Hayden Ballantyne has been known to get up the noses of his opponents but on Saturday night he got up the nose of his captain Matthew Pavlich - literally. In the second quarter Ballantyne flung his fist in an attempt to spoil after being caught behind in a marking contest inside the Dockers' forward 50. Instead of hitting the ball he whacked his captain on the nose. Pavlich was stunned as blood streamed from his nose. Ballantyne added insult to injury by giving away a 50m penalty when he crossed the mark illegally walking back to see if Pavlich was OK.
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2. Lions new low
The Brisbane Lions had only once had a scoreless quarter since the merger between the Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy in 1996. Ironically, it was against the Dockers in round 14, 2011. The Lions matched that with a scoreless second quarter on Saturday night after registering a solitary rushed behind in the first term. The Lions half-time score of 0.1 (1) was their worst since the merger. Their match total of 3.4 (22) was also their worst since in that time. The Brisbane Bears had two scoreless quarters (round 21 1993 versus Fitzroy and round 19 1994 versus St Kilda) but their worst match score was 2.5 (17) against Hawthorn in round 12 1988. Fitzroy registered just one score in a match, kicking 1.0 (6) against Footscray in round five 1953.
3. Fremantle's new high
The Dockers have remarkably lost the inside-50 count in their last three matches, but have won each game relatively comfortably. On Saturday night they broke an AFL record (since the statistic has been recorded) for the highest inside-50 differential in a match. Geelong held the record with 51 (70-19) against Melbourne at Simonds Stadium last season. Fremantle registered 55 (72-17) against the Lions. The visitors also claimed another unwanted record with the lowest inside-50 count recorded, eclipsing Melbourne's previous low of 19. It was also the lowest score the Dockers had ever conceded. North Melbourne held the previous mark scoring just 4.5 (29) against Fremantle on a wet afternoon last season.
4. Sandilands silk in the wet
On one of the wettest days Perth has seen this year Aaron Sandilands produced some of his deftest ruckwork this season to set-up a Matthew Pavlich goal. At a ball up at half forward for Fremantle Sandilands flicked a look-away tap over his head down Danyle Pearce's throat. Pearce never broke stride as he burst away from the stoppage, driving a kick long to Matthew Pavlich. The skipper marked uncontested and cruised into an open goal. On a night where both sides engaged in rolling mauls and ugly hacks, kicks, and handballs searched for metres gained, Sandilands silky taps shone brightly.
5. Spate of deliberates
The Dockers were the beneficiaries of some bizarre deliberate out of bounds decisions. On three occasions the umpires' pinged Lions players for deliberates with two resulting in Fremantle goals. Given the horrible wet conditions the umpires would normally be more lenient on the calls but the Lions were burnt with two really tough decisions in the second quarter. Nick Robertson was pinned in a three-man tackle near the boundary and his handball spilled over the line as he was slung only to be deemed deliberate. Chris Mayne threaded the finish from a tight angle to rub salt in the wound. Then Matt Maguire thumped a punch 50m clear from deep in defence that on a dry day would not have reached the boundary, however the ball skidded far further than it normally would and slid over the boundary line. Again it was deemed deliberate and again the Dockers finished with a goal.
2. Lions new low
The Brisbane Lions had only once had a scoreless quarter since the merger between the Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy in 1996. Ironically, it was against the Dockers in round 14, 2011. The Lions matched that with a scoreless second quarter on Saturday night after registering a solitary rushed behind in the first term. The Lions half-time score of 0.1 (1) was their worst since the merger. Their match total of 3.4 (22) was also their worst since in that time. The Brisbane Bears had two scoreless quarters (round 21 1993 versus Fitzroy and round 19 1994 versus St Kilda) but their worst match score was 2.5 (17) against Hawthorn in round 12 1988. Fitzroy registered just one score in a match, kicking 1.0 (6) against Footscray in round five 1953.
3. Fremantle's new high
The Dockers have remarkably lost the inside-50 count in their last three matches, but have won each game relatively comfortably. On Saturday night they broke an AFL record (since the statistic has been recorded) for the highest inside-50 differential in a match. Geelong held the record with 51 (70-19) against Melbourne at Simonds Stadium last season. Fremantle registered 55 (72-17) against the Lions. The visitors also claimed another unwanted record with the lowest inside-50 count recorded, eclipsing Melbourne's previous low of 19. It was also the lowest score the Dockers had ever conceded. North Melbourne held the previous mark scoring just 4.5 (29) against Fremantle on a wet afternoon last season.
4. Sandilands silk in the wet
On one of the wettest days Perth has seen this year Aaron Sandilands produced some of his deftest ruckwork this season to set-up a Matthew Pavlich goal. At a ball up at half forward for Fremantle Sandilands flicked a look-away tap over his head down Danyle Pearce's throat. Pearce never broke stride as he burst away from the stoppage, driving a kick long to Matthew Pavlich. The skipper marked uncontested and cruised into an open goal. On a night where both sides engaged in rolling mauls and ugly hacks, kicks, and handballs searched for metres gained, Sandilands silky taps shone brightly.
5. Spate of deliberates
The Dockers were the beneficiaries of some bizarre deliberate out of bounds decisions. On three occasions the umpires' pinged Lions players for deliberates with two resulting in Fremantle goals. Given the horrible wet conditions the umpires would normally be more lenient on the calls but the Lions were burnt with two really tough decisions in the second quarter. Nick Robertson was pinned in a three-man tackle near the boundary and his handball spilled over the line as he was slung only to be deemed deliberate. Chris Mayne threaded the finish from a tight angle to rub salt in the wound. Then Matt Maguire thumped a punch 50m clear from deep in defence that on a dry day would not have reached the boundary, however the ball skidded far further than it normally would and slid over the boundary line. Again it was deemed deliberate and again the Dockers finished with a goal.
A day of record lows added to Justin Leppitsch's tough introduction to senior coaching. Picture: AFL Media
