The Numbers Game
173 – Highest score against Carlton (Rd 13, 2007)
70 – Carlton’s average score against Freo in past three games
24 – One of the draft picks Fremantle received for trading ruckman Robert Warnock to Carlton in 2008. Freo selected Nick Suban with the pick.
17-12 – Freo’s win-loss record in 29 games v Carlton
9 – Longest winning streak between the two sides. Freo didn’t lose to Carlton between Rd 10, 2002 and Rd 13, 2007.
9 – Matthew Pavlich career high goals in a game v Carlton in 2005
Last time we met
Fremantle (13.17.95) def Carlton (8.5.53) in Round 16, 2015
Fremantle combined a fast first quarter and defensively sound second half to beat Carlton last year. Freo kicked six goals to three in the first term and kept Carlton to only two second-half goals as they ran out 42-point victors on the day.
Lachie Neale handled the ball a lot, literally, as 22 of his team high 31 disposals were handballs.
Stephen Hill gathered 28 disposals and was an attacking presence, leading Freo with nine inside 50s.
Chris Mayne equaled his career high with four goals while providing his trademark forward line pressure with a game high nine tackles.
Stop the Casboult
While his kicking has been wayward in 2016, Carlton captain Marc Murphy reiterated his faith in power forward Levi Casboult, declaring him “the answer” for Carlton’s forward line.
Casboult has only kicked 3.4 so far in 2016, but he’s taken 10 contested marks, including four last week against the Western Bulldogs and possesses one of strongest pair of hands in the AFL. While kicking isn’t his strongest attribute, his ability to mark and put himself in position to score is something that can’t be overlooked. Expect a big job for key defenders Zac Dawson and Michael Johnson on Sunday.
Son Son v Carlton
Michael Walters had a solid game against North Melbourne in round four, and could continue that form against Carlton this week.
Walters averages 16 disposals against Carlton, his highest against any club. In addition to his ball winning abilities, he has also found the scoreboard, averaging more than two goals a game against the Blues.
Pavlich kicks on
Matthew Pavlich has found some good form in recent weeks, kicking at least two goals in his past three games. Pavlich’s career high nine goals came against Carlton in 2005 and had his opportunities in last year’s clash, and with increased accuracy could have damaged the Blues, finishing with 2.5 to his name.
Avoiding 0-5
Both Freo and Carlton are looking to avoid an unwanted record, but the reality is that, barring a draw, one of the teams will be 0-5 at the conclusion of Sunday’s game.
The last time Freo went 0-5 was in 2001, and coincidentally started with a one-point loss to Carlton in round one. For Carlton, their last 0-5 start was in 1989, but have started at least 0-3 in every year since 2013.
