Hayden Ballantyne – 8
Great comeback from a long-term pectoral injury. Came on in the fourth minute of the match, booted a goal very soon after and was a constant pest to the Swans’ defence. Three goals on such a windy day in a tight final were worth their weight in gold. Also handed one to Zac Clarke on a platter. It was his biggest bag of the season and between him and fellow small forward Michael Walters they produced seven of the 10 goals – that’s the match right there.

Michael Barlow – 5
Failed to have much impact in the hurly-burly and ended with 18 disposals after having just five at half-time. His disposals seemed to go backwards most of the time.

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Zac Clarke – 4
Quiet. Battled to have an impact in the ruck but did better up forward, booting a goal and trying to get the Freo mosquito fleet into the game.

Zac Dawson – 6
A typical negating effort made life tough for Kurt Tippett despite giving away plenty of height. He’s not a star but doesn’t let Ross Lyon down too often. Tippett’s three goals out of seven kept his score down.

Matt de Boer – 7
Failed to catch the eye, which isn’t unusual for this unobtrusive stopper. But he rolled through half-forward and midfield to keep the pressure on Kennedy, Mitchell and company while Fyfe and Mundy had a rest. His pressure around the ball was just what his team needed.

Six things we learned: Fremantle v Sydney Swans

Nat Fyfe – 8
Looked fresh after a few weeks off with injury. Back to his best winning clearances, smacking packs and making the most of the Dockers’ ruck dominance. The sight of Fyfe charging out of the centre bounce after getting on the end of a Sandilands ruck tap has become one of the great sights in modern football.

Brownlow favourite Fyfe was at his best on Saturday. Picture: AFL Media

Stephen Hill – 8
Cream often rises in finals and Hill proved hard to stop for most of the day. His quality kicking into the forward line made him one of the most effective players on the day. He delivered the ball inside 50 eight times, had three score assists and was as dangerous as any Docker.

Garrick Ibbotson – 6
Solid game but had his hands full at times dealing with the Swans patched-together forward set-up. Didn’t make any bad blues though.

Michael Johnson – 5
A fair way off his All-Australian best. He was given a lesson by Sam Reid early, looked sloppy with the ball and nervous in one-on-ones. Must have been elated when Reid did his hamstring early in the second term.  Improved significantly after half-time without such a dangerous opponent alongside him.

Chris Mayne – 5
Got an early goal and looked in for a reasonable game. But as the game wore on his impact decreased.

Every Sydney Swans player rated

David Mundy – 8
Plenty of grunt in the engine room. An early blitz gave Freo breathing space, although the Swans midfielders hit back hard for the rest of the match.

Tendai Mzungu – 6
Late replacement for Luke McPharlin, the Peel midfielder slotted into the defensive unit seamlessly. He got better as the game went on and did his chances of playing the rest of the finals no damage.

Lachie Neale – 8
Unsung midfield gun stood up again in a final at Subi. Led the way in and under and won more than his fair share of clearances. Also got forward and kicked an important goal to go with his 32 disposals and seven clearances.

Matthew Pavlich – 6
Was held goal-less and lowered his colours to Ted Richards but kept competing all day and brought his ground level forwards into the game. Was particularly important in the final term, setting up a goal and keeping the rampant Swans defence honest with his fierce competitive nature.

Veteran Matthew Pavlich was quiet but still had an influence. Picture: AFL Media

Clancee Pearce – 2
Came in as a late replacement for Matt Taberner and started as substitute. Didn’t get a kick but managed three handballs.

Danyle Pearce – 6
Received a lot of handball but his kicking wasn’t as consistently brilliant as usual. He drove the ball into the forward line regularly but had difficulty pinpointing longer targets.

Aaron Sandilands – 8
Set the standard early with a massive thump from a boundary throw-in early in the game and was a colossus throughout. Gave Fyfe, Mundy and co. first use and that made it very tough for the Swans to counter.

Tom Sheridan – 6
Played his part as a link-up player and found enough of the ball. He also got better as the match went on and was still running hard in the dying stages as the Swans surged.

Lee Spurr – 6
Steady all day and took a very important mark in defence late in the match to repel the Swans. Looked competent with the pace and intensity of finals football.

Nick Suban – 4
Had negating roles on Dan Hannebery and Jarrad McVeigh but they both got away from him despite a good spell on McVeigh in the second term. Didn’t find much of the ball himself and was subbed off.

Cameron Sutcliffe - 7
Kept Gary Rohan kick-less in the opening term and gave Isaac Heeney a nightmare after that despite hurting his shoulder again.

Michael Walters – 8
Clean and creative from the start in tricky conditions. Booted two early goals to make the Swans pay for their errant kicking in front of goal early. Faded as the game wore on but ended with three goals and did a mountain of chasing in an out-numbered forward line. He is a dead-set gun who will be a key in the Dockers’ finals run. With Ballantyne, was pivotal to the result.