Western Derby 63 takes place at prime time tomorrow night – the Dockers sitting in 1st clear by three games and taking on the Eagles in 16th.
The ladder leaders have won that last four derbies, the count currently sitting at 29 for the Dockers to 33 for West Coast.
Fremantle come off a narrow escape from Port Adelaide – a four-goal-to-one third quarter giving them the breathing room they needed to get over the line last Saturday.
Their recent form has been rather sluggish, losing the first quarter in their last three matches and ultimately snapping a 14-game win streak to GWS.
With a finals berth secured, it’s important the Dockers keep strong momentum going into September.
1990 Collingwood Premiership player, Mick McGuane, joined Sports Breakfast this morning.
“Individuals can go into a bit of self-preservation when they think they’re probably embedded into a team and that can lead to a bit of sloppiness, complacency – it is called the success disease for a reason,” he said.
“They’re playing in bursts at the moment, and they’re manufacturing wins when at some stages it looks impossible… When they’ve got adversity on the scoreboard they find a way to win, which is a sign of a great team.
“When you’ve got real pressure for spots, that invigorates the playing group – and from a coaching perspective, you just want to treat every game like it is the most important game that’s in front of you.”
With five games left until finals, the Eagles will be looking to rile up Freo and test their mental strength.
West Coast are yet to take a big scalp in 2024 – their only wins coming against North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, GWS and Essendon.
“We know what these local derbies are like. I love watching it because you don’t know what’s going to happen… and this is where the discipline match with the controlled aggression – not silly aggression – will take place.”
“Fremantle will be going to a final, so you don’t want to do anything stupid from an individual standpoint if your emotions flow over. And West Coast Eagles, they’ll certainly test Fremantle’s mental in that situation.”
Despite another rough season on the ladder, the Eagles have shown their fans signs of change.
West Coast finished up last year with one win and will be hoping to beat their record in 2024 with another victory before the end of 2026.
“They’ve only won 20 quarters of footy this year out of the 72 they’ve played. So they show when they do win those quarters of footy, there’s a couple of glaring reasons why – their contest is stronger, their pressure’s high.”
“I think they’re on an upward trajectory, the West Coast Eagles under ‘Mini’ McQualter, but they’ve just got to do it more consistently with the young group they’ve got, and that’ll come over time.
Tomorrow’s Derby clash kicks off at 6:10pm local time.