SEN\u2019s Tom Morris reported<\/a> on Friday afternoon that inside bull Conor Nash has entered concussion protocols, making him the fourth injury concern to come out of the encounter. The 27-year-old copped a knock mid-match and was given the all clear by doctors, before experiencing delayed concussions symptoms post-match.<\/p>\nThroughout the night, inaccuracy appeared as if it was going to prove costly for the hosts, who played a forward-half game for the majority of the second half but couldn\u2019t capitalise until late in the piece. <\/p>\n
Five first-half goals from Gunston, who finished with six, gave Hawthorn the ascendancy in the contest, with Justin Longmuir scrambling to switch the defensive assignment early from Luke Ryan to Brennan Cox. <\/p>\n
Dockers spearhead Josh Treacy didn\u2019t have his kicking boots on, finishing 2.4 for the night from 17 disposals and seven marks \u2014 but he delivered the crucial goal assist for Jye Amiss\u2019 go-ahead goal at the 22-minute mark. <\/p>\n
Instead, it was fast Michael Frederick, who kicked two goals in a five-minute period, and majors from Amiss and Hayden Young, which did the scoring damage for the hosts. <\/p>\n
Not only was Frederick the highest-rated player on the ground on Thursday night, but it was also the highest-rated game of his career. <\/p>\n
Yet, none of it would have come without an epic fourth-quarter effort from Luke Jackson, who notched nine disposals, five inside-50s and three clearances in the term alone. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll the talk is going to be about Luke Jackson\u2019s fourth quarter, and he was enormous, but you\u2019ve got to give the coaches credit,\u201d dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna said on Fox Footy. <\/p>\n
\u201cMason Cox played 42 minutes in the ruck, which allowed Jackson to be fresh when the game was on the line in the last quarter. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s why Fremantle have always liked having the two rucks, because Jackson is that dynamic player that has the athleticism and power that, when he has a little break, he\u2019s able to be fresh and impact in fourth quarters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jackson became the first-ever Fremantle ruckman to record 20+ disposals, 15+ contested possessions, and 10+ clearances. <\/p>\n
The 3-2-1 (what we learned) via Catherine Healey at Optus Stadium …<\/p>\n
3. FREO BURST AGAIN!<\/p>\n
The Dockers\u2019 firepower was in the spotlight pre-game, given their goal streaks are second only to Sydney in 2026.<\/p>\n
And with the game on the line after Jack Gunston kicked his SIXTH for the night midway through the final term, Fremantle got to work, staring down a 21-point deficit.<\/p>\n
Josh Treacy snapped truly, Michael Frederick nailed his two attempts, Jye Amiss made the most of his chance while Hayden Young delivered from a set shot to ensure Freo jumped to the top of the table in stunning scenes on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
And it all came in an 11-minute final quarter burst.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is power footy,\u201d dual premiership Roo David King said.<\/p>\n
The Dockers\u2019 firestarter was big man Luke Jackson, who headed forward for the final term to exploit the absence of injured Hawks defender Tom Barrass.<\/p>\n
With Hawthorn\u2019s defence stretched thin, Jackson cashed in.<\/p>\n
He had a hand in three of those five final quarter goals \u2013 and ensured the ball was locked in Freo\u2019s half.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just kicking it in Jackson\u2019s direction,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s taken over this game.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just put on a quarter that will send a shudder through the competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was everywhere for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJackson has been absolutely enormous in this term \u2026 he\u2019s unstoppable. He\u2019s in a purple patch,\u201d Mark Howard added.<\/p>\n
King said it was clear the Hawks \u201cran out of tickets\u201d after being a man down on the bench for the second half.<\/p>\n
But it was a brave fight in a finals-like clash. <\/p>\n
Hawks get away with questionable sub! | 00:35<\/p>\n
2. HAWKS\u2019 BATMAN & ROBIN SHINE BRIGHT<\/p>\n
Jack Gunston wound back the clock with an epic five-goal first half, and he had plenty of support from teammate Nick Watson.<\/p>\n
Together, the duo had eight of Hawthorn\u2019s nine first-half goals \u2013 as the visitors set up a 15-point buffer.<\/p>\n
Described by AFL great Jason Dunstall as \u201cBatman and Robin\u201d, Fremantle had no answers for the Gunston and Watson matchups.<\/p>\n
Particularly, the matchup on Gunston.<\/p>\n
Gunston became the first Hawk since 1999 to record 7+ marks inside 50 and 5+ goals in a first half.<\/p>\n
