FREMANTLE captain Nat Fyfe gave his opposition a contested footy masterclass in Saturday's upset 24-point win in Canberra, but Greater Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron refused to concede he'd made a mistake by not tagging the Brownlow medallist.
All the talk pre-match had surrounded Fyfe's likely battle with in-form Giants stopper Matt de Boer, so the superstar Docker would have been delighted to see his former teammate run to Bradley Hill on the wing at the opening bounce.
With the freedom of running without de Boer's shadow, Fyfe destroyed the Giants, particularly in tight, while Hill (15 possessions) struggled to shake de Boer's attention.
DOCKERS SHOCK GIANTS Full match coverage and stats
Fyfe finished the day with 31 possessions, 18 of those contested, 13 clearances and six inside 50s, and was highly influential as the Dockers kicked 6.1 to 1.3 in the final term to overrun the Giants.
The Dockers won the contested ball count (32-20) and the centre clearances (6-2) in the last term, and lost both categories overall on the day, but despite those numbers Cameron said the Dockers' spread was what killed his side.
Dockers are #AFLGiantsFreo pic.twitter.com/g7B86WaIpk
— AFL (@AFL) April 20, 2019
"You can't tag them all and I thought de Boer did a really good job on Hill," he said.
"What got us in the end was run, they out-ran us, and Hill is part of that.
"He's got a really big motor and helps them connect so Matty was helping to keep us in the game up until three-quarter time.
"Our inside mids will be disappointed, they're proud players, and Fyfe and (David) Mundy and (Michael) Walters probably won that battle.
"They're really quality players and you've got to acknowledge it when you get beaten.
"You win some and you lose some but I don't think that match-up was the difference.
"When the whips were cracking in the last quarter they beat us up at centre bounces so that’s disappointing.
"They probably had 15 or 16 winners on the day and you can't win games of footy that way."
WATCH Leon Cameron's full post-match media conference
Adding more despair to the Giants' disappointing performance was an ankle injury to co-captain Phil Davis, who hobbled from the ground in the last quarter and must be in doubt for next week's crucial Sydney derby against the Swans at the SCG.
Phil Davis injured himself in a marking contest late in fourth quarter of #AFLGiantsFreo. pic.twitter.com/vjuIaYuoKT
— AFL (@AFL) April 20, 2019
Davis has a solid recent record against Sydney superstar Lance Franklin, so his absence would be a huge blow for GWS.
"We'll see how it goes over the next 48 hours and its disappointing, but that’s life, everyone has to put up with injuries," Cameron said.
"If he's not right for next week I'm sure there's some hungry players ready to jump into his spot."
Aidan Corr is the frontrunner to replace Davis if he doesn't get up for the Swans clash after he played his third game in the NEAFL on Saturday.
The key defender hasn't played senior footy since round 17 last year because of groin issues.
"He's an important part of our footy club and he's now had three games on managed time, so he's been building," Cameron said.
"But hopefully Davis' ankle isn't too bad."
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