Fremantle looks to build off the back of its strong start to the 2024 season against Alastair Clarkson’s more aggressive North Melbourne this afternoon.
The Kangaroos (0-1, 67.8%) scored well in their season opener against GWS but also leaked plenty of goals, in an apparent sign of their intentions to focus on attack this year.
The Dockers (1-0, 132.9%) surprised Grand Finalists Brisbane last Sunday, but copped a trio of bad injury blows in the process, and are hoping the shorter break before their first trip across to Victoria for the year doesn’t hurt too much.
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Fremantle has not been 2-0 to start a season since 2015, the year they were minor premiers.
The match gets underway at 1:45pm AEDT from Marvel Stadium.
Watch it live on Fox Footy (channel 504), or streaming on Kayo, from 1pm AEDT.
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There were no late changes, with Eddie Ford (North Melbourne) and Jaeger O’Meara (Fremantle) named the starting subs.
It was a hot start contest including the Roos challenging the Dockers with extreme heat on the ball.
Paul Curtis kicked the opener for North before Josh Treacy instantly responded at the other end.
Nick Larkey extended the Kangaroos’ lead to 18 points in a promising start for Alastair Clarkson’s troops.
Demons great Garry Lyon noted the Dockers “need to take a deep breath” after getting jumped by the Roos
“It’s a stark contrast here (between the two sides),” Lyon said.
Clarkson’s side led 4.1 (25) to 2.1 (13) at quarter-time.
The Roos came out with the same attitude in the second term, kicking the first two goals to balloon their lead out to 30 points.
It was all one-way momentum going North’s way in the second term, with Lyon noting the Dockers looked “shellshocked.”
Clarkson’s side’s wayward kicking in front of goal hurt though during a dominant stretch it could’ve extended its lead — kicking three-straight points.
A potential Caleb Serong goal on the half-time siren was denied — reviewed and overturned to a point — with the Roos leading 8.4 (52) to 5.5 (35).
It was a different story to start the second half as the Dockers came out with a renowned intensity to put the Roos on the backfoot.
“This is a good test for a young side … now they’re confronted with something a bit different,” Lyon said of North.
Matt Taberner started getting busy, taking three marks inside 50 and converting two of them to make it just a four-point game.
Jackson took a big mark inside 50 on a tight angle, then got a 50m penalty to get an easy opportunity to put the Dockers ahead.
Next, Andrew Brayshaw bopped up with a classy goal from stoppage to push the Dockers’ lead out to eight points, earning praise from Lyon for responding to a slow start.
“It’s a tsunami now, this a tidal wave,” Lyon said of the Dockers charge.
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