Big Sandi keeps his pedal to the metal
The West Australian
Fremantle ruckman Aaron Sandilands says he cannot afford a week off before the end of the home-and-away season as the Dockers look to secure a home qualifying final.
There had been speculation the Dockers would rest veterans such as Sandilands, who has not missed a game all season, to freshen them for a premiership tilt.
Matthew Pavlich and Luke McPharlin have each missed a game through injury over the past fortnight.
But Sunday’s 11-point defeat to North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium left Fremantle with work to do as they look to seal the minor premiership, meaning Sandilands won’t get a break before the finals.
Clarke ban adds to Freo woes
The West Australian
Zac Clarke is facing suspension after an off-the-ball punch that will leave the out-of-favour Fremantle ruckman sidelined on the eve of finals.
Clarke was given a three-match ban by the WAFL after a notice of investigation was lodged into an incident in which the Docker hit Perth’s Brett Wolfenden during Peel’s 13-point win at Lathlain Park on Saturday.
However, good behaviour and an early guilty plea can allow Clarke to reduced the penalty to a week.
Vision captured of the incident clearly shows the 25-year-old Docker delivering an uppercut to Wolfenden’s jaw using his left fist soon after Clarke was dispossessed of the ball.
Dockers need to fire for finals: Lyon
The West Australian
Fremantle coach Ross Lyon hopes the finals campaign will spark his players as star midfielder Nat Fyfe remained eligible to be the first Docker to win the Brownlow Medal.
The ladder leaders slumped to consecutive losses for the first time in 2015 when losing to North Melbourne on Sunday, leaving them just two points clear of a red-hot West Coast with two games left.
Fremantle host Melbourne on Sunday, with captain Matthew Pavlich (Achilles) no certainty to return.
“My first concern is improving our football,” Lyon said on 6PR last night.
“We acknowledge we’re not as electric as we’ve been. You are doing a lot right to finish on top of the ladder and it’s hard to stay up the whole time.
“We need to improve that and hopefully the nostrils flare a bit the closer they get to the finals. I thought there were some really good signs on the weekend.”
Nat Fyfe cleared, still eligible for Brownlow Medal
Herald Sun
NAT Fyfe dodged a suspension for his hit on Ben Jacobs but the greatest threat to his Brownlow Medal might be a chasing pack of AFL stars.
Fyfe was cleared of a high hit on the North Melbourne tagger, with Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge suspended until the first week of the finals.
Hodge’s high hit on Port Adelaide’s Chad Wingard was assessed as medium impact and a two-week ban, while Fyfe’s hit was labelled of insufficient force to sustain a fine.
A third fine would have put $1.70 TAB favourite Fyfe out of the running, with Matt Priddis ($6), Todd Goldstein ($6) and Patrick Dangerfield ($11) closing fast.
Fyfe once looked the runaway Brownlow Medal winner but has not polled a Coaches Association vote since Round 14, with a groin problem curtailing his form.
Champion Data has him on 25 votes with West Coast’s Matt Priddis on 22, while the Herald Sun’s award has him on 30 votes with North Melbourne’s Todd Goldstein on 27.
WAFL sanctions for Clarke and Pearce
Nat Fyfe shouldn’t lose a Brownlow for clumsy bump but precedent says he’s lucky
Herald Sun
THE AFL’s night of nights has been spared the high farce of Nathan Fyfe sitting on his couch watching someone else win what should have been his Brownlow Medal.
No one believes a player should be ruled ineligible for the Brownlow Medal for a trip, a late spoil and clumsy attempt at a bobbling ground ball.
But under the AFL’s rules, Nathan Fyfe is incredibly lucky to still be eligible for the Brownlow.
Nat Fyfe stays in hunt for Brownlow after being cleared
The Australian
Fremantle star Nat Fyfe remains in the hunt to win the Brownlow Medal and Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge will not play again until the finals next month.
The match review panel cleared Fyfe yesterday for an incident on Sunday involving North Melbourne’s Ben Jacobs, but they suspended Hodge for the Hawks’ final two home-and-away games.
After throwing his Brownlow eligibility into a spin on Sunday when he was reported by a field umpire for high, forceful front-on contact with Jacobs, Fyfe is clear to play and remains an odds-on favourite to win his and the club’s first Brownlow.
However, he remains in dangerous territory. Fyfe and West Coast’s Mark LeCras are the only players in finals contention who are sitting on the cusp of a double whammy of both dangerously high strikes and a loading of another week if suspended again. Fyfe has a loading due to his four-game suspension on his record from two incidents last year.
