This column had Freo in the eight, but only just, at the start of the season. Now we are reconsidering that on the back of a win over the Western Bulldogs on Monday night which, while hard to watch at times given the skill errors and the turnovers, was edge-of-your-seat stuff for the entire final quarter.
In the space of 30 pulsating minutes, Fremantle had the game won, then lost, then won again, to suggest that the dire pre-season prognostications might have been a touch premature.
And the heroes in purple were two of the more unlikely you would expect to find. Jay van Berlo, the until now unheralded younger brother of Adelaide skipper Nathan, kicked four goals, while the oft-maligned Kepler Bradley also kicked four and dazzled the 37,000 fans at Patersons Stadium with some rarely seen skills and athleticism.
It was the sign of a good team. Usual match-winners Matthew Pavlich and David Mundy (apart from an electrifying opening to the final term when he won some key clearances) didn't do all that much. Nor did Stephen Hill or the club's 2011 pin-up boy, Nathan Fyfe.
But the Fremantle is a team with sound structures. Ryan Crowley, Antoni Grover, Luke McPharlin, Paul Duffield, Matthew de Boer and Chris Mayne don't get a lot of fanfare outside Western Australia, but they get the job done for Mark Harvey on a weekly basis.
The race for the double-chance this year is particularly wide open. Geelong, Hawthorn, Carlton and the Western Bulldogs have variously staked a claim. But why not Fremantle?
With three games of their next seven at the MCG (Richmond in round seven, Hawthorn in round 11 and Melbourne two weeks later), we will have a fair idea whether Fremantle's gameplan stacks up away from the cauldron it has created at Patersons Stadium - every bit as intimidating as West Coast enjoyed a few years back - and at the ground where the important finals are played and won.
But for now, Harvey deserves tremendous praise for his work in transforming the AFL's perennial underachievers into a potentially great side.
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The AFL is about to sign off on a new TV deal, reportedly worth more than $1 billion over the next five seasons.
While we await the detailed terms and conditions, the deal represents a magnificent outcome for the AFL and the clubs, given that the economy has been in less than fine fettle for a reasonable chunk of the existing TV rights agreement.
The AFL played its hand early, suggesting that $1 billion wouldn't be an unreasonable amount to be bid for the next rights agreement.
A few commentators with leanings towards the rugby codes thought, or hoped, that the figure would be closer to $800 million so that there would be a bit more left in the till for the NRL rights next year.
But they got it wrong, the AFL got it right and you would think AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick will sign the new agreement with great flourish in the next day or so.
The reported figure speaks volumes for the on-field product. The weekly news cycle that surrounds the AFL can veer at times towards the mundane, the tawdry and the ridiculous, but the on-field product has never been better.
The seven matches over the Easter/Anzac weekend (or Festival of Football Part One, as it was nicknamed when the fixture was released) drew a massive 323,654 patrons through the turnstiles.
Had there been a full slate of eight matches, surely the all-time record of 364,544 (in round one, 2007) would have come under serious threat.
The 89,000-plus crowd for Essendon-Collingwood on Anzac Day was a trifle disappointing and deserving of a frank discussion between the AFL and the Melbourne Cricket Club about how to fit everyone in, but the nearly 79,000 who backed up the next day for Hawthorn-Geelong shows there is an insatiable public appetite for quality football, which, incidentally, the Hawks and the Cats delivered once again.
Indeed, all the round five matches had their fill of drama, excitement and intrigue. The worst game of the round was the first, and even then St Kilda and the Brisbane Lions kept things interesting to the end.
Gold Coast's maiden win over Port Adelaide was magnificent, with seemingly the entire country save for Port's hardy band of supporters willing them home. Carlton snatched a late win over Adelaide as did Richmond over North Melbourne, with emerging Tiger midfielder Dustin Martin underlining what a star he might become.
Then came the games on Anzac Day and the Tuesday public holiday. All were played with furious intensity and with results that were left hanging until time-on in the final quarter.
The so-called Festival of Football was conceived out of necessity as much as anything because of the complicated nature of the 2011 fixture. But as we reach the half-way mark of the festival with its brief hiatus (West Coast and Melbourne start round six on Thursday night), it can be judged a resounding success and the League will already be scheming as how to schedule it again next year, with no byes and no extended long weekend.
