Freo’s Finals Fright Night: Why Minor Premiers Don’t Sleep Easy Anymore

G’day footy heads, Bluey here, coming to you from the west where we know a thing or two about finals footy giving you the jitters. Fremantle have gone and won themselves a minor premiership, which is a lovely thing to have on the mantelpiece, but as history keeps reminding us, it’s about as useful as a chocolate teapot once September actually rolls around.

The McClelland Trophy Isn’t What It Used To Be

Used to be that finishing top of the ladder meant something close to a guarantee. Back in the day, before the AFL got clever with byes and fixturing, the minor premiers absolutely towelled up whoever finished fourth in the qualifying final. We’re talking blowouts, 40-odd point margins, the sort of games where you’d put the kettle on at three-quarter time because the result wasn’t in doubt.

These days? Completely different kettle of fish. Ever since they brought in that pre-finals bye back in 2016, the top sides have gone from favourites to nervous wrecks. GWS smashing the minor premier Swans that year was the first sign the wheels were coming off the old certainty. Since then we’ve seen upset after upset, and the gap between first and fourth has narrowed to the point where finishing on top is more about pride than any real premiership insurance.

Fremantle Walk Into A Different Kind Of Test

So here’s Fremantle, minor premiers for the first time in yonks, and instead of getting a nice cruisy hit-out against a struggling fourth-placed side, they cop Hawthorn, who by all accounts have been flying under the radar and playing some scary footy of their own. That week off before the finals doesn’t help either. Momentum can disappear quicker than a snag off the barbie at a footy day, and Freo have had a fortnight to sit there and stew on it.

I’ll say this for the Dockers, and I don’t say it lightly being an Eagles man through and through, they’ve built something solid this year. Justin Longmuir’s got them playing a brand that’s hard to break down, and when they’re clicking they can be genuinely frightening. But minor premiership favouritism has bitten plenty of good sides on the backside in recent years, and there’s no reason to think Fremantle are immune just because they finished on top of the pile.

Jeporady Suits This Freo Side, Whether They Like It Or Not

Here’s my theory, and you can take it or leave it. Fremantle actually play their best footy when their backs are against the wall. Go back through their season and some of their most complete performances have come after a wobble, after a bit of adversity, after the doubters started chirping. There’s something in that Docker DNA under Longmuir where comfort breeds complacency but a genuine sense of jeporady seems to sharpen them right up.

Which is lucky for them, because a qualifying final against a dangerous Hawthorn outfit with a week’s rest and absolutely nothing to lose is about as jeporady as it gets. If the old script still applied, Freo would be warming up for a routine 50-point win and a cushy top-two finish. Instead they’re staring down the barrel of a genuine 50-50 contest, and depending on how you read this Fremantle side, that might actually be exactly what they need to find another gear.

Spare A Thought For Us Over Here In The West

Now look, I can’t write about Fremantle without having a bit of a whinge, it’s basically in my contract as a West Coast supporter. It does my head in watching the eastern states media carry on about how tough travel is for teams heading over here, like it’s some great hardship crossing three time zones for a weekend. Meanwhile our two WA clubs have been criss-crossing the country all season without so much as a mention, and now Fremantle cop a qualifying final where the whole fixture and finals system has been engineered, whether by accident or design, to make life harder for the top team.

It wasn’t like this in the old days. The minor premiers got rewarded for a long, consistent season with a genuinely favourable draw and a soft landing in week one. Now the AFL’s decided jeporady sells better than certainty, and fair enough too from a broadcast point of view, nobody wants to watch a foregone conclusion. But it does feel like the competition has been deliberately levelled out to manufacture drama, and the minor premiers are the ones paying the price for good television.

What Fremantle Need To Get Right

If I’m looking at what actually decides this contest, it comes down to a few simple things. Fremantle need their midfield brigade to win the clearance battle and dictate terms early, because if Hawthorn get run and carry happening through the middle of the ground this thing could get away from the Dockers fast. They also need their key defenders to stand up, because Hawthorn’s forward line has been génuinely dangerous of late and there’s no room for a lazy quarter.

• Win the contested ball battle inside the first quarter and set the tone
• Keep Hawthorn’s small forwards quiet at ground level
• Make the most of the extra week’s rest rather than let it cost them rhythm
• Trust the system that’s got them to minor premiership in the first place

Easier said than done against a side that’s peaking at exactly the right time. Hawthorn have got nothing to lose and everything to gain, and teams playing with that sort of freedom can be an absolute nightmare matchup in September.

The Verdict From The West

Honestly, I reckon this one’s closer than the ladder position suggests, and that’s precisely the point of this whole piece. Minor premiers just aren’t the lock they used to be, and Fremantle are about to find that out the hard way, or hopefully for them, the character-building way. If they’ve genuinely got that steel under pressure that I think they do, they’ll find a way through and prove the doubters wrong.

But if they’re the Fremantle that occasionally goes missing when the pressure’s really on, this qualifying final could be a very long afternoon indeed. Either way, credit where it’s due, they’ve earned the right to find out. Just don’t expect it to be the cakewalk the old minor premiers used to enjoy. Those days are long gone, and if you ask me, that’s exactly how the AFL wants it.