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Fox Footy pundits have urged Fremantle to be more daring with the ball it in the club’s semi-final showdown against Collingwood, saying the Dockers “have to change.”
The Dockers, which rank second in the AFL in switches, had several opportunities to attack the corridor, but continued to play out wide across the wings and flanks and struggled to put the ball in attacking areas to finish with 2.2 to the Magpies’ 6.6 and trail by 28 points at half-time.
Justin Longmuir’s side even won the disposal (188-167) and mark (57-42) counts in the first half and had the top four possession getters on the field (Blake Acres, Andy Brayshaw, Caleb Serong and Luke Ryan), but struggled to put pressure on Collingwood’s defence.
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And so they were urged to shift their game style to try and challenge the Magpies in the back half in the second half of the MCG clash.
“Collingwood are controlling the flow of the ball, and when Freo win it back, they don’t know what to do with it,” Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall told Fox Footy at half-time.
“They’re going slow, they’re going wide and they don’t even look like threatening to score.”
Richmond champion Jack Riewoldt highlighted that the “numbers are lying” given the Dockers had the top quartet of leading disposal getters in the contest but didn’t look dangerous with the ball.
“The ball has been played in one half, and Freo are a bit jumpy at the moment, especially with their handballing,” he said.
“It’s so funny how offence and defence are intrinsically linked. Fremantle’s offence is what’s killing them defensively. They’re trying to chip the ball and they’re kicking into the middle, but then pop it out the side.
“Collingwood are happy for them to try and go around then. They know if they’ beat them through the middle, they’re going to score, but it’s a really hard way to score going around that Collingwood bubble they’re setting up.”
If anything Collingwood should’ve led by much more than 28 points at the main break, with Craig McRae’s side kicking 2.6 in a wasteful second term.
The two contrast of styles was stark as the Pies embraced a chaotic and more direct brand to the Dockers’ conservative approach, with Dunstall sympathising for the latter’s forwards.
“I’d hate to be playing in the Freo forward line, because the ball is coming through slowly, it’s coming from wide positions,” Dunstall noted.
“Every time they get it in the corridor in a good position to attack, they hold it up. They don’t like what they see, so they kick back out wide and take away half the ground.”
Four-time premiership Hawk Jordan Lewis added: “The bottom line is they have to change. If they continue to play the way they played in the first half, they’re not going to challenge.”
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