Justin Chadwick
Star ruckman Luke Jackson has produced yet another match-winning display as Fremantle overcame a 28-point deficit to beat Geelong by nine points and extend their club-record winning run to 13 games.
The Cats led 56-28 midway through the second quarter of Thursday night’s blockbuster in Perth as Fremantle’s stars faltered badly in front of goal.
But the Dockers eventually found their groove, kicking 10 goals without a miss to go from 3.11 to 13.11 to take a 19-point lead into three-quarter time
Geelong closed the gap to nine points with five minutes remaining when Jack Henry kicked truly, but Fremantle held their nerve in a thrilling finish to seal the 14.15 (99) to 14.6 (90) win in front of 55,201 fans.
Jackson finished with 28 disposals, 26 hitouts, six clearances and three goals in a monster effort.
“He just keeps building, doesn’t he? He keeps growing as a player,” Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said.
“He’s got fitter and stronger and his contest work is super and it was great to see him go forward and hang on to a couple of marks and finish his work off and get some reward that way.
“I’ve said it all year – he just becomes another midfielder when the ball hits the deck. He keeps adding layers to his game and he was super.”
Star Dockers midfielder Andrew Brayshaw tallied 16 disposals in the third quarter alone on the way to 35 for the match, Jye Amiss kicked 3.4, and 150-game milestone man Alex Pearce took seven intercept marks.
For Geelong – who were missing Bailey Smith and Tom Stewart – Max Holmes was busy with 27 disposals and 597 meteres gained, while Jack Martin kicked three first-quarter goals but none thereafter.
Fremantle’s club-extending record 13th win on the trot means the Dockers (13-1) stay a game clear on top of the ladder, while Geelong (9-6) could slip out of the top four by the end of the round.
Dockers forward Josh Treacy was off-target with 0.2 to go with another set shot that didn’t register a score as Geelong took a 10-point lead into quarter time,
Fremantle’s kicking woes reached fever pitch in the second quarter as Geelong’s lead blew out to 28 points.
Sam Switkowski, Shai Bolton, Hayden Young, Amiss, Murphy Reid and Voss all missed gettable chances, with another snap from Amiss missing everything by 15 metres.
Even a mark of the year contender from Bolton – who flew over Voss and Jake Kolodjashnij in spectacular fashion – couldn’t stop the rot as Geelong kept making Fremantle pay for their misses.
Fremantle’s run of seven consecutive behinds was finally ended when Voss picked up the ball from one metre out to slot his second.
The moment sparked a three-goal run from the Dockers, with Treacy’s 55-metere bomb and Jackson’s set shot closing the margin to nine points by half-time.
Fremantle snatched the lead early in the third quarter, and although Geelong briefly responded, the Dockers finished with a flurry to take a 19-point lead into the final change before holding off Geelong’s late charge.
“I thought it was a pretty high standard game,” Geelong coach Chris Scott said.
“And sometimes the hotter the game, the more obvious some of the execution issues can be, which is a little unfair.
“Because I suspect even watching on TV, you sort of see some missed shots of goal and think, ‘how could he miss that one?’
“But you don’t see the build up where players just work so hard.”
