Last year they said we shouldn’t have won by as much as we did in round 23 to avoid playing Geelong in Melbourne as opposed to West Coast in Perth in the first week of finals. This year we didn’t have the option to control our destiny. The opponent will be the same as the 2012 final, as will the state we play in. The only difference will be the venue after the AFL decided to hand the Cats a match at Simonds Stadium, aka Kardinia Park and,less formally, Sleepy Hollow. While it may impact the number of Fremantle supporters present at the match, the coaching group and players have made it clear through their actions that where they play does not matter. There will be an oval, green grass, four posts and one great collective effort from the team in purple. And we are 0 and 0 in finals against Geelong at Simonds Stadium.
The round 14 meeting
Fremantle were comprehensively outplayed by Geelong at Simonds earlier this year, but the match should not serve as a great barometer ahead of the final. Freo’s engine room was missing David Mundy and Michael Barlow, while defensive mainstay Lee Spurr was a late withdrawal. Paul Duffield also had to be subbed off hurt in the second term. In fairness, the Cats were missing arguably their two most damaging players Steve Johnson and Paul Chapman, who should both line up this weekend.
Johnson finally plays Freo
Steve Johnson is a superstar of the game, but Fremantle fans haven’t had the opportunity to watch him play in the past two meetings between the teams, including the 2012 final, because of suspension. The brilliant midfielder/forward is available to play on Saturday and that could leave Ross Lyon with the difficult decision of who to send master tagger Ryan Crowley to. The ‘Glove’ put the clamps on form Cats’ captain Joel Selwood in round 14, but he has lined up on Johnson in the past.
The stakes
Coming off the highest home and away ladder finish in club history, Fremantle has an amazing opportunity to secure a home preliminary final. All we have to do is beat a Geelong team that, since 2007, has made winning games at Simonds Stadium seem like a handball training drill. The Cats have saluted in 49 of their past 51 games at the ground. Should Freo win, it will play at home against either the loser of Hawthorn-Sydney or the winner of Richmond-Carlton in the third week for the right to play in the grand final. A loss would leave Lyon’s side with a tricky encounter against the winner of Collingwood-Port Adelaide at Patersons Stadium next weekend. That fixture would be surrounded in controversy considering the Subiaco ground is hosting a rugby test on Saturday night. If that game is played on Friday night, Freo and Collingwood would either have six-day breaks leading into the match, or the winner would have a short turnaround leading into a prelim.
What will the rest do?
Fremantle rested many of its best 22 against St Kilda in round 23. The Cats on the other hand played their best available in a one-point win over Brisbane. How will the contrasting preparations impact the result on Saturday, if at all? While it may have appeared that Geelong struggled to beat the Lions, coach Chris Scott said in his post-match media conference that his side was well aware Fremantle, playing St Kilda at the same time, were being soundly beaten, leaving the Cats secure in second place.
"I've made a commitment to our players that I'll never lie to them. So we couldn't make the game, particularly in the second half, something it wasn't, given the situation in the St Kilda-Fremantle game." Scott said.
"It kept flashing up on the scoreboard, so all our players knew as well. The fact that Brisbane had a lot to play for and we didn't really have anything, other than carrying our form through to the next week, had an impact on the game."
