1. Don't book your September holidays yet, Essendon fans
Essendon remains in the hunt for an unlikely finals berth, despite some serious yips in front of goal, kicking 13.21 against Fremantle on Saturday. Halfway through the round the Bombers are in 11th position, but could drop to 12th if Adelaide beats Brisbane on Saturday night. Equal on points with eighth-placed Geelong (who are yet to play), the Bombers have now won five of their past six, but face crucial matches against Sydney, Hawthorn, Richmond and Port Adelaide. Percentage could yet be Essendon's downfall, hovering at a relatively lowly 99 per cent. By comparison, Fremantle will now need a small miracle to feature in September.

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2. Essendon's forward concerns
Shaun McKernan suffered what appears to be a serious hamstring injury early in the second quarter of the game, leaving a considerable hole up forward for the rest of the term. Cale Hooker was moved forward from defence after half-time and finished with three behinds. With Essendon's finals hopes in the balance in the coming weeks Hooker may become a crucial player, especially considering Joe Daniher (osteitis pubis, indefinite) and Jake Stringer (calf, 1-2 weeks) are also sidelined. Mitch Brown bobbed up in the second half to kick two excellent set shots from 50 metres and will need to continue to perform well.

3. Old Docker still has a few new tricks
Key defender Michael Johnson's papers appeared to be stamped two weeks ago when coach Ross Lyon indicated he would not be at the club next year. The 240-gamer has rarely played in attack throughout his 14-year career but came into the side for late withdrawal Sean Darcy and lined up forward. At quarter-time, it appeared to be a masterstroke by coach Ross Lyon, with Johnson kicking two of the team's first three goals. Primarily matched up against Michael Hurley, he struggled to have much of an impact thereafter. After questions over whether he would even get a farewell game, Johnson may have a few more matches up his sleeve. 

WAYWARD DONS DOWN DOCKERS Full match coverage and stats

4. Who wants the lead?
It was a match featuring two sides who appear unlikely to feature in September, but it was a spirited affair which kept the vocal home crowd at Etihad Stadium highly entertained. Fremantle has won just one match away from home this year (against lowly Carlton) and was without its top two ruckmen, but youngsters like Bailey Banfield, Adam Cerra, Taylin Duman and Stefan Giro were lively and caused chaos at times. The lead changed nine times in the match (the majority coming in a hectic second and third term), before Essendon finally settled to break away late. 

5. Calling Scott Jones to the centre circle
Little-known Fremantle ruckman Scott Jones had an enormous task against Essendon after the late withdrawal of Sean Darcy with a groin complaint. The 23-year-old was promoted from WAFL side East Perth at the end of last year, taken with pick 75 in the 2017 draft. Coming up against the experienced Tom Bellchambers, Jones was always going to be up against it, recording 17 hit-outs to the Bomber's 49. He did produce a surprising burst of speed to run down Brendan Goddard in the third term, which led to a David Mundy goal.