Fourteenth placed Fremantle face eighth placed Essendon at Etihad Stadium on Sunday for Freo’s final clash of the home and away season.
Here are some of the talking points heading into the game.
Another victory in Victoria?
Fremantle have played some of their best football in Victoria in 2017. Their lone loss came at the hands of Geelong in round 14, when Freo pushed the Cats right to the end in a two-point loss.
In Melbourne, Fremantle has won three from three, defeating North Melbourne at Etihad and Richmond and Melbourne at the MCG.
It’s been a while
The last time Fremantle travelled to face the Bombers was on Sunday 4 April, 2010, making it 2,702 days between the sides’ last meeting in Victoria.
On the day, Hayden Ballantyne led the way for Freo with three goals while former Docker Michael Barlow had 34 disposals.
Going for five in a row
Fremantle have had the upper hand in recent contests, winning the past four, as well as seven of their past nine meetings.
Freo’s 37-point win in round seven has been their biggest of 2017, with Lachie Neale and Bradley Hill leading the way with 40 and 37 disposals respectively.
Shaping the finals
Essendon come into the clash desperate for a win. With 11 wins, the Bombers currently hold a top eight spot due to their superior percentage over West Coast, St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs. If the Bombers lose, they will be relying on the other three sides to slip up in order to keep their finals spot.
Freo needs to rebound
Senior coach Ross Lyon highlighted Freo’s biggest struggle in round 22 against Richmond was in returning the ball from their defensive 50.
Fremantle had 25 rebound 50s, the second lowest for the round, from Richmond’s 50 forward entries.
The only side with fewer rebound 50s was Essendon with 22, however the Bombers made up for it with their sheer number of forward 50 entries - totalling 71, the most in round 22.
Tabs makes his mark
Since making his return in round 21, Matthew Taberner has pulled in seven contested marks – the equal most in the AFL alongside North’s Ben Brown, Port’s Charlie Dixon and Brisbane’s Josh Walker.
Against Essendon in round seven, Taberner had seven contested marks and kicked 4.1 in what has been his best performance of 2017.
