Well, I'll try not to be bitter about this game, but it won't be easy. Fremantle led by over five goals at half time, then trailed by 7 points with two minutes to go after a free kick was converted for a goal by Steven Silvagni, and lost by a point after free kicks were continually not played to Tony Modra in the last minutes of the game. Actually, in all fairness to both teams, Fremantle were very good in the second quarter, but Carlton probably outplayed them for most of the rest of the game. If Fremantle were the team that they aspire to one day become the quality and consistency of the umpiring should have had no effect, and once they were 5 goals in front they should have stayed 5 goals in front.

I'll get the whingeing about the umpiring out of the way first. Everybody tells me that the umpires have strict instructions about paying more free kicks against blokes who hold on to their opponents, and that the interpretation has changed from last year. If it has changed, it must be that they are now never paying it, instead of only paying it when its not Modra or Lloyd who is being held. Except that theory went out the window too when Silvagni got his free kick in the last quarter. Its just very frustrating watching Modra try to lead while Manton tries to father his children on Modra and knowing that nothing will be paid for it.

The other moment of minor controversy was in the second quarter when Jason Norrish managed to knock out one of the Carlton rovers - Hulme. Hulme was already wearing a bandage around his head from backing into a pack and being hit by a teammate. He grabbed the ball near the boundary line, looked up for a second, lowered his head and ran straight into Norrish, who had braced to deliver a hip and shoulder. He had to be stretchered off, but a free kick was paid and Norrish was reported. Fortunately Norrish got off at the tribunal.

I pretty much figured the game was gone when someone squared the ball across half back to Sean "Chook" McManus who in typical style dropped the uncontested chest mark. Freo got out of that one, but it was a bad sign that nothing much had changed. For most of the game they had played with plenty of skill and a reasonable amount of luck, but it just seemed too good to last. I was pleased that they fought on after falling behind - there was some improvement in that regard, but really, I don't think Freo have improved that much at all over summer.

While I'm at it, I'll say that it looked to me like Brittain out-smarted Drummy in the last quarter, by swinging Silvagni up into an open forward line. Anthony Jones kept Whitnall quiet most of the night, Brown looked to be doing a good job on Kouta when he was up forward and Shane Parker definitely had the better of "Fire Extinguisher Boy" Brendon Fevola, but when Silvagni went foward, they didn't seem to react well. He won the one on one contests and seemed to have a lot of space to roam aroudn in. Its possible that the space was a symptom of the fact that the Dockers were letting Carlton have too many easy quick centre clearances, rather than a fundamental weakness of the backline.

It might still be too soon to judge, but this game certainly showed how well Fremantle have recruited. Peter Bell lasted all of 15 minutes before he got a corky and sat out the rest of the game. He looked good while he was out there, but the team seemed not to miss him that much once he was gone. Meanwhile Brodie Holland apparently had a good game in the VFL, Jess Sinclair was reasonable playing for North, and Craig Callaghan was one of the leading possession getters for the Saints. To be fair, not all of those players were swapped for Belly. James Clement was also part of the deal. And Callaghan was swapped for Carr, not part of the Bell deal.

In the end though, I think it was Toia that the Dockers missed most. Poor Luke Toia's run of injuries just continues, and he damaged his elbow bumping an opponent during the third quarter. That elbow was the same one he had just recovered from, so maybe he was back too soon. Anyway, it seemed to me that he was the one Fremantle midfielder who was marking a man. Hasleby, Fletcher and Cook are all great players, but their emphasis is on getting the ball, not on stopping the other bloke getting it. Towards the end of the game, with Matthew Allen on top in the ruck and Bradley and Ratten winning the centre clearances, it just seemed like the Dockers needed a bloke who would tie the ball up on the ground.

Final Score : Fremantle 18.10-118 lost to Carlton 18.11-119

© 2001 timnfromoz timnfromoz@hotmail.com

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