And the timing for the AFL, as the ink dries on the new broadcasting agreement, could not be better. The next lot of broadcasters, identities to be confirmed imminently, would have to think it will be money well spent.
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CLUB BY CLUB
Collingwood: Looking back, the times when Essendon really threatened on Anzac Day were really fleeting. Every time the Pies needed a goal, they got one. Only the Geelong, Brisbane Lions, Essendon and Hawthorn teams of the last quarter-century could do that.
Geelong: Seem to enjoy beating the Hawks, as they should. But as Mathew Stokes noted afterwards, "Nothing will give that (2008) Grand Final back to us."
Fremantle: Gritty win without a huge game from Matthew Pavlich. A great sign.
Carlton: Really enjoyed the post-match chat with Kade Simpson. The events of last week must have taken some toll, but he played well against Adelaide and gave a brief, but brutally honest interview. Terrific footballer and person.
Hawthorn: Who has the psychological edge now, Jeff?
Essendon: Would like a lift from Paddy Ryder, but a reasonable next month (Gold Coast, West Coast, Brisbane Lions, Richmond) could play him into some form.
Melbourne: Massive game for the Demons, who last won in Perth in 2004 and have since lost their last 10 in the west.
Sydney Swans: Make a long overdue appearance on Friday night football against Carlton.
Western Bulldogs: No doubting the endeavour against Fremantle, but Rodney Eade still can't get the forward line balance quite right. Big test against Collingwood on Sunday.
West Coast: Not for the first time, the Blues are lamenting the loss of Josh Kennedy to the Eagles.
St Kilda: We'll cut Justin Koschitzke some slack because conditions at the Gabba didn't suit the big men, but the stats don't lie. He didn't get a kick. Will surely get another chance this week but needs a big one against the Crows on Saturday night.
Richmond: Damien Hardwick was at Hawthorn when that club agonised over the choice between Sam Mitchell and Luke Hodge to replace Richie Vandenberg as skipper. He might be faced with the equally tough choice in the next few years between Trent Cotchin and Dustin Martin to replace Chris Newman as Tigers skipper.
Adelaide: When it comes to warriors to have played for Adelaide, I'd have Graham Johncock behind perhaps only Mark Ricciuto. Fabulous game for the Crows on the weekend, with run, carry and plenty of aggression.
Port Adelaide: Dark day for a once-proud club. Saturday's clash with North Melbourne now becomes one of the most important ever for the Power.
Gold Coast: As predicted in the pre-season, there will be days when it all comes together, as it did against Port Adelaide. But let's not think that the days of the 20-goal thrashings are now gone, either. Good thing for the Suns that Guy McKenna was as calm and clear-headed in victory as he has been in defeat.
Brisbane Lions: Would have been shifting very nervously in their seats as the Suns stormed home on Saturday afternoon. Suddenly, it will be game on in the inaugural Q Challenge in a fortnight at the Gabba.
North Melbourne: Have been out of sight, out of mind over the first month of the season, but not much to like about the effort against Richmond, save for the superb Drew Petrie and Brent Harvey and the second half of Andrew Swallow. The Kangas still look too one-paced and are persisting with players who a) are unfit and b) perhaps not up to it.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Scott Pendlebury's Anzac Day outing consisted of 34 disposals, nine tackles, three goals and one Anzac Medal - to go with last year's Anzac and Norm Smith Medal quinella. Honourable mention to Richmond's Dustin Martin.
TWITTERATI
"pretty content after a good serve of butter chicken...also happy we have a week off this wknd to freshen up! #lovethebye" - Geelong's Steve Johnson (@steviejohnson20) celebrates on a couple of fronts on Tuesday night.
"things will turn around! #stickingtogether" - Port Adelaide's Japser Pittard (@jpittard29) preaches positive after the loss to Gold Coast.
"Very happy for everyone involved, what an amazing feeling. Amazing what can happen when u stick to your guns and ignore the haters!" - Gold Coast's Josh Fraser (@jfraser17) reflects on the club's maiden AFL win.
IF YOU ONLY WATCH ONE GAME NEXT WEEK
At its slickest, the run and carry of the Western Bulldogs could worry Collingwood. Sunday's twilight game at the MCG shapes as the most watchable of the seven games that make up the second part of the AFL's unofficial Festival of Football.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
