Taberner rising
Matthew Taberner was a strong presence throughout the game and his impact wasn’t solely based on his five goals.
The key forward worked hard and attacked the ball in the air with tenacity, and also followed up at ground level to great effect. His confidence continued to rise throughout the game and this was most evident when he marked 50m out and immediately decided to take the shot and kicked truly from long range.

Youngsters step up
Early in the game Lachie Neale wasn’t his usual prolific self, often being blanketed with a hard tag from Lions midfielder Mitch Robinson. With the game in dispute it was Freo’s youngsters who took the reigns. Blakely had a career-high 29 disposals while Lachie Weller kicked four goals and Darcy Tucker had a personal best 19 touches and two goals.

Mayne man
Chris Mayne was a dangerous forward option against the Lions on Saturday. When Matthew Taberner wasn’t taking the marks in the forward line, Mayne was often at his feet to crumb and his tackling pressure continued to be a strong facet of his game. The mid-sized forward finished with four goals and nine tackles in a strong performance.
 
Tanner Smith makes the most of his opportunity
It’s been an interesting path back to senior football for Tanner Smith but he made the most of his opportunities against the Lions on Saturday night. The key forward took his time to get into the game but was hardly beaten in the air and often brought the ball to ground for Freo’s small forwards. His hard work was rewarded in the third quarter as he kicked his first career goal and also finished the game with four goal assists.

Stats that mattered – Goals after QT
The Lions kicked the first three goals of the game and after Freo responded with three of their own to level the game, it looked like an arm wrestle was on the cards. That wasn’t to be as Freo kicked 20 of the next 26 goals after the quarter time break.
 
Stats that lied – Tackle count
The Lions out tackled Freo on Saturday night 71 to 70 but it wasn’t indicative of their pressure but rather the consistency of which Fremantle had the football. Freo finished with 46 clearances to 32 and also dominated the inside 50 count 59 to 37 which meant the Lions had to tackle out of necessity as it was often in Freo's attacking half.