There was no player more influential on the ground in the second half than comeback kid Michael “Son Son” Walters on Saturday. If he wasn’t kicking goals (three of them), he was setting up teammates Chris Mayne and Clancee Pearce with his brilliant foot skills. The pass that resulted in a Pearce goal at the start of the third quarter was simply sublime. As ‘Sonny’ gathered the ball on the wing heading towards the half-forward flank, he displayed incredible vision and execution to switch his left-footed kick to the top of the 50m arc, where Mayne marked and handballed to Pearce who ran in to slot the goal.
Click here to watch "Sonny' showcase his skill on YouTube
Melbourne gets a dose of Mundy-itis
The 2010 Doig Medallist has self-admittedly been well below his best this year, thanks largely to a compromised pre-season. On Saturday, he reminded the competition just how damaging his skills and ball-winning ability can be with 27 disposals and six tackles. He believes he’s improving by the week, which augurs well for Freo’s fight to make the eight.
"It's been coming" says Mundy
Mayne keeps his eye on the ball
If there was ever a play to highlight the importance of keeping your eye on the ball, Chris Mayne’s sensational grab and handball in the final quarter should be right up there. With the ball bombed high out of a pack, deep inside Freo’s forward line, ‘Mayney’ never once lowered his head or his eyes from the ball and jumped into a heavily populated pack to mark the ball. He also had the presence of mind to realise the ball hadn’t travelled the required 15 meters, so as he was falling to the ground he handballed off to Michael Barlow who ran into an open goal. Brilliant.
Click here to watch 'Mayney's' moment of magic
Away grinds
Regardless of how Freo are winning their away games this year, they are winning them, and that’s all that matters. Melbourne led for much of Saturday’s game, but there was always the distinct feeling that it was only a matter of time before Ross Lyon’s men overpowered the Demons. The senior coach won’t be happy with the poor start, but he’ll be pleased by the ruthless nature Freo finished off the game in.
Click here to read what Ross had to say about the game
Spurr of the moment
Lee Spurr unexpectedly pulled on a jumper before the start of Saturday’s game after Antoni Grover had hurt himself in the warm-up. The South Australian grasped his opportunity with 19 possessions and 11 marks playing off half-back. The mature-age recruit looks a good chance to keep his spot on the back of that performance.
