LAST FIVE TIMES
R22, 2012: Fremantle 20.12 (132) d North Melbourne 12.7 (79) at Etihad Stadium
R22, 2011: North Melbourne 21.17 (143) d Fremantle 6.9 (45) at Etihad Stadium
R4, 2011: Fremantle 18.19 (127) d North Melbourne 14.14 (98) at Patersons Stadium
R19, 2010: North Melbourne 19.9 (123) d Fremantle 10.9 (69) at Etihad Stadium
R10, 2010: Fremantle 21.13 (139) d North Melbourne 11.12 (78) at Patersons Stadium
Last time they met
NORTH MELBOURNE v FREMANTLE- SUNDAY 26 AUGUST 2012, ETIHAD STADIUM
FREMANTLE 3.5 6.7 11.10 20.12 (132)
NORTH MELBOURNE 1.2 5.4 8.7 12.7 (79)
GOALS FREMANTLE: Walters 4, Ballantyne 4, Mayne 2, McPhee 2, de Boer 2, Mundy 2, Suban 2, Sandilands, Mzungu
GOALS NORTH MELBOURNE: Thomas 3, Hansen 3, Gibson 2, Macmillan, Bastinac, Harper, Harvey
SUB: Kepler Bradley replaced by Nick Suban at half-time
REPORTS: Nil
UMPIRES: Stevic, Schmitt, Jeffery
OFFICIAL CROWD: 26,482
Freo confirmed its spot in the 2012 finals series with a mesmerising brand of football that overwhelmed the Kangaroos. The club only needed one more win from its remaining two matches, one being against lowly Melbourne at home the next week, to qualify. But why wait? That Freo were so commanding away from home, against a fellow top eight aspirant, without its top goal scorer Matthew Pavlich, made the Melbourne football media take notice of the rising side from the West. Midfielders Nat Fyfe (25 disposals), David Mundy (27) and Stephen Hill (28) ran riot, while ruckman Aaron Sandilands had 49 hit-outs and 15 disposals in just his second game back from injury. The game was reasonably close for three quarters, but Freo took complete control in the final term, at one stage kicking five goals in a remarkable six-minute period to crush the Roos’ spirits. Amazingly, North did not register a single kick in this time.
FREO FACT: It was Fremantle’s first win without Matthew Pavlich since round 22, 2008, snapping a run of six losses, and also the first time in club history it has beaten the Kangaroos at Etihad Stadium.
ROSS LYON: “We’re focusing on why we’ve been able to improve, and that’s our players and coaches working really hard together to develop a brand of footy that will stand up.”
BROWNLOW MEDAL VOTES
3 David Mundy
2 Hayden Ballantyne
1 Nat Fyfe
DOIG MEDAL VOTES
16 David Mundy, 13 Luke McPharlin, 12 Chris Mayne, 12 Stephen Hill, 12 Matthew de Boer, 12 Hayden Ballantyne, 8 Ryan Crowley, 8 Michael Johnson, 8 Michael Barlow, 8 Clancee Pearce, 8 Paul Duffield, 8 Aaron Sandilands, 8 Adam McPhee, 8 Zac Dawson, 8 Michael Walters, 4 Tendai Mzungu, 4 Nathan Fyfe, 4 Garrick Ibbotson, 4 Lee Spurr, 4 Nick Suban, 4 Zac Clarke
Social Media
Twitter - Make sure you follow our match day account @FreoFC_MatchDay for comprehensive pre-game info, match scores, highlights, stats and analysis, and post-game recaps. Don't forget to follow the club's official account @Fremantle_FC for updates throughout the week.
Facebook - Get score updates and chat with other Freo fans during the game with our official Facebook account.
Instagram – For a behind-the-scenes look at game day follow FremantleDockers on Instagram.
The selection table
Fremantle – Michael Walters is expected to return, but Matthew Pavlich and Aaron Sandilands are not likely to play. Anthony Morabito is still a few weeks away from his return to football.
North Melbourne – The Roos will be without the suspended Jack Ziebell, but apart from that, their injury list is very short. Only Robbie Tarrant (1 week) and Tom Curran (season) are on it.
Possible line-ups - Freo mentioned first in bold
| F: | M Walters | C Mayne | H Ballantyne |
| B: | S McMahon | S Thompson | L Hansen |
| HF: | M de Boer | J Hannath | D Pearce |
| HB: | J Macmillan | N Grima | M Firrito |
| C: | S Hill | D Mundy | N Fyfe |
| C: | S Atley | D Wells | S Gibson |
| HB | M Johnson | L McPharlin | G Ibbotson |
| HF: | S Wright | D Petrie | B Harvey |
| B: | L Spurr | Z Dawson | P Duffield |
| F: | L Thomas | A Black | L Adams |
| Ruck: | Z Clarke | M Barlow | R Crowley |
| Ruck: | T Goldstein | R Bastinac | A Swallow |
| INT from: | T Mzungu, C Pearce, C Sutcliffe, H Crozier, N Suban, A Silvagni | ||
| INT from: | M Daw, A Mullett, T Hine, B Cunnington |
X Factors
Fremantle – Michael Walters: The forward line has missed the sublime finishing and facilitating ability Walters brings with him.
North Melbourne – Drew Petrie: With no Matthew Pavlich in the game, Petrie will have the most impressive resume of all the key forwards playing on Sunday. He has not been at his best this season, but a player of his quality does not stay down for long.
Key Match-ups
Drew Petrie v Luke McPharlin: Petrie is slightly taller but McPharlin has the athletic capacity to cover the North key forward. This match-up could be pivotal in deciding the outcome of the game.
Lee Spurr v Lindsay Thomas: Ross Lyon has indicated that Spurr was among the candidates to man the AFL’s leading goal scorer after 12 rounds. Garrick Ibbotson’s name was also thrown up, but he has been used as a loose man, so expect Spurr to be the likely match-up for Thomas.
Zac Clarke v Todd Goldstein: Clarke comes up against one of the form ruckmen in the competition this year. Goldstein has averaged 39 hitouts pergame in 2013, which is second in the AFL behind Western Bulldog Will Minson.
Dream Team
Fremantle: David Mundy loves playing North Melbourne. He torched them in Fremantle’s big win at Etihad Stadium late last year and has averaged 108 points per game against them over the past four games.
North Melbourne: Roos’ captain Andrew Swallow has played some huge games against Fremantle in recent times. With an average of 118 over his past four against Freo, he could be a good choice this week, but the Crowley tag will linger over him.
Keys to victory
Freo will be happy if: It stymies the Roos runners by turning the game into a contested-ball slog.
North Melbourne will be happy if: It can win the ball inside and then spread to utilise the impressive band of runners in its arsenal.
THE SIX POINTS from afl.com.au
1. Since 2007, both teams have four wins each and neither team has won consecutive clashes since 2004-05.
2. This will be the 23rd meeting and North Melbourne holds the advantage winning 14 games to eight.
3. At Patersons Stadium, the sides have met 10 times for five wins each, but Fremantle has won the past three.
4. Fremantle’s defence remains the best in the competition in 2013 conceding only 70 points per game, while North Melbourne is ranked ninth in the AFL, conceding 93 per game.
5. North Melbourne is the sixth best attack in the competition averaging 104 points per game. Fremantle is 13th averaging only 90.
6. North's Scott Thompson is the fourth best defender on the Official AFL Player Ratings, and is ranked 43rd overall. Fremantle, with the best team defence in the AFL, does not have a defender in the top 100 ranked players. Michael Johnson is the highest ranked Fremantle defender at 106.
