They say good sides find a way to win. And that’s exactly what Fremantle has done consistently in 2013. Below their best against St Kida last week, the Dockers won by five goals. They shaded Richmond, edged past Adelaide and, against West Coast, they looked second best for long periods of the game. But when they were at their best – especially in the last quarter – they were so much better than West Coast that the final margin made it look like they had had a comfortable day. Perhaps most importantly, most of Freo's success this year has been achieved without Matthew Pavlich and Aaron Sandilands. And though Pavlich now finds himself on report, both of them will have plenty of game time under their belts come September.

 

When 2010 wooden spooner West Coast surprised everyone by finishing fourth in 2011, it was done on the back of the type of forward pressure that had previously been exhibited by only the likes of Collingwood. That pressure continued to be seen in West Coast’s performances in 2012. But in 2013 it had only been seen for a few minutes at a time. That was until the second quarter of the match against Fremantle. West Coast laid 31 tackles and locked the ball in its forward half for most of the quarter. But, once again, the pressure dropped away in the second half. West Coast had 60 tackles to half-time, but only managed another 26 in the second half.

 

Six weeks ago, West Coast’s season looked over. The Eagles had just lost to Richmond in an insipid performance and were staring down the barrel of a very difficult set of fixtures. Despite only having won twice since then, their form has improved markedly. Despite losing against Freo, they may still be finals contenders. West Coast was the better side for long periods against Fremantle despite being without first-choice players Sharrod Wellingham, Scott Selwood, Adam Selwood, Shannon Hurn, Beau Waters, Sam Butler, Daniel Kerr and Luke Shuey. Though Hurn’s season is over, the others will return. And they may just rouse a sleeping giant.

 

West Coast had two players who were making their first appearances in the blue and gold. But their stories could not have been more different. Adam Carter was brought into the side to play on Hayden Ballantyne after holding Paul Medhurst to just eight disposals in the WAFL last weekend. A talented cricketer, he was part of the Australian under-16 team that travelled to India in 2009, along with Ashes hero Ashton Agar, WA batsman Will Bosisto and GWS midfielder Stephen Coniglio. He held Ballantyne to just 13 touches, while recording 11 of his own. Meanwhile, West Coast’s other first-gamer was a man who was drafted with the fourth pick of the 2007 NAB AFL Draft and went on to play 73 games with Melbourne. But Cale Morton had to cool his heels on the bench and only entered the game late in the third term, picking up just two possessions.

 

The third quarter was typical of a western derby. Torrid and energy-sapping, it saw the Dockers break away and West Coast then reel them back in. But perhaps the most important thing to come out of the quarter was the report of Matthew Pavlich and an incident which could lead to the report of Andrew Embley. To his credit, Pavlich appeared to attempt to pull out of his hip-and-shoulder on Mitchell Brown, who had his head over the ball. Brown was unhurt. Minutes earlier, Embley had delivered a hip-and-shoulder to Clancee Pearce, who was also bending over to pick up the ball in the middle of the ground. Unlike Brown, Pearce was hurt. He was substituted out of the game with concussion and the incident will surely come under the scrutiny of the Match Review Panel.