Fremantle Dockers out for redemption against Adelaide Crows with blockbuster semifinal looming
Fremantle will be out for redemption in more ways than one after booking their ticket to the semifinal clash with Adelaide.
After defeating Essendon in the elimination final, the Dockers will meet the team that narrowly edged them out for a double chance after the Crows went down to undefeated minor premiers North Melbourne on Friday.
Coach Lisa Webb said it was “another challenge” but one the team was ready for.
“They are a brilliant team. I watched them (against the Kangaroos) and God, they were impressive as well, especially in that first half with their pressure,” she said.
“But we’re still in it. We want to go all the way and Adelaide is a good opportunity for us to… play another great team.”
Fremantle have only defeated Adelaide once from eight attempts, with their sole victory back in 2021.
In their last meeting, the Crows humiliated the Dockers, holding them goalless at home in a 33-point drubbing at Fremantle Oval in the club’s worst loss of their 2024 campaign.
Adelaide superstar and co-captain Ebony Marinoff, who was named the AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year for 2024, was unstoppable, with a game-high 31 disposals, 19 tackles, seven marks and a goal.
The Dockers were also knocked out in a preliminary final by the eventual premiers in 2022, the start of their three-season exile from finals, which ended on Saturday against Essendon.
Fremantle won’t return home for the remainder of their 2024 campaign after hosting the elimination final but while that prospect might be daunting for some, the Dockers are yet to lose away from home this season, with a 6-0 record on the road.
“We love travelling together, we love getting away,” Webb said.
“We just enjoy each other’s company, we’re a really connected group. Sometimes it’s easy to say but far out, we really are. You can tell by the way they play.”
Star defender Emma O’Driscoll said the Dockers putting in a conscious effort to bond with each other off-field has laid the foundation for a strong on-field connection.
“That just forms a bond and trust like no other,” she said.
“It’s like a friendship, it’s like a sisterhood and I feel like that’s what makes us have each other’s backs out there.
“That trust and connection is something that makes us play good footy and it’s something that makes successful teams.”
Camera IconAshleigh Brazill of the Dockers in action. Credit: Travis Hayto/AFL Photos
O’Driscoll believes it’s that strong bond that can take the Dockers deep into November.
She said it would “mean the absolute world” to win the club’s first premiership.
“That’s the reason you play footy, is to get a flag. No-one plays for anything else. We’re here working our buts off for six to nine months of the year, to get a flag,” she said.
“I hope we can go all the way and I think we’ve got to have the belief that we can and I think this group, with the connection that we have, it is possible.”
To help their cause, Fremantle are confident important defender Ash Brazill will be fit to play in the semifinal despite being a late withdrawal against the Bombers.
The 34-year-old failed to pass a fitness test on her injured ankle on Saturday morning after being named in the 21 but is expected to be available to face Adelaide.
Camera IconMatthew Clarke, Senior Coach of the Crows (R) and players observe the national anthem during the AFLW Qualifying Final. Credit: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images
“She was really close (to playing against Essendon), we try and give them until the last minute,” Webb said.
“I know it always comes up, but we train after the teams come out, so we were always going to name her and test her.
“I just saw her then and she was saying ‘I’m ready to go, coach’.”
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