The fourth instalment of Gather Round was a huge success over the weekend, with 270,018 fans walking through the gates in total.

Wet weather was a deterrent to no one, with Fremantle passing a pressure test against Collingwood and coming away victorious on Friday night by a goal.

Matt Johnson kicked the match winner off a clanger from Billy Frampton, with Josh Treacy proving heroic once again taking a huge mark in the backline to cut Collingwood’s chances as the game edged closer to the final siren.

Eagles dual premiership player Chris Waterman spoke to SportFM this morning.

“Big Josh took another great mark late in the game… there was some good heroics in there and they just looked like a mature team who’s going somewhere,” he said.

“Young Chapman does his job all the time, you know, then you have Worner and Wagner who just hold their end as well down back, and the captain does a great job all the time.

“There’s a fair bit all around the field that is making Freo probably one of the top two or three teams in the comp.”

The mood was dampened with ruckman Sean Darcy copping a knock to the head in the second quarter, now prompting question around the selection of premiership ruckman Mason Cox.

Isaiah Dudley has found his form this year, being one of only two multiple goalkickers for the evening alongside teammate Jye Amiss, both slotting two majors.

“He [Dudley] looks a lot better as a footballer than what he did and he does what good small forwards do. He just gets to the right spot, gets in front with the ball in hand… if he can’t get a shot off he’s generally speeding it out for someone to keep the ball alive.”

The Eagles continued to show promising signs, keeping up with last year’s runners-up for the majority of the first half before Geelong pulled away ahead of half time.

Bailey Smith and Max Holmes helped keep the margin at a distance, both providing midfield dominance with 34 disposals each and a goal from Smith.

Jobe Shanahan has a bright future ahead of him after he slotted four, and number one pick Willem Duursma continues to impress, walking away with 20 and a goal for the day.

Deven Roberston had the job on the star Cat but limped off in the fourth with a knee injury to further sour a rough day for West Coast.

Deven Roberts is going to be a bit of a loss for them, he did a good job on Bailey Smith after quarter time.”

“10 minutes before halt time, they gave up five goals from Geelong’s stoppage work… I think the skill level was a highlight of the day but there was a difference between the two teams and they couldn’t really recover from that. They hung on and – 46 points is significant – but at least it wasn’t a complete blowout.”

Bad boy Harley Reid continues to frustrate fans while still playing a crucial role in the midfield, finishing up with 22 disposals and a major.

“He’s still playing kids footy in many ways, so one of the habits he’s got to get out of is streaming out of the middle or out of a pack and bouncing it within four or five steps.”

“You think about the two to four goals a week that they give away from silly mistakes and a couple of errant kicks… Once they can tidy that up, it brings them back in the game. Then you’ve got the skill errors which just cause turnovers and gives away two or three goals.”

“There’s just little tweaks in there which probably comes with more experience and just tidying a few things up… it’s not rocket science, it’s just little bits here and there.”

Fremantle and West Coast face each other in the first Western Derby of the year this weekend, the dockers hoping to extend their streak to five in a row while the Eagles will be looking to upset.

IMAGE: AFL Photos