The teams Fremantle Dockers fans will be barracking for during the run to finals
Plus, what happens if it all goes their way …
SATURDAY
Hawthorn v
Port Adelaide
Sydney v
North Melbourne
SUNDAY
Geelong v
St Kilda
Collingwood v
Fremantle
Adelaide v
Gold Coast
A Hawthorn loss to Port Adelaide in Tasmania will keep the Dockers level on points with the Hawks, even better it will give the Dockers' four points of separation if they can knock off top-of-the-ladder Collingwood. With an Adelaide loss and their own win, the Dockers could jump up as high as third.
THURSDAY
Hawthorn v
Carlton
FRIDAY
Essendon
v Western Bulldogs
GWS v
Sydney
SATURDAY
Gold Coast v
Brisbane
Fremantle
v West Coast
North Melbourne
v Geelong
Adelaide v
Port Adelaide
SUNDAY
Richmond
v Collingwood
If the Hawks keep losing, a spot in the eight is really there for the taking, while a Dogs loss would give the Dockers more insurance on their finals spot. The Giants are also a rival for the eight. The western derby could be a chance for Fremantle to boost their percentage, while a Showdown upset could keep them in the mix for the spots right up the top.
THURSDAY
Western Bulldogs
v GWS
FRIDAY
Adelaide v
Hawthorn
SATURDAY
Gold Coast v
Richmond
Collingwood
v Brisbane
SUNDAY
Geelong v
Port Adelaide
Fremantle
v Carlton
If results go Fremantle's way, they could start to shake some teams by this stage, including Greater Western Sydney, Gold Coast, Adelaide and Hawthorn, while Collingwood and Brisbane will be within reach.
THURSDAY
Hawthorn
v Collingwood
FRIDAY
Geelong v
Essendon
SATURDAY
Brisbane v
Sydney
Carlton
v Gold Coast
Port Adelaide v Fremantle
SUNDAY
GWS v
North Melbourne
Melbourne
v Western Bulldogs
West Coast
v Adelaide
As tough as it is to support West Coast, an Eagles win would force Adelaide well back into the pack. The Crows would fall three wins behind the Dockers and the Cats would go three wins back, while the Suns would slide too.
FRIDAY
Fremantle
v Brisbane
SATURDAY
Gold Coast v
GWS
Hawthorn v
Melbourne
Adelaide
v Collingwood
The Dockers wouldn't mind a dent in the confidence of Hawthorn given they're a good chance to meet in September. They'd want the Suns to continue to slide and the Magpies to keep slipping up.
North Melbourne
v Adelaide
Western Bulldogs v
Fremantle
Collingwood v
Melbourne
In this dream scenario, a final-round win would leave the Dockers on top of the ladder. In reality, this game is likely to be crucial to their finals hopes. One more loss for Adelaide and Collingwood would do them some favours too.
In all likelihood, they would at this stage still be barracking for Hawthorn to be knocked off by Brisbane and an upset by St Kilda over the Giants.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
10 minutes ago
- Perth Now
How Fyfe enhanced reputation even more during rehab
Fremantle defender Brennan Cox says Nat Fyfe's class while dealing with the fallout from a warm-up injury has been an inspiration for the team. Fyfe's durability was put in the spotlight when he injured his calf while warming up as the sub during the half-time break of the club's round-16 win over St Kilda. The two-time Brownlow medallist was set to feature in just his fourth AFL match since recovering from a hamstring injury, and the calf setback led some to wonder whether Fyfe, who last played in the finals in 2015, would make it back in time for this year's premiership push. The 33-year-old dispelled those fears by producing a stunning 27-disposal display in less than three quarters of WAFL action last week. The performance was good enough for Fyfe to earn a call up for Saturday night's clash with Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, most likely as the sub. "He's a guy with heaps of wisdom," Cox said. "So to have him come into the group, wherever it may be - up forward, midfield, maybe get eased into the sub role like he did last time - is super." Fyfe is 244 games into his decorated career, and injuring his calf during a half-time warm-up would have been hard to cop with finals not far away. But instead of moping about his bad luck, Fyfe worked diligently on his rehab while also supporting his teammates. It didn't go unnoticed. "He's been nothing but upbeat," Cox said. "He hasn't for one second looked sad for himself, or anything like that. "He's been super and it makes you look up to him even more, just seeing the way he's gone about it." Fremantle skipper Alex Pearce (shin) has also been named to return for what will be just his second match in the past 10 weeks. The Dockers (14-6) have won 10 of their past 11 games to put themselves in the frame for a prized top-four berth. A big part of their good form has been down to their potent forward line, which features spearheads Josh Treacy, Jye Amiss and Patrick Voss. The trio kicked three goals apiece last week as Fremantle came from 24 points behind to beat Carlton by 27 points. "I love seeing them chase down blokes," Cox said. "Having them up there with that bit of mongrel and starting fights and stuff - it's good to watch. And it does lift the boys." Port Adelaide (8-12) have endured a disappointing campaign in coach Ken Hinkley's last season, and former skipper Travis Boak announced this week he will be retiring at the end of the year. The Power welcome back skipper Connor Rozee, forward Jack Lukosius and goalsneak Willie Rioli.
