward line names still do not have the impact they should and fail to live up to their on paper potential. All this said, I think I speak for all when I say that we are delighted to escape the inbred capital of Australia with the four points. Connolly continues to inspire absolute confidence by commenting in a post match press conference that teams who were able to win in Adelaide early in the season are quite often there in the crucial September weeks (nothing like keeping a lid on it, hey, Chris!).

At moments like this though I am reminded why I remain so devoted to the Dockers and I begin to wonder if the three hours in which I lost grip of self control and reality was all just a vivid, euphoric dream. Right now I possess a rare feeling (for Docker’s fans), of inner calm and peace with the world that is only partly disturbed by the unshakeable presence of the West Coast Eagles at the top of the ladder. Right now we sit on 8^th awaiting the arrival at Subiaco (aka The House of Pain) of the other crow eating team that must be positively shaking in their boots after falling over the line against Melbourne.

Votes:

3:  Paul Haselby

2: Michael Johnson

1: Josh Carr

Honourable mentions to Roger Hayden, David Mundy, Shaun McManus and of course the incomparable Peter Bell.

Discuss this article here!