Fremantle pulled off a 64-point turnaround on Sunday against Essendon to earn a 37-point win at Domain Stadium after trailing by 27 points early in the second term.
Here’s what you might have missed if you weren’t at the game.
Taberner’s strong return
If it wasn’t his career best AFL game, it was very close.
After starting the season with Peel, Matt Taberner kicked four goals, took seven contested marks and picked up 18 disposals on his return.
Additionally, Taberner played a support role to Aaron Sandilands in the ruck and notched up seven hit outs and earned the praise of senior coach Ross Lyon.
"It's a reward for going back and building your game, isn't it?" Lyon said.
"(Assistant coach) David Hale has worked really closely with him and it's nice that he got some reward for effort."
‘Sonny’ a game changer
Michael Walters proved he can mix it with the best of them as he switched to an inside midfielder role mid-game.
Usually a small forward, Walters matched Nat Fyfe’s disposal numbers with 15 contested possessions from his 26 touches.
Ten of Walters’ 15 contested possessions came after half time and Lyon said the switch was crucial for Freo’s fortunes.
“That was a necessity (moving Walters into the midfield),” Lyon said in his post-match media conference.
“I didn't think (Nat) Fyfe and (David) Mundy were going that well. I thought Nathan responded really strongly in the second half.
“Michael Walters in there gave us some real zip, so that was pleasing.”
How about that steal from Sonny? #AFLFreoDons #foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/JOw2VofcdS
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) May 7, 2017
Hill reaps from Freo’s insiders
After smashing his career best numbers with 37 disposals and 16 marks, Bradley Hill would only credit his ability to keep up with the opportunities created by Freo’s inside midfielders.
Hill amassed a massive 881 metres gained on Sunday, the second highest in the AFL this season and 203.8m more than the next best effort in round 7.
“I thought I was able to run pretty hard today,” Hill said.
“But the blokes inside like (Nat) Fyfey and Lachie Neale were able win the ball inside and feed it out to me on the outside, so I’ll have to say thanks to them.”
The pace from Bradley Hill...so crucial #AFLFreoDons #foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/HIcvmIHLxV
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) May 7, 2017
New look forward line responds
It’s early signs, but the addition of Taberner has already paid dividends to a young forward line that has come under scrutiny early in the season.
The total of 17.14 (116) is Freo’s highest score since Taberner kicked five against Brisbane in round 12, 2016.
Freo’s trio of talls in Taberner (23), McCarthy (22) and Kersten (24) combined for 14 marks inside 50 while kicking 8.5 on the day.
Lyon said post-game that playing the 197cm Taberner was not just about adding another tall up front.
“I think (the tall forwards) looked dangerous all day,” Lyon said.
“I think (Taberner) helped the other two and that was the aim.
“Now we have those three ruck options, (defender) Michael Johnson can still go in but we chose to ruck Taberner today.
“That’s something that he has worked on at Peel as well so it’s been a positive.“
Ball control the key
At half time, Fremantle had a -27 differential in the uncontested possession count.
In the second half Freo won the count 166-80.
Bradley Hill said it was crucial that Fremantle were able to make the most of their opportunities when controlling the run of play.
“We were able to change the angles and get a bit of uncontested ball,” Hill said.
“Our inside mids were able to get it out to the runners and I thought that worked really well today.”
Four and three
Since fielding a younger side in round three, Fremantle has now matched their total wins from 2016.
Fremantle has won four of their past five games while fielding a team with an average age of 24.8, over a year younger than the average age of 26 in 2016.
Sing it loud! #AFLFreoDons #foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/7Jvb5Qz0wk
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) May 7, 2017