News.com.au
40 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Collingwood's worrying ‘red flags' exposed in horror loss to Hawthorn
Collingwood's top four hopes are slipping away - despite the club sitting 10 points clear at the top of the ladder only a month ago. In a woeful turnaround, the 'broken' Magpies have fallen to a fourth loss in five games as a number of 'red flags' were exposed in the horror outing. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. Thursday night's 64-point defeat at the hands of Hawthorn is the second-worst recorded under McRae - with their worst a 66-point loss also to Sam Mitchell's Hawks just 12 months ago. Statistics show the Pies are averaging just 69 points in their last five games while conceding 39 points from clearance in those losses. The 25 points scored by Hawthorn off Collingwood turnovers on Thursday night is also a third-worst under McRae. 'There's some real concerns with Collingwood,' Fox Footy's Leigh Montagna said. '20 players with 100 games (plus experience) but they looked rudderless really with their leadership and what they were trying to do through the game. 'They couldn't problem solve, they couldn't work out how to stop Hawthorn and how they could challenge themselves.' Collingwood's woes were laid bare in the third term as damning vision showed just how easily Hawk Jai Newcombe was able to stroll inside 50 and convert for his side. 'This is a toasting – a midfield toasting at the moment,' two-time premiership Roo David King said. 'Newcombe just exploded and they couldn't go with him. Look at Newcombe – all by himself, 30 from goal, corridor. 'Not one Collingwood mid responsible for Jai in the hottest of hot spots. 'You can't go with this midfield. 'I'm sorry – but they refuse to defend at the moment ... Right now, they are being absolutely sizzled in the middle.' Montagna warned it was 'starting to unravel' at the Pies late in the season. 'I don't think the midfield mix is right,' he conceded. 'Now that both ends of the ground are sort of falling down, they are just a bit clunky. 'Now it's all starting to look a bit broken. 'They've got a bit of work to do to try and get their system back because there are areas of their game now that are becoming real red flags.' The loss was so brutal, coach Craig McRae issued an immediate apology to Collingwood fans. 'I apologise to our Magpie army - that's a disappointing performance. You can't sugarcoat that,' he said. 'We're hurting. That one really hurt.' AFL great Jason Dunstall said the Pies' 'panic' was ringing alarm bells as the fumbles crept in against the Hawks. 'Your confidence is shot and that's something you've got to get back very quickly,' AFL great Jason Dunstall added. 'You can't just go out and pick it up off the supermarket shelf. 'I don't quite know what has happened … maybe the good teams have just caught up? Maybe just worked them out a little bit, or they've had a few players drop off? I don't know what it is. But they need to discover something quick. 'They look a little bit lost … there's some pow-wows need to be had down there. 'When you look at 139 percent and they've dropped 14.8 – nearly 15% - in the space of five weeks, that's massive. 'When they got that 10 points clear we all sat here and thought, they've prepared beautifully, they can manage their players, pick and choose the way they head to September. All of a sudden they are one of the teams in the top half of the table that have the biggest queries over them just about how well they are going.' Two-time premiership Roo David King accused the Magpies of looking 'rattled' and 'all at sea' with their ball movement. 'Collingwood are now in a flat spin with their defensive 50 work. Which is their best midfield mix? I don't know. There's question marks now. 'We've talked about the heavy reliance on Nick Daicos – you can avoid that answer all you like but it's obvious for all of us to see. 'They've got queries you don't want. 'Over the last eight weeks, they are the easiest team to move the ball coast to coast against. Their back 50 is now a big concern. '(Billy) Frampton looked all at sea. We don't know how Jeremy Howe comes through tonight … how is he long term? '(Darcy) Moore is not the player right now that we had six weeks ago. 'I think they've got real concerns defensively behind the ball.' And it doesn't get any easier for the Magpies who will now take on ladder leaders Adelaide in Adelaide next week.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Craig McRae says Collingwood players refused to fight in Hawthorn thumping
