WHAT THE BANNERS SAID
Fremantle
At the bounce of the ball
Be strong
Stand tall

Hawthorn
Winners are grinners
Everyone fears the might of the Hawks

OMENS
Fremantle's decision to leave out retiring veteran Paul Hasleby caught many by surprise, including the decision-makers at the AFL Record who put him on the front cover, but it sent a message that Freo would be backing in youth to run Hawthorn off its feet - and that's how it panned out.

The flight carrying Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett and his club board was delayed by two hours,  meaning they didn’t arrive at the ground until quarter time. He most probably wishes Qantas had exercised the mercy rule and just cancelled the flight.

HEROES
Fremantle's Adam McPhee and Luke McPharlin had the two biggest jobs of the day matching up on Luke Hodge and Lance Franklin respectively, and put in superb efforts each to help set up the Dockers' win.

GOAT
Lance Franklin had an afternoon to forget despite kicking two goals. McPharlin completely shut him down in the first half and the frustration soon boiled over, with the Hawk sharpshooter giving away a couple of costly free kicks through ill-discipline.

OVERHEARD
"Right. Who here is a Hawthorn supporter? Hands up." - Kennett swings into action at Melbourne airport to arrange stranded Hawk fans buses for when they arrive in Perth.

BY NUMBERS
0 - The number of seconds it took for Adam McPhee and Luke Hodge to be going toe-to-toe on the wing before the start of the game.
19 - Minutes it took for Fremantle's Michael Walters to kick the first goal of the second quarter after Hawthorn had kicked five behinds.
51 - Minutes between Hawthorn's first and second goals of the game. The first came at the 15-minute mark of the first quarter to Lance Franklin and the second to Jarryd Roughead seven minutes into the third.
146 - The points differential from Fremantle's 30-point win and the 116-point hammering they suffered a fortnight ago in Launceston.

THE DECISION
The umps avoided controversy but still earned the wrath of the home fans even though the game was well and truly over when paying a 50-50 holding free against Antoni Grover, allowing Jarryd Roughead to kick his third goal to start the final quarter.

LOST IN COMMENTARY
"Just looking at Alastair Clarkson he wants that half-time siren to blow." - Channel 10 boundary rider Kelli Underwood after the Hawks lost Cyril Rioli and Xavier Ellis in quick succession to injury.

THE MOMENT THEY’LL REPLAY
Late in the first quarter Aaron Sandilands came off second best in a centre ruck clash with Wayde Skipper. With his knee heavily strapped, Sandilands returned to the ground but avoided ruck duties for the remainder of the game. Could be a crucial moment for Fremantle’s finals hopes.

THE MOMENT THEY SHOULD REPLAY
Anthony Morabito taking three bounces down the wing courtesy of an Aaron Sandilands shepherd, and then sweetly striking Fremantle’s second goal from just inside 50.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.

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