1. Déjà Luke

It should have been a celebration of 200 magnificent Fremantle games for Luke McPharlin. All he got was a bad headache courtesy of the same player and another loss to Essendon in a big milestonegame. The 2012 All Australian defender spoke before Friday night's game about his desire to make up for Freo's round 13 loss to the Bombers in his 200th AFL game last year, a game in which he was left a bit groggy after an accidental collision with Patrick Ryder. Within minutes of the opening bounce on Friday, a high bump from Ryder ended McPharlin's night. It did give Freo it's first opportunity to test the new concussion substitute rule, with Cam Sutcliffe allowed to come on for 20 minutes while McPharlin was assessed. As it turned out, the youngster would stay out there. WATCH on DockerTV.


2. The third quarter

Take away the third quarter from Friday night's match and Fremantle have a clinical demolition of Essendon. But as senior coach Ross Lyon stresses at every opportunity, football is a four-quarter effort. Click here to see a statistical breakdown of the thirdquarter.


3. Those cruel final minutes

What better way for the Starlight Purple Haze Game to end than for the charity's Freo ambassador Chris Mayne to kick the winner just seconds before the siren. Football can be cruel however, and all 'Mayney' was left with at the siren was his hands in his face as he slumped to the turf in disbelief. Just moments earlier, an unlucky bounce of the ball denied Paul Duffield what would have been the tying goal.


4. Midfield match-ups

Ross Lyon threw a googly ball at James Hird at the first bounce, sending Ryan Crowley to Brent Stanton instead of Jobe Watson. Most experts had predicted the Crowley/Watson matchup was a given. It shouldn't have come as a surprise considering the Freo coach had indicated earlier in the week that Crowley was no certainty to tag Watson. Matt de Boer was given the job on the Bombers skipper and did very well for a half, restricting him toseven disposals. But Watson was very prominent in Essendon's second-half revival.


5. Golden opportunity missed

Lyon said it after the match: “The playing group have worked really hard and they let a golden opportunity slip.” Freo could have been 3-0 and inside the top four. Instead, it now faces a massive challenge against a red-hot Hawthorn side at a ground that hasn’t been kind to teams in purple in recent seasons, Launceston’s Aurora Stadium.