Collingwood coach Craig McRae slammed his team's lack of fight and effort after their thumping 64-point loss to Hawthorn at the MCG on Thursday night as their late-season form slump reached alarming levels. McRae admitted his team was 'rocked' by Jeremy Howe's sickening concussion in the opening minutes, and while concerned at how disorganised the backline looked without Howe, he refused to use the star defender's absence as an excuse. The Magpies have now lost four of their past five matches and, concerningly, all of those defeats have been against top-eight teams. After sitting 10 points clear on top of the ladder a mere five weeks ago, and being in first place for 11 straight rounds, they could drop to fourth by Saturday. All of a sudden they're no guarantee of a double chance after being premiership favourites for the bulk of the season. The usually upbeat McRae couldn't hide his devastation after what he agreed was Collingwood's worst performance of the year. 'I apologise to our Magpie Army,' he said. 'That's a disappointing performance. You can't sugarcoat that. 'We're hurting. That one really hurt. Just a lack of system and then a lack of fight, lack of effort - sometimes at the same time, which leaves us really vulnerable. 'When we get behind, we want to chase. Six goals is not enough for me for our fans to watch at home. I don't know how many kept watching right through the end. 'Your 114,000 members expect a certain amount of effort and we didn't have it.' McRae said he needed to quickly 'glue' his team back together with just two games left before finals. 'We just had some really poor efforts at times,' he said. 'This is the reality of what we've got right now. Like I've always said to our players: nothing's permanent. 'For a long time I don't recall us having that poor of connection ... we got hurt really bad. 'We've got … 19 or 20 100-game players. They know how to play their role. 'We've got to back our system in. It's served us well and under pressure, under adversity, go back to what you know and go do your job and it's up to me to glue them together ... and we take responsibility for what we did tonight.' McRae was in 'no doubt' that his players have started thinking about outcomes rather than staying in the moment and focusing on the process. 'You can see it and I call it out when I see it,' he said. 'We come back to minutes and seconds. So we lost a few minutes and seconds tonight, but we've got to stay present to that. When you start to think outcome and expectation, then you're not doing, you're thinking. 'So you come to a stoppage and you're out of the position, we go, 'Hey, come on. What are you doing in that position?' So you start to think more than do.' The Collingwood coach also suspected his players have started going into their shells during games, and he had a simple solution for that. 'If you're quiet, talk,' he said. 'What do you do when you have confidence and have form? Just do that. 'Oh, I'm quiet when I've got no confidence' – well, then, be loud. 'I don't go for my marks' – well, go for your marks. 'I tackle when I've got confidence' – well, tackle. So they're actions, not thoughts. It's right in front of us.' McRae said the early loss of Howe couldn't be used as an excuse for defensive disorganisation. 'Three guys flying at the one ball, spoiling at the same time, is not system, and we've worked on that all pre-season,' McRae said. 'Those things we can fix. The effort stuff I'd like to think is an anomaly.' Despite the worrying trajectory his team is currently on, McRae remains supremely confident about what his team can achieve this year. 'There's still lots of minutes as far as I'm aware, and we'll make the most of those,' he said.
