The numbers game
35,583 - The highest attendance between the two clubs, set last time Freo and Gold Coast met at Domain Stadium (Rd 2, 2014)
31 - Average winning margin against the Suns
27 - Combined clearances between Nat Fyfe, Lachie Neale and David Mundy in last year's game
27 - Nat Fyfe’s disposal average against the Suns, his highest against any club in the AFL
5 - Game winning streak against the Gold Coast Suns
Everything Starlight Purple Haze
Last time we met
Fremantle (6.17.53) def Gold Coast (7.4.46) at Metricon Stadium in Rd 11, 2015
Nat Fyfe was best on ground, and received three Brownlow votes for his 31 disposal, two goal performance in wet conditions.
Aaron Sandilands put forward his most dominant ruck performance in his distinguished career, tallying 70 hit outs and receiving one Brownlow vote in the process.
Lachie Neale was a force in the inside game, finishing with eight tackles, nine clearances and 14 contested possessions.
Garrick Ibbotson was all over the halfback line, and had 23 disposals while being the only Freo Docker to register 100 per cent game time.
Freo facing Gold Coast, not just Gary
Run n’ Gun Suns
Restricting Gold Coast’s running game will be a key component to Freo’s success on Saturday. The Suns took 17 running bounces against Essendon in round one, the most of any team in the AFL.
Adam Saad led the Suns with six bounces while Jarrod Harbrow had five.
In addition to Saad and Harbrow, the Suns will welcome back Kade Kolodjashnij, who lead the team with three bounces in last year’s Rd 11 clash with Freo.
Purple Monkey off the back
The mental battle with Fremantle will be just as important as the physical one for the Suns, who are yet to beat Freo in five attempts. While the record is one sided, the games haven’t been in recent times, with Freo winning a close one by seven points in a tightly contested, wet weather game in 2015.
Solo Sandi
With Zac Clarke and Jonathon Griffin not being selected to play against Gold Coast, Aaron Sandilands will have to shoulder the ruck responsibilities on Saturday. While playing an entire game in the ruck is a difficult task against any team, Sandilands has found success against the Suns, registering two of his three highest hit out tallies (70 and 58) against them.
Gold sees Purple Haze
The Freo faithful will welcome the Suns to a packed Domain Stadium for the 2016 Starlight Purple Haze game, proudly supported by Fremantle Ports. It will be the second time Freo have played the Suns in a Purple Haze Game, beating the Queensland side by 48 points in 2014.
Tickets are still available for Saturday's game via ticketmaster.com.au or 1300 135 915.
The Fremantle Dockers Foundation is proud to have the Starlight Children's Foundation on board as a Principal 'Friend of the Foundation'
