Cats Come West and Leave With the Points — Typical
Well, here we go again. Another Friday night over here in the west, another packed house at Optus Stadium, and another eastern-states club rolling into town, grabbing the four points, and flying home before the rest of us have finished our post-game pies.
Look, I’m an Eagles man through and through, so I’ve got no particular love for the Dockers — that’s just the natural order of things in Perth. But I’ll tell you what, watching Geelong come over here and do what they did tonight stirred something in me. A sort of grumpy, cross-town solidarity, if you like. Because when an east-coast club flies five hours, plays on our turf, and still gets the chocolates, it stings a little for every footy fan west of Kalgoorlie.
The Cats Were Simply Too Slick in the Middle
Let’s be honest about what happened here. Geelong’s midfield brigade was extraordinary. When their engine room gets rolling — that clever, recycled ball movement, the short handballs, the way they flood and then transition in a blink — it genuinely looks like a different game to what everyone else is playing. Fremantle’s contested ball work was decent in patches, particularly in the second quarter when they managed to hold the Cats to a couple of majors, but over four quarters the class differential through the middle told the story.
The Dockers’ younger mids ran hard all night — credit where it’s due — but Geelong’s experience kept winning the key moments. Inside 50 counts, clearances, the general scrap around stoppages. The Cats had answers every time the Dockers threatened to get a run on.
Freo’s Forward Line Flickered But Couldn’t Sustain It
Fremantle’s forward setup showed some real promise in the third quarter and looked for a while like it might drag the Dockers back into it. Their key forward target was a genuine handful when the ball came in cleanly, and there were a couple of set shots that, had they gone through, might’ve changed the complexion of the last term entirely.
But that’s the thing with Geelong’s defensive structures — they make clean delivery into the forward 50 feel like a priviledge rather than a right. Their backline rotated intelligently, spoiled at the right moments, and generally made life uncomfortable for whoever was leading up. The Cats gave up ground but rarely gave up goals, which is about as frustrating to play against as it sounds.
Optus Stadium Was Loud — and Deserved Better
I’ll never get tired of saying this: Optus Stadium is one of the best sporting venues on the planet. Over here in the west we’ve got something truly special, and on nights like tonight it was absolutely humming. The Freo faithful were in full voice, the place was rocking, and for long stretches of that third quarter the noise was something else.
It’s worth noting, because you won’t always hear it said loudly enough on the east coast, that Perth crowds have been outstanding this season. Week after week, both WA clubs — well, when we’re going alright, anyway — are drawing strong numbers and producing an atmosphere that rivals anything at the MCG or Marvel. The travel that gets put on visiting clubs to come here is enormous, and yet the standard of footy being played at Optus Stadium keeps justifying every minute of it.
The Travel Equation — Let’s Talk About It Again
While I’m at it, can we just acknowledge something? Geelong flew across the country, played a finals-intensity match, and now fly back. Meanwhile the AFL will turn around next week and, I’d wager, put at least one of the WA clubs on a plane to Melbourne or Sydney or Brisbane with minimal turnaround. The fixture imbalance for western clubs is real, it’s documented, and it never quite gets the airtime it deserves in the mainstream footy press.
Now, to be fair, you could argue Geelong copping the travel to Perth is their version of the same burden — and I’ll grant them that. A red-eye across the Nullarbor is no one’s idea of ideal preparation. But the cumulative effect on clubs based here is something the AFL needs to keep examining. Just once I’d love to see a headline in Melbourne that goes, “Maybe the fixture is actually pretty hard on the WA clubs.” Just once.
A Word on Fremantle’s Season From a Reluctant Observer
Right, I’ll put my Eagles colours aside for a second and give the Dockers their dues. Fremantle have been a competitive, well-coached footy club for most of 2026. Their pressure rating is elite, their transition from defence has been really impressive, and on their best nights they look like a genuine September contender.
This was not one of their best nights, but it wasn’t a capitulation either. They stayed in the contest, they competed in the corridors, and there were moments — particularly around the centre bounces in the second half — where they looked like a team capable of turning the game. The Cats are just very, very good, and losing to them at home is no disgrace.
The question for the Dockers from here is whether this performance reveals something structural about their ability to match it with the top tier, or whether it’s just a bump in the road from an opponent that’s been around the place long enough to know exactly how to win tight matches. Given their overall body of work this year, I’d lean toward the latter — and yes, it feels a bit weird saying something generous about Fremantle. Don’t get used to it.
What Geelong Keep Getting Right
I’ve been watching this Cats side for a while now and what strikes me is how they keep reinventing themselves just enough to stay dangerous. They’ve turned over list spots, they’ve adjusted their structures, and yet somehow the culture — that relentless, professional, “we know how to win football games” culture — remains completely intact.
\p>It’s infuriating, honestly. You keep waiting for the Geelong wheel to fall off and it just… doesn’t. They came over here in the west, into a boiling atmosphere, against a genuinely motivated opponent playing good footy, and they found a way. That’s not luck — that’s program-building done right, even if it pains me to say so.
Final Thought: The West Deserves More Respect
Fremantle will dust themselves off, they’ve got enough in the tank to respond, and this loss doesn’t define their year. But nights like this — where a Perth crowd gives everything and still watches an eastern club walk away with the points — have a funny way of fueling that little fire we keep burning over here in the west.
We’re not just a road trip for interstate clubs. We’re a genuine footy market, with a genuine footy stadium, and teams that can genuinely hurt you. The sooner the national conversation properly reflects that, the better. Until then, at least we’ve got the venue. And the weather. And frankly, the views aren’t bad either.
Geelong 1, Optus Stadium atmosphere 1. Freo — brush yourself off and go again.
