Round 9 – Fremantle v Hawthorn: Wharfie Time Reigns Supreme out West

Round 9
Fremantle v Hawthorn
Thursday 7 May 2026
Optus Oval, Perth WA

 

To call that game a tale of two halves would be doing a disservice to Fremantle’s sheer firepower. Led by the footballing unicorn himself, Luke Jackson, the Dockers finished the final term explosively, booting five unanswered goals in just six and a half minutes of game time to run over the top of the Hawks by fifteen points and take top spot. 

 

Sitting second and third on the ladder, respectively, the Dockers hosted the Hawks at Optus Stadium, looking to extend their seven-game winning streak, with the Hawks seeking to make amends for their hiccup against Collingwood the week before. 

 

Hawthorn began the so-called ‘hardest trip in football’ by debuting a redesign of the ‘Side Eye Hawk’ jersey, a strip last seen in the early 2010s, and you’d be forgiven for glancing at the TV in the first half and thinking you were watching a replay from that era. 

 

Looking and moving (at least in the first half) like a forward ten years younger than he is, Jack Gunston more than made up for his quiet showing against the Pies, booting a career high five first-half goals. Supporting him, as he often has this season, was Nick Watson, creating chances out of nowhere like a prime Cyril Rioli, finishing the half with him and Gunston kicking a combined eight of the nine Hawks’ majors. 

Led by Jai Newcombe in the middle, and Karl Amon and Jarman Impey off the half-back flank, the Hawks played arguably their best half of the season. They held their own against Fremantle’s midfield weapons, with Cam Mackenzie looking like he had an extra second every time he got the ball, and Conor Nash and Josh Ward throwing their weight around. Newcombe’s second quarter was a thing of beauty, leading all comers in disposals, linking up chains, and helping his side to a fifteen-point lead at the main break. 

 

The defence looked solid enough early, weathering Freo’s talls, who looked strong. The Dockers created plenty of chances, but just couldn’t get the reward on the scoreboard. The biggest defensive woe of the first half was, without a doubt, a hamstring injury to key defender and backline general, Tom Barrass, who was ruled out early in the second quarter. The Hawks initially covered his injury fairly well, with Josh Weddle dropping back, but the impact on the team’s structure became evident as the game went on. 

 

That being said, the Hawks started the second half like a house on fire, with a bit of questionably legal magic from debutant Bodie Ryan setting up a Mitchell Lewis long bomb that put his side twenty points up. Hawthorn couldn’t capitalise on the momentum, with Fremantle’s midfield, led by Andrew Brayshaw and Caleb Serong, roaring to life to turn the term into a genuine arm-wrestle. Nash, Amon, and Massimo D’Ambrosio were solid, holding off the surging Dockers to head into the last change with a fifteen-point advantage. 

 

Largely kept quiet by Brennan Cox in the second half, a proppy-looking Gunston kicked his sixth halfway through the third, putting the Hawks nineteen points up. This would ultimately serve as the last punch Hawthorn threw as they succumbed to the sheer pressure of ‘Wharfie Time’. 

 

Born out of a phrase commentators used to describe the Sunday afternoon timeslot in which Fremantle’s games often took place during their early years, and gaining popularity from a much-mocked 2009 speech by Matthew Pavlich, the term has since been adopted by Freo Fans. It’s come to be known as a period of tight home games, where, signalled by the gong from ACDC’s Hells Bells, Freo fans are prompted to get loud and encourage their team to put the foot down and get the win. 

 

And put their foot down and get the win, the Dockers most certainly did. The Docker army created a wall of noise in the last, with the 54,000-strong crowd roaring to life as they rode their team home. Jackson dominated with nine touches and some huge marks. Shai Bolton, Murphy Reid, and Serong were everywhere, with Josh Treacy and Michael Frederick tearing the Hawks’ defence to shreds. Despite being three goals down with ten and a half minutes to go, the game was over in just eight, with a desperate Jackson smother setting up Frederick’s third and breaking brown and gold hearts. 

 

The Hawks will lick their wounds and head back to Melbourne for a clash with the Demons on Saturday. The Demons, despite pre-season predictions, have not been pushovers, taking some huge scalps, with their favourite hunting ground being a sunny afternoon at the MCG. What looked like an easy win at the start of the season now looks like a genuine challenge, with the Hawks needing a win. 

 

Sam Mitchell will have some selection headaches with Barrass set to miss, and Gunston leaving the ground in a moonboot. Bodie Ryan had a fairly quiet debut for someone playing off the back flank, but he should have done enough to keep his place in the side. Elsewhere on the pitch, questions will be asked of Max Ramsden after a fairly quiet day, and Mitchell will demand more from Dylan Moore and Connor Macdonald, who were far from their usual best. 

 

In terms of changes, Jack Scrimshaw is all but certain to return, with Will McCabe, Bailey MacDonald and Noah Mraz all set to be in the mix after solid starts to their seasons at Box Hill. The big watch for next week is how the Hawks will go without Barrass. One thing’s for sure, Mitchell will demand a response, and if Hawthorn is the real deal this season, they simply cannot have three off weeks in a row. 

 

FREMANTLE          4.4     6.8     7.10     12.16 (88)
HAWTHORN          4.2     9.5     10.7      11.7 (73)

 

GOALS
Fremantle: Frederick 3, Amiss 3, Treacy 2, Young, Voss, Reid, Dudley
Hawthorn: Gunston 6, Watson 3, Lewis, Butler

 

BEST
Fremantle: Serong, Jackson, Frederick, B.Cox, Reid, Brayshaw, Bolton 
Hawthorn: Gunston, Watson, Amon, Newcombe, Impey, Battle

 

INJURIES
Fremantle: Nil
Hawthorn: Barrass (hamstring)

 

Crowd: 54,140 at Optus Stadium