Fremantle open round 9 with yet another big test for the team playing Hawthorn at Optus Stadium tonight in a thrilling top four clash.
The Dockers come off a narrow two-goal victory over the Bulldogs last week on the road to collect their seventh win in a row for 2026.
It was Hayden Young who led a late third quarter surge, kicking three goals in the second half including a goal of the year contender check-side from the left pocket.
Shai Bolton and Murphy Reid aided Young in a second half midfield dominance, showcasing the depth of strong ball users the Dockers have in their arsenal alongside Brayshaw and Serong.
This Fremantle side has turned the ship around since round 8 last year after an abysmal 61-point loss to the Saints, now recording 19 regular season game wins and just four losses since.
Former Collingwood premiership player Mick McGuane joined Sports Breakfast this morning.
“He’s [Hayden Young] part of a terrific midfield, as we know, and Shai Bolton’s the other one you need to mention because he’s spending so much time through there at centre bounces,” he said.
“But I suppose it’s Hayden Young’s creativity once he gets the ball in his hands. He’s got time when he makes decisions. He just makes the game stand still. He sees options that others don’t and I just love his ability to hit the scoreboard, particularly when he can wheel onto that left leg like he did last week out of stoppage and finish the play.
“He compliments Serong and Brayshaw really well, and then when you put that dynamic X-factor type of player in Bolton alongside Young, you got two players who can impact the game centre-forward and that’s the reason why they’re a fantastic footy team at the moment.”
After a draw against the Pies last Thursday, Hawthorne will be looking to tidy themselves up and address the areas they usually dominate in tonight.
One of those areas is their ability to score off interceptions, with players like Nick Watson and particularly last week Connor Macdonald, who kicked three goals, benefitting off their turnover game.
“They weren’t that good last week against Collingwood and that cost them the game. But they’ve got this capacity to intercept the ball and then go back at the opposition and punish, so their intercept to score percentage is around one in four at the moment – that’s a really strong return and ratio.”
“I suppose one thing he’ll [Sam Mitchell] be looking at is trying to get an advantage out of their small forwards against Fremantle’s smallish hybrid defenders… Watson, Dylan Moore, these types of boys can really do some damage against Freo’s defence if they get territory on their terms.”
With some big outs for Hawthorn going into tonight’s match, McGuane is backing the home side to chalk up their eighth win in a row.
“I think Fremantle will get the job done at home, a pretty settled environment.”
“Bodie Ryan plays his first game on debut, Butler we know, and Ramsden was an interesting selection, so he’s there probably for a structural purpose because Dear has done that abductor and he’s out.”
Another win will see Freo continue to chase Sydney in the top spot, vying for a strong run at the premiership later in the postseason.
IMAGE: Getty Images