1. Angry Pav
Men get grumpier as they get older and so, it appears, do Fremantle veterans in their 345th AFL game. Matthew Pavlich’s left-hand slap to the face of young Bomber Patrick Ambrose just before half-time was as unexpected as it was out-of character. We are talking about the president of the Players' Association after all! Ambrose certainly wasn’t happy and let 'Pav' know as the pair headed off at the long break.
2. Dockers set to continue climb
From what we saw at Domain Stadium, it doesn't appear the No.1 pick is coming to Freo later this year. The Dockers are only 1-10 now but have been close in several games and will win more matches this year, particularly at home. They still have plenty of class with players like Michael Walters, Lachie Neale, Hayden Ballantyne and David Mundy, as well as a bunch of promising kids. The Bombers fell to last place after their thumping defeat. They play with great spirit, but being as undermanned as they are makes them vulnerable in most games.
3. Welcome home, Ryan
When he roamed Domain Stadium as Freo’s master tagger, Ryan Crowley was kryptonite for opposition stars and was universally loved by the purple army. So what reception would he get when he returned as a top-up Bomber? Remarkably good was the answer. Crowley started on the bench but when he came on after seven minutes he got a terrific ovation from the Freo faithful, with one enthusiastic fan even getting his own ‘Crowley, Crowley’ chant going. He got a generous cheer whenever he got a disposal and even got a standing ovation when he hobbled off with a hamstring injury deep in the last quarter.
A tremendous show of respect from the @freodockers faithful. #AFLFreoDons https://t.co/82WE9ucPsb
— AFL (@AFL) June 4, 2016
4. Zaharakis' stinker
He’s had a great season in a difficult year, playing every game and was leading the Bombers in possessions and clearances coming into the match. But David Zaharakis ran into a desperate Michael Barlow fighting for his career and came off second best. Amazingly, Zaharakis didn’t get a stat in the opening term – nothing. We’re talking Leon Davis' Grand Final donuts, Mark Waugh on turning decks in Sri Lanka - zero. His main opponent Barlow was arguably best afield in that opening term. The shaved-head Bomber will be back but so will Barlow, who at 28, showed there’s still life in his AFL career yet.
WATCH: Barlow proves his worth
5. The Beast
Ross Lyon describes him as a 'beast' and fans finally got to see Michael Apeness against the Bombers – all 200cm, 101kg of him. But it was a little underwhelming. With the Pav era almost over, Apeness was brought in for just his third senior game, the first since 2014. He formed a triumvirate up forward with other great purple hope Matt Taberner and veteran Pavlich. Apeness missed most of 2015 with a posterior cruciate ligament injury but several strong games at Peel Thunder in the WAFL saw him propelled into the winless Dockers team. While he wasn’t dominant on the stats sheet, he gave some brutal contests (just ask Brendon Goddard) and has raw materials to work with. Unfortunately for him he might face another wait between drinks after going off with a fractured collarbone in the third term.