Fremantle Dockers v St Kilda- Round 4

When and Where - Friday 20 April, 5.50pm (WST) bounce down, Etihad Stadium

Perth Broadcast information
TV: Live from 5.30pm on Fox Footy; Delayed telecast from 7.00pm on Channel 7
Radio: Live 5.30pm 720 ABC and 882 6PR

For the AFL national broadcast schedule, click here

Form-line
Freo - Rd 1 - W, Rd 2 - L, Rd 3 - W
St Kilda - Rd 1 - L, Rd 2 - W, Rd 3 - W

The medical room

Freo - Star youngster Nathan Fyfe has been named despite injuring his shoulder last Saturday. Freo is getting closer to being at full strength with every week and the midfield is starting to look imposing thanks to the successful returns of David Mundy and Michael Barlow.

St Kilda - The Saints are near full strength and go in unchanged from last week. The only players missing from their best 22 are Adam Schneider, Raphael Clarke and James Gwilt.

Who’s hot

Freo - Clancee Pearce - Pearce continued on his excellent pre-season form with a near-best-on-ground effort last week. That was the best performance of his career and he is forcing the opposition to pay more attention to him, especially with his dangerous, long right foot kick that wielded three goals against Brisbane.

St Kilda - Jack Steven: The young midfielder has taken the next step in 2012 to become a key component of St Kilda’s midfield. Steven is averaging 23 disposals and seven marks per game and must be added to the St Kilda midfield watch-list.

X-Factor

Freo - David Mundy - The champion midfielder says he’s ready to play a full game after donning the green vest in his comeback match last week. His coaches seem to agree, and ‘Barra’s’ presence in the middle will be vital against a hard and experienced midfield unit like St Kilda’s.

St Kilda - Lenny Hayes - One of the best midfielders in the competition, Hayes is nearing his best form again following his knee reconstruction in 2011. He’s averaging 24 touches and eight tackles per game, which is close to his output before the injury.

Key match-ups

Tendai Mzungu v Nick Dal Santo - Of all St Kilda’s star midfielders, Dal Santo has the capability to be the most damaging thanks to his silky skills. In the most recent encounter between the sides, Freo threw a surprise by sending Mzungu to the Saint. Tendai not only limited his opponent’s output, but he gathered 30 possessions himself. That performance might be fresh in Ross Lyon’s memory.

Luke McPharlin v Nick Riewoldt - McPharlin held Riewoldt goalless twice last year. If he can do that again, Freo will have taken a big step towards winning the four points.

Stats that matter - 2011 overall finish in brackets

- Fremantle is 1st in the AFL in contested possessions with 472 (10th in 2011).
- St Kilda is 12th with 418 (11th).

- Fremantle is 2nd in the AFL in clearances with 129 (12th).
- St Kilda is 16th in clearances with 104 (15th).

- Matthew Pavlich is only seven goals shy of 500 in his career.

When they last met

Friday 5 August 2011, Etihad Stadium
St Kilda 3.8 7.11 10.13 16.17 (113)
Fremantle 1.3 7.7 10.10 10.12 (72)

GOALS
Fremantle: Mayne 2, McPhee 2, Ibbotson, Barlow, Johnson, Grover, Mzungu, Suban
St Kilda: Milne 4, Koschitzke 2, Schneider 2, Dal Santo 2, Ray, Gram, Fisher, Goddard, Armitage, McEvoy

BEST
Fremantle: Barlow, Mzungu, Clarke, Mayne, Johnson
St Kilda: Jones, Dal Santo, Fisher, Koschitzke, Milne

Brownlow Medal votes: 3- Jones (St Kilda), 2- Dal Santo (St Kilda), 1- Mzungu.

Having lost its past two games, and facing an opponent seeking its sixth win on the trot, Fremantle battled manfully for three quarters before a final term capitulation banged another nail in its top eight coffin. The 46-point losing margin was cruel to the visitors, who trailed by just three points at three-quarter time. Freo had many admirable performers, none more so than the rapidly improving Zac Clarke who took one of the marks of the season and grabbed a Rising Star nomination for his efforts. Another Freo Docker to stand tall was Tendai Mzungu, who played the best game of his young career. He was surprisingly thrust into the unenviable role of minding the competition’s form midfielder Nick Dal Santo. The Saint had averaged 32.5 disposals per game in his past six matches. Mzungu held him to 25 touches and gathered 30 for himself. Luke McPharlin was unbreakable in defence again, holding Nick Riewoldt goalless for the second time that season.

Toyota AFL Dream Team

Freo - Paul Duffield: Duffield has the highest Freo average (106.8) against the Saints over the past five games between the sides. He shone against Brisbane last week, picking up 10+ touches in the final quarter alone. ‘Duff’ is in form and could be a valuable pick-up this week.

St Kilda - Brendon Goddard: One of the best Dream Team scorers, Goddard is at the top of his game, averaging a whopping 116.3 points per game in 2012.

Where Freo can win it - Stop Goddard and Fisher getting the ball

Most of St Kilda’s forays into attack invariably begin through Brendon Goddard or Sam Fisher from the half-back line. The Saints always look to get the ball in the duo’s hands.

To nullify those two, Freo senior coach Ross Lyon said his side would be employing some old-fashioned tactics.

“It’s simple, we’re going to man them up,” he said.

“They’re exceptional and there’s a reason they have been All-Australian players and dominated finals - because they are very talented.”

Keep an eye on who Freo sends to man-up Goddard and Fisher.