The form
HawthornAlthough the Hawks didn’t play their best footy against the Demons last Saturday they’re in good shape heading into the clash against Freo.
Hawthorn has won nine of their past 10 games and have well and truly established momentum heading into the final three matches of the home and away season.
The good news is the Hawks have a number of their good players playing well – Jordan Lewis, Luke Hodge, Luke Breust to name a few and Sam Mitchell is building as is Liam Shiels.
Fremantle
While some have written off the Dockers as a premiership chance based on their performance against Carlton two weeks ago, their final term against Geelong suggests otherwise.
That final quarter was the Fremantle of last year and earlier this season where they were at their manic-pressure best.
Nathan Fyfe is in outstanding form, while Hayden Ballantyne has been exceptional up forward all season.
Recent history
Despite the recent success of both the Hawks and Dockers, Hawthorn has actually won the last five matches between the two sides.
Hawthorn defeated Fremantle by 58 points in Round 3 this season and before that famously won the 2013 Grand Final over this Sunday’s opponents.
That grand final win – by 15 points – is the closest margin in the last five games. The Hawks have won the other four meetings by an average of 52 points.
The man to stop
He’s ineligible for the Brownlow Medal but that doesn’t mean Nathan Fyfe isn’t doing all he can to win games for his team and almost off his own boot.
Fyfe is arguably the most damaging player in the competition right now because of his ability to play midfield and up forward, to win clearances and the hard ball just as well as he can take an overhead mark and kick a goal.
He almost single-handedly dragged his team across the line against Carlton in Round 19 thanks to a blistering final quarter where he was influential all over the ground – in defence, midfield and up forward.
Fyfe is ranked first at the Dockers for contested ball (15.9 average), clearances (6.8) and centre clearances (2.6), while he’s ranked second for disposals (26.9) and third for goals with 19 for the year.
But the classy ball winner isn’t just an offensive weapon, like any good player under coach Ross Lyon, Fyfe is also ranked in the top five at his club for tackles, averaging 4.2 per game.
He is the man the Hawks must stop to win on Sunday.
The Sandilands factor
Sunday’s game poses an interesting battle in the midfield. The Dockers will obviously have the edge in the hit outs due to the sheer size of Aaron Sandilands but his midfield teammates will be up against the best clearance team in the competition.
Sandilands and Fremantle are ranked number one in the competition for hit outs but are ranked seventh overall for clearances with an average of 39.3 per game.
Comparatively, Hawthorn are ranked first in the league for clearances (41.4 average) and third for hit outs so they make more of the first use their ruckman gives them in the middle.
Leading the way for the Hawks is Jordan Lewis who is ranked number one at the club for clearances (5.8 average) but it will be the influence of the likes of Sam Mitchell (4.4) Luke Hodge (3.9), Liam Shiels (3.9) and Shaun Burgoyne (3.5) that will be critical.
For the Dockers, Fyfe is their best clearance player followed by David Mundy (5.1 average), Michael Barlow (3.9) and surprisingly, youngster Lachie Neale (3.5).
A Hawthorn challenge
With spearhead Jarryd Roughead out and Jack Gunston a potential inclusion, the Hawks are faced with a challenge they haven’t yet fronted on Sunday.
The dangerous forwards like Luke Breust, Isaac Smith and Paul Puopolo will need to take on a more vital role inside 50.
Breust is the most prevalent of the trio having kicked 49 goals, so his response to the challenge will be a point of interest.
But Breust’s importance to Hawthorn is in more than his goal kicking ability but also in the pressure he applies and the ball he can win through the middle.
He averages 15.8 disposals per game and is good around the stoppages when he’s in the midfield. He is averaging almost two clearances per game.
Breust got off the chain in the Round 3 meeting between the two teams, picking up 24 disposals and kicking three goals. He was one of the most damaging players on the ground.
Too early to write Freo off
Often media commentators talk about taking late-game form into the next week and Fremantle will be hoping that’s the case on Sunday.
The Dockers were exceptional in the last quarter against Geelong and almost pulled off a remarkable victory against all odds because of the manic pressure that was back into their game.
When at their best, Fremantle are the masters at defensive pressure and they played to that strength in the last 30 minutes on Saturday night by managing to concede just 64 disposals, 12 inside 50s and four scoring shots to Geelong.
In contrast, Fremantle managed 98 disposals and scored 11 times from 15 inside 50s in the final term.
