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I got the word on Saturday from someone who knows someone inside the Fremantle camp that the Dockers were pumped and supremely confident about getting the W the next day against Melbourne at TIO Traeger Park in the red heart of the country. I was informed that the Dockers were extremely confident for a number of reasons. They had beaten the Demons on their home territory at the MCG at their last two meetings so they didn’t see beating them at Alice Springs as a problem. They believed they had figured out the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents well. In particular, they felt that their two ruckmen had the competition’s overworked but leading exponent of the craft covered, that their midfield was more versatile and could beat the combination that swept all before them when the premiership was played off for the first and only time in their neck of the woods. Moreover, the Freo one wood was a defence they backed to hold anyone to a meagre score and that their attack was lean, hungry and primed to score heavily. My mail came from a reliable source but at the time, I dismissed it as fanciful and over optimistic on the part of a club that had, after all, struggled through 2023 to finish in 14th place, managed only four goals at home against the Swans a few weeks ago, had just fallen in against the Saints and managed to grab a last gasp draw against a wounded and faltering Magpie team, again on home turf. This was not the sort of form that was sufficient to warrant such boastfulness. And seven minutes into the game at Alice Springs with the scoreboard showing Melbourne leading by 2.1.13 to 0.0.0, I was feeling pretty confident that the Dockers were on the wrong track and that the Demons were about to secure their place in the top four. But … alas … they were right and I was wrong. From that time, Melbourne managed only one more goal to half time and by the time the game was over, a number of records had been smashed to pieces. It was a complete demolition with the 92 point defeat, the club’s biggest under coach Simon Goodwin. Fremantle's 22.9.141 was the highest score it has conceded since he took over as coach in 2017. By the time, it was over, his team was outside the top eight for the first time since the 2021 premiership season began and when the round ended, they were tenth on the ladder. What happened? The Dockers’ pre-match predictions were all spot on - that’s what happened! Apart from that opening seven minute period, the pressure they applied was far too much for Demons who were beaten all over the ground allowing the marking power of Luke Jackson, Josh Treacy and Jye Amiss to overpower the much vaunted Melbourne defence without Jake Lever as the glue that holds them together. At the other end of the ground, there was not a pulse to be found in its attack. For a coach, the post match conference is the most difficult task on earth after a flogging. Goodwin described the performance as "completely unacceptable" but … alas … if he was directing his comments to the playing group, he was wasting his time. They had completely switched off much earlier in the day MELBOURNE 2.3.15 3.3.21 5.4.34 7.7.49 FREMANTLE 5.2.32 11.5.71 18.7.115 22.9.141 GOALS MELBOURNE McDonald 2 Gawn Oliver Petracca Petty Viney FREMANTLE Amiss 4 Jackson Treacy Walters 3 Frederick 2 Clark Darcy Fyfe Serong Sturt Switkowski Young BEST MELBOURNE Petracca Salem Gawn McVee Viney Neal-Bullen FREMANTLE Clark Serong Brayshaw Amiss Young Walters INJURIES MELBOURNE Hunter (left calf) FREMANTLE Nil REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil FREMANTLE Nil SUBSTITUTIONS MELBOURNE Taj Woewodin (replaced Lachie Hunter at half-time) FREMANTLE Corey Wagner (replaced Michael Frederick at three-quarter time) UMPIRES Johanson O'Gorman Williamson Mollison CROWD 6,109 at TIO Traeger Park

Situated roughly in Australia's geographic centre, Alice Springs has for many years been a troubled town suffering from intermittent crime waves, particularly among its younger residents. There was a time a little while ago when things were so bad that some even doubted the annual AFL game in the town would proceed. Now, the hope is that this Sunday’s Melbourne vs Fremantle encounter will bring joy to the residents of the town and that through the sport and the example of the participants, better times will perhaps come to the people of Australia’s red heart, so bring it on! This week’s round involves the first of the second group of byes in 2024 and added attention to the two teams fighting for ascendancy in the logjam of clubs in the race for one of the competition’s vital top four spots. While the Demons will be keen to win this one to create a buffer against the other contenders, the Dockers have had the edge on them since they won their premiership in the West in 2021. Those defeats in 2022 and 2023 were particularly