The first printed edition of The Footy Almanac came out in 2007, before we had a website. In the absence of a real 2020 season, we will be publishing the 2007 pieces for the first time ever on www.footyalmanac.com.au. Follow the season!
Melbourne versus Fremantle
2.10pm, Sunday, April 22
Melbourne Cricket Ground
by MARK BRANAGAN
IT IS INEXCUSABLE, I KNOW. Fremantle have been in the AFL since 1995 and in those 12 years I have seen hundreds of games, but I have never seen them play live. In the flesh. Not once.
To fully absorb the Docker culture, I embedded myself within the Fremantle cheer squad at the MCG. This collection of nearly 50 diehards is a far cry from the much-hyped Purple Haze of home games in Perth. More like a misty mauve, if anything. Freo fans are disappointingly nice, exuding all the ferocity of a Sunday roast.
Melbourne, after three losses, several major injuries and two late withdrawals in Travis Johnstone and Brad Moloney were a subdued and chastened lot. They did their warm-up drills in front of the Freo crowd rather than their own fans at the Punt Road end. It is serious business.
Melbourne magician Aaron Davey swooped on a defensive error and scored the first goal of the match within 17 seconds. In the opening weeks of the season the members had pilloried Davey for poor form. Other regular MCC targets came to the fore – Byron Pickett nailed the Demon’ second at the five-minute mark and Adem Yze took a great grab to lift his confidence.
But for all of Melbourne’s energy, their structure looked wrong. Fremantle’s roaming forwards – Matthew Pavlich, Chris Tarrant, Adam Campbell and Daniel Gilmore – all towered over the Melbourne backmen. And for some reason, Clint Bizzell was running around as a loose man in Melbourne’s defence. Freo hit hard. They put the foot down in the second quarter and tore away with eight successive goals. Too tall, too strong, too good.
Paul Hasleby is a chunky figure on television, but in the flesh he looked far trimmer as he racked up possessions. Des Headland, who had escaped penalty at the AFL Tribunal during the week, joined in the action and finished off with three goals before planting a kiss on the tattoo of his daughter. But it was Pavlich who ripped the heart out of Melbourne with four goals in the third quarter. That was it.
As Fremantle registered their 20th goal deep in the final quarter, the leader of the cheer-squad launched into the first collective chant of the day with a full-blooded scream of the Barmy Army’s call to arms, “Whooooo are we?” It was met with an unconvincing, “The purple, purple army”. Even the Melbourne supporters could afford to snigger at this false bravado.
Today was only one day and just one win for the Dockers. But there is a good chance they’ll be back here at the MCG in September.
Melbourne 3.5 4.9 9.11 13.14 (92)
Fremantle 5.2 10.5 17.8 21.11 (137)
GOALS
Melbourne: Dunn, Miller 3; Davey 2; Bate, Jamar, McDonald, Pickett, Yze.
Fremantle: Pavlich 6; Headland, Webster 3; Sandilands, Tarrant 2; Campbell, J. Carr, Crowley, Gilmore, McManus.
BEST
Melbourne: Yze, McDonald, Green, Davey.
Fremantle: Pavlich, Hasleby, J. Carr, Sandilands, McManus, Grover, Headland.
MILESTONES
Bruce (Melbourne) 150 games; Hasleby (Fremantle) 150 games.
UMPIRES
Farmer, Ellis, Avon.
OUR VOTES
Pavlich (F) 3, Hasleby (F) 2, J. Carr (F) 1.
BROWNLOW
Pavlich (F) 3, Hasleby (F) 2, Headland (F) 1.
CROWD
16,654
For more Round by Round reports of the 2007 season click HERE
If you want a printed copy of the 2007 edition of the Footy Almanac, they can be purchased here.
2007 Footy Almanac
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13 YEARS ON MATTHEW PAVLICH ENDED UP WORKING FIUR NINE PERTH & FOXTEL, & JODSH CARR ENDED UO BACK AT FREMANTEL AS AN ASSISTANT COACH UNDERF FORMER TEAMMATE JUSTIN LAOGMURE