Fremantle take on St Kilda on Sunday at Optus Stadium for the annual Starlight Purple Haze game.
Here are some numbers to look out for ahead of the game.
84.5 loose ball gets
Thanks to the efforts of midfielders such as Bradley Hill, Fremantle are enjoying collecting the ball in space – averaging 84.5 loose ball gets in the opening two rounds.
This is the highest total in the league, eight more than Hawthorn, the second-ranked team.
Conversely, St Kilda are winning more possession in the contest thanks to the work of Rowan Marshall and Josh Bruce, averaging 47.5 hard ball gets per game (4th most in AFL).
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13 clearances
Nat Fyfe had 13 clearances the last time these two teams met in round eight, 2018, which was one off his career-high of 14. Fyfe also racked up 36 disposals, with 25 contested possessions, in Freo’s 30-point win.
8.5 tackles
St Kilda midfielder Jack Steele is leading the AFL for tackles with an average of 8.5 per game. He may be assigned the difficult task of limiting Fyfe’s impact in the game.
READ MORE: Fremantle's effective long kicks are up in 2019
27 free kicks
St Kilda haven’t had the umpires favour while going unbeaten in the opening two rounds, conceding an AFL-high 27 free kicks per game. This trend could change against Fremantle, with Freo earning only 18.5 free kicks per game so far (3rd lowest in the AFL).
163 contested possessions
Fremantle and St Kilda were among the AFL’s lowest-ranked contested teams in 2018, with Fremantle averaging 135.9 contested possessions per game (16th in AFL) and St Kilda 135.5 per game (18th in AFL).
Both teams are bucking this trend early in 2019, with Freo averaging 163 contested possessions per game (3rd in AFL) and St Kilda 154 per game (8th in AFL).
