Fremantle are looking to avoid suffering an unprecedented late-season capitulation, with the Dockers looming as the biggest victim of one of the tightest years on record. If they can’t climb back into the finals frame this weekend, Freo would become the first-ever team to go from as high as third with four games remaining to missing the eight altogether since the top-eight set-up was instigated in 1994. The highest-placed sides with four matches left who ultimately missed out on reaching the finals were Port Adelaide in 2018 and Richmond in 1994, who slipped from fourth to 10th and ninth respectively.
Close-game struggles have been the biggest factor in the Dockers’ frustrating campaign, with Justin Longmuir’s side featuring in eight matches decided by 13 points or fewer – and winning just one of them, with one draw. It’s the worst win percentage by any AFL team with a season consisting of at least eight games with a margin of 13 or less since Freo themselves in 2008, with those Dockers going winless through eight such matches en route to a 14th-place finish.
Subscribers with digital access can view this article.
Already a subscriber?
Source Agencies