Luke Ryan conceded the majority of those Gunston goals as the Hawk exploited that matchup.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to break glass now. This is just not working,\u201d dual premiership Roo David King said of the Ryan-Gunston matchup.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can see the stress on Ryan\u2019s face already.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just too easy for Gunston .. He\u2019s got a matchup he\u2019s really enjoying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you have to wave the white flag here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The move came in the dying stages of the first term, with Brennan Cox given the job.<\/p>\n
And while he kept Gunston goalless in the third term, it was the Hawk who, with his sixth goal, almost shattered Freo hearts in the final quarter.<\/p>\n
Partner-in-crime Watson meantime was everywhere for the Hawks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he doesn\u2019t kick a goal, he sets it up,\u201d Dunstall said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey just couldn\u2019t get their hands on him! He is a livewire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leigh Montagna said Watson\u2019s performance was \u201cCyril Rioli-like\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis speed is too much to handle,\u2019 he praised.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the closest thing we\u2019ve seen since Cyril. It was like Buddy and Cyril (watching Gunston and Watson).<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew when you had the footy if Cyril was around you\u2019d go uh-oh. Watson is doing the same using that speed.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time he touched it, something good happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it was Fremantle who managed to lock the ball in their front half for the final quarter \u2013 and it starved the Hawks of opportunity.<\/p>\n
With Gunston heading down to the rooms after his sixth goal, the Hawks couldn\u2019t find a target and it showed with Fremantle\u2019s late charge. <\/p>\n
‘Massive loss!’: Tom Barrass goes down | 00:44<\/p>\n
1. BRUTAL BLOW FOR BARRASS, HAWKS<\/p>\n
Tom Barrass has been arguably the Hawks\u2019 most important player in 2026.<\/p>\n
But he lasted less than a half on Thursday night after pulling up lame from a big marking contest at Optus Stadium.<\/p>\n
Barrass headed down into the rooms before re-emerging with ice on his hamstring.<\/p>\n
And he played no further part in the contest.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt throws their system a little bit out of whack not having Barrass down there,\u201d triple premiership Tiger Jack Riewoldt said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very tough to cover a player of that calibre in game,\u201d David King added.<\/p>\n
\u201cNumber three-ranked intercept marker in the competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the pillar of the back six.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fox Footy\u2019s Jon Ralph shared his thoughts at half-time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can recall Jack Scrimshaw next week\u2026 but Barrass has been the glue that holds them together. That is a massive loss for Sam Mitchell\u2019s men,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Josh Weddle was the man to shift back onto Dockers forward Jye Amiss on Thursday night as a result of Barrass\u2019 injury.<\/p>\n
Since joining Hawthorn at the end of 2024, Barrass has played 34 of a possible 35 games.<\/p>\n
And it doesn\u2019t help that the Hawks have tough upcoming matchups against St Kilda, Adelaide and Melbourne. <\/p>\n
Re-live Fremantle vs Hawthorn in our blog below!<\/p>\n
If you can\u2019t see the blog, tap here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fremantle extended its winning streak to eight games in extraordinary fashion on Thursday night, though it has come…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":657415,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,689,55,639,244616,1127,10124,2105,7492,9017,10400,142568,677,46,71141,317867,85,3439],"class_list":["post-657414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-finn-maginness","tag-fox-footy","tag-fremantle-dockers","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-hawthorn-hawks","tag-janelle-st-pierre","tag-justin-longmuir","tag-match-details","tag-oceania","tag-perth","tag-sam-switkowski","tag-seven-game-winning-streak","tag-sports","tag-western-australia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=657414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/657415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=657414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=657414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=657414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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