FREMANTLE has won through to a semi-final against Adelaide after coming from behind to beat a battered Essendon, with record-breaking ruck Mim Strom propelling her team to a 10-point win at Fremantle Oval on Saturday.
The Dockers trailed by four points at the final change but held the Bombers scoreless and kicked the final two goals of the game, winning 5.6 (36) to 4.2 (26) in a high-pressure armwrestle in front of a record crowd.
DOCKERS v BOMBERS Full match coverage and stats
Veteran forward Gabby O'Sullivan sealed the win with a brilliant 50m goal on the run, with Orlagh Lally holding her nerve earlier to convert on the run as the Dockers took advantage of a strong fourth-quarter breeze.
Strom was supreme, breaking her own hitout record with 55 taps, 11 clearances and 26 disposals in a best-afield performance while also kicking a crucial goal on the eve of half-time.
O'Sullivan best typified the Dockers' relentless approach, however, winning forward-half contests all day when she was outnumbered and then sealing victory to send her team through to a high-stakes clash against the Crows.
Already missing co-captain Bonnie Toogood (ankle) and No.1 ruck Steph Wales (knee) to season-ending injuries, the Bombers were forced to play much of the game without star midfielder Maddy Prespakis, who suffered a hip injury early in the second term.
Fremantle was also under-strength, losing important defender Ash Brazill pre-game to go with the absence of key forward Aine Tighe, star midfielder Kiara Bowers and captain Ange Stannett.
The Dockers believed they could play the best football of their season at the pointy end, but one weakness they couldn't remove was their low-scoring starts, going goalless in the first quarter for the seventh time this season.
The home team was strong over the ball and tackled fiercely, but it was Essendon that capitalised on its chances, kicking back-to-back goals through Amber Clarke and Emily Gough with its first two inside 50s.
Emma O'Driscoll's brilliance at half-back prevented the margin blowing out beyond 10 points at the first change, with seven intercepts from her nine first-quarter possessions and several pieces of creative play with the ball.
The Dockers made a move in the second term, with ex-skipper Hayley Miller pouncing on a forward-half intercept to kick the Dockers' first goal as Prespakis was limping from the ground.
Freo had a sustained period with the ball in the front half as both teams ramped up their pressure, and they got rewarded just before half-time when Strom snapped her first goal of the season from a ruck contest, taking a three-point lead into the main break.
The Dockers took an equal game-high 10-point lead early in the third when O'Sullivan used her smarts to soccer through to Airlie Runnalls close to goal, with the home team looking well placed to build from there.
Essendon responded with back-to-back goals, however, through Brooke Walker and Daria Bannister, who snapped classily under pressure to give her team a four-point lead at the last change.
Kicking into a stiff breeze in the final term, the Bombers had a challenge ahead of them if they were to win through to a semi-final, and it proved too big a hurdle as the Dockers rode a record Fremantle Oval AFLW crowd home.
Season-firsts and season-highs for Strom
In the past month, Fremantle star Mim Strom has set new records for hitouts in a season (390) and hitouts in a match (48), breaking her own benchmarks on Saturday when she amassed 56 hitouts against inexperienced ruck pair Matilda Dyke and Sophie Alexander. It was the 22-year-old's first goal of the season that really got the Dockers excited, however, with Strom finally breaking through after booting 0.3 last week. She did it in style too, taking the ball out of a ruck contest close to goal and casually slotting a goal on the stroke of half-time to give the Dockers momentum at the main break.
Bombers' star sidelined
It was a double blow for the Bombers five minutes into the second quarter as Hayley Miller snapped the Dockers' opening goal and star midfielder Maddy Prespakis limped to the bench. Prespakis grabbed at her right hip after taking a simple mark in the midfield, limping off slowly and appearing in pain during assessments on the bench. The Bombers tried everything to get their gun playmaker back on the ground, with Prespakis even emerging from the rooms well into the third quarter to attempt some run-throughs. But the 24-year-old's movement was severely hampered and the call was made late in the term to put the clearance machine on ice.
Up next
The Dockers have a chance to reach the third preliminary final in their AFLW history next week when they travel to take on Adelaide in a semi-final. It will be the second final played between the two teams, which met in a preliminary final in the first season of 2022, with the Crows winning by 14 points at Adelaide Oval. Essendon's season is over after the first week of finals for the second straight year.
FREMANTLE 0.2 2.3 3.4 5.6 (36)
ESSENDON 2.0 2.0 4.2 4.2 (26)
GOALS
Fremantle: Lally, Miller, O'Sullivan, Runnalls, Strom
Essendon: Bannister, Clarke, Gough, Walker
BEST
Fremantle: Strom, O'Driscoll, O'Sullivan, Newton, McCarthy, Runnalls
Essendon: Nanscawen, Morcom, Kearney, Cain, Gay
INJURIES
Fremantle: Nil
Essendon: Prespakis (hip), Clarke (head)
LATE CHANGES
Fremantle: Ash Brazill (ankle) replaced in selected side by Joanne Cregg
Essendon: Nil
Crowd: 4,934 at Fremantle Oval