galling as not only were they unexpected, but because they were also played on Melbourne’s home ground at the MCG. This time, the match up is on neutral territory. The Demons are not yet to be entitled to call TIO Traeger Park their home away from home. Last year, the weather played its tricks when unseasonal rain turned the ground into a sodden mess so that despite their dominance everywhere around the ground, they lost to the Giants by two points thanks to an ugly score line of 5.15.45 to 7.5.47. Melbourne’s score was the lowest ever in AFL history at the venue. But if history means anything then this could be a turning point for the Dees against the Dockers. Their midfield, which came back well against the Saints last week, usually fares well at the ground. Jack Viney is due to register his tenth game at the ground on Sunday to become the first AFL player to make double figures in this category and last year, he became the first player to record 40 possessions at the ground. His midfield partners in crime, Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca are regular high disposal winners at the ground. Kozzie Pickett has the record number of goals in a match there - six (scored against Port Adelaide in 2022). Of course, records mean very little when the team plays there more often than others, especially when their Freo counterparts have never played there at all, but there’s no doubt about the Demons’ capacity to play good footy in the Red Centre. I wouldn’t underestimate the opposition’s midfielders either with Brayshaw, Serong and Young all racking up good numbers in the middle recently and Jackson backing them up as a mobile ruckman. Whoever gets on top in this department, will go a long way to winning this game. I also put the Demons ahead marginally in measuring the strength of the respective defences even in the absence of Jake Lever. The Melbourne forwards looked better and more balanced last week with the return of Jacob van Rooyen. Essentially, Melbourne will win the battle of the nation’s red heart if it can bring its usual intensity to this troubled area. The Demons have put a lot of effort into working with the local community. They won’t let them down. Melbourne to win by 13 points. THE GAME Melbourne v Fremantle at TIO Traeger Park, Alice Springs on Sunday 2 June, 2024 at 1.00pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 18 wins Fremantle 25 wins At TIO Traeger Park Melbourne 0 wins Fremantle 0 wins Last five meetings Melbourne 2 wins Fremantle 3 wins The Coaches Goodwin 2 wins Longmuir 3 wins LAST TIME THEY MET Fremantle 12.7.79 defeated Melbourne 10.12.72 at The MCG, Round 20, 2023 The Demons were on top of the Dockers early with Gawn and Grundy dominating the rucks and Petracca and Brayshaw controlling ground level. Freo ground its way back into the game with their superior kicking for goal and held Melbourne out to record a 7 point victory away from home. TEAMS MELBOURNE B J. Bowey, S. May, T. Rivers HB C Salem, A. Tomlinson, T. McDonald C E. Langdon C. Oliver, C. Windsor HF S. McAdam, B. Fritsch, K. Chandler F K. Pickett, H. Petty A. Neal-Bullen FOLL M. Gawn, J. Viney, C. Petracca I/C L. Hunter, J. McVee, T. Sparrow, D. Turner SUB T. Woewodin EMG J. Billings, B.Brown, B. Laurie IN D. Turner OUT J. van Rooyen (adductor) FREMANTLE B H. Chapman, A. Pearce, J. Draper HB J. Aish, L. Ryan, J. Clark C J. Sharp, A. Brayshaw, H. Young HF J. O'Meara, S. Switkowski, M. Frederick F J. Treacy, J. Amiss, L. Jackson FOLL S. Darcy, C. Serong, N. Fyfe I/C B. Banfield, S. Sturt, B. Walker, M. Walters SUB C. Wagner EMG T. Emmett, N. Erasmus, M. Johnson IN M. Frederick, S. Sturt OUT T. Emmett (omitted), M. Johnson (managed) Injury List: Round 12 Tom Fullarton — hamstring / Test Harrison Petty — ankle / Test Daniel Turner — calf / Test Marty Hore — calf / 2 - 3 weeks Josh Schache — Achilles / 2 - 3 weeks Jake Lever — knee / 3 - 4 weeks Jake Melksham — knee / 3 - 5 weeks Charlie Spargo — Achilles/ TBC

Demon fans had been spending their time “death riding” the Dockers for months. Their enjoyment of this exercise came to an abrupt end when Freo (aka Walyalup) outlasted Melbourne (Narrm) by 7 points. TEAMS NARRM B M. Hibberd J. Lever J. McVee HB C. Salem S. May A. Brayshaw C E. Langdon J. Viney T. Sparrow HF B. Fritsch T. McDonald K. Pickett F K. Chandler B. Grundy C. Spargo FOLL M. Gawn C. Petracca A. Neal-Bullen I/C J. Bowey J. Harmes T. Rivers J. van Rooyen SUB J. Jordon EMG B. Laurie J. Smith T. Woewodin IN J. Harmes T. Sparrow OUT L. Hunter (suspended) C. Oliver (hamstring) WALYALUP B B. Cox A. Pearce H. B B. Cox A. Pearce H. Young HB B. Walker L. Ryan J. Aish C J. Clark J. O'Meara N. O'Driscoll HF S. Switkowski N. Fyfe M. Frederick F M. Johnson J. Amiss L. Schultz FOLL S. Darcy A. Brayshaw L. Jackson I/C B. Banfield E. Hughes C. Serong J. Treacy SUB S. Sturt EMG W. Brodie N. Erasmus K. Worner IN S. Sturt OUT M. Walters (calf)