New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\nWhile Fremantle move to the top of the AFL ladder off the back of the win, St Kilda remain winless against the top teams in 2026.<\/p>\n
And to add injury to insult, big man Rowan Marshall limped off in the dying stages in worrying signs with a knee complaint.<\/p>\n
The visitors had already lost Dougal Howard in the second half in a brutal blow.<\/p>\n
THE 3-2-1…<\/p>\n
3. FLAGMANTLE HYPE GROWS<\/p>\n
For the first time in Fremantle Dockers history, the club has won 10 straight games.<\/p>\n
And while they were challenged by St Kilda for much of Friday night\u2019s contest, the Dockers landed killer blows in the final quarter.<\/p>\n
And didn\u2019t the 53,707 fans at Optus Stadium love it?<\/p>\n
In front of the biggest ever crowd for a Freo vs Saints game, the Dockers willed themselves across the line to jump to the top of the AFL ladder.<\/p>\n
While Sydney have a game in hand and could reclaim that top spot tomorrow, the Fremantle faithful will be enjoying the view for now.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have got some serious weapons the Dockers,\u201d Jason Dunstall said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Dockers as they have for many games this season just put the foot down,\u201d Adam Papalia added.<\/p>\n
While it was jubilation for the Dockers, it was what could have been for St Kilda who are yet to claim a big scalp in 2026.<\/p>\n
Two late misses to Mason Wood didn\u2019t help St Kilda\u2019s charge when they desperately needed to put scoreboard pressure on Freo.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny hope they had have disappeared\u2026 they haven\u2019t been able to take advantage the Saints,\u201d Dunstall said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve tried hard but they\u2019ve just come up short.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they needed goals to be kicked, they haven\u2019t been able to convert.\u201d<\/p>\n
The loss leaves St Kilda at 5-6 \u2013 with their five wins all coming against sides below them on the ladder.<\/p>\n
2. \u2018GET THE POPCORN\u2019 AS STARS TANGLE<\/p>\n
Patrick Voss and Callum Wilkie were not giving an inch.<\/p>\n
The duo were pushing and shoving from the opening bounce – with Voss even approaching umpires at quarter time as a result.<\/p>\n
While Freo\u2019s pest was clearly getting under Wilkie\u2019s skin… and it worked in the Dockers\u2019 favour with the Saints defender quieter than usual.<\/p>\n
\u201cCal Wilkie is a superstar and Freo have decided to send Patrick Voss to him,\u201d Will Schofield said at half time.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few weeks ago I spoke about Pat Voss \u2013 he got a little bit passive, hadn\u2019t got that energy, that spark going.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut some of this footage behind the play (of the ongoing wrestle) this has been going on all night.<\/p>\n
\u201cPat Voss trying to play more of a defensive forward on Cal Wilkie.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s probably a few free kicks here, but I like they\u2019ve been letting it go.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Voss) has been dangerous, really used his strength .. He stands up in any physical nature.<\/p>\n
\u201cCal Wilkie getting frustrated.<\/p>\n
\u201cPatrick Voss, this is what he does. He\u2019s an antagonist, he\u2019s an instigator when he\u2019s at his best.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Pat Voss is one of the most important players for Freo.\u201d<\/p>\n
And AFL great Jason Dunstall agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he continues to do this job \u2013 he\u2019s incredibly valuable for the Dockers,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, he\u2019s annoying. He doesn\u2019t mind being annoying.<\/p>\n
\u201cTaking Wilkie\u2019s mind off the job, making life very hard for him \u2013 now he\u2019s contributing as much as Wilkie is when they are wrestling.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe got a very lucky free kick, but hey you\u2019ve got two goals to your name, you\u2019ve taken the focus of Wilkie a little bit away from the game into what he\u2019s doing in that one-on-one match up \u2013 I think it\u2019s a big win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick Voss celebrates a goal.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Dunstall labelled Voss as \u201ccritical\u201d to Fremantle\u2019s structure when he\u2019s able to nullify a rival.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he can play on the best intercepting defender every week, that is one heck of a role to have down pat,\u201d he praised.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a match up they are having some real success with,\u201d Tom Hawkins added.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s following him wherever he goes, testing him in all parts of the ground<\/p>\n
\u201cWilkie wants that front position, wants to play deep so he\u2019s got the game in front of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cVoss has got the physicality \u2026 he\u2019s a big strong aggressive player.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilkie finished with just one intercept mark\u2026 while Voss claimed three goals.<\/p>\n
1. \u2018YOU CAN\u2019T PAY THAT!<\/p>\n
Fremantle cashed in on multiple free kick goals on Friday night \u2013 but none were more controversial than Isaiah Dudley\u2019s advantage call.<\/p>\n
As Jye Amiss was deemed to be impeded in the marking contest, Dudley snapped quickly from the pocket \u2013 but the umpire blew his whistle to call the ball back.<\/p>\n
But fortunately for Dudley and the Dockers, the Sherrin took a wicked bounce in the square and went through untouched for a goal.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s when the umpire allowed the goal to stand, instead changing his call to advantage.<\/p>\n
St Kilda players immediately voiced their displeasure at the call.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t pay that!\u201d Jason Dunstall lamented.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way I read this situation is I looked at the umpire and when he saw how quickly Dudley kicked it, he thought he hasn\u2019t had time to make a decision and he has blown the whistle to bring it back for the set shot.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen when they saw the odd bounce it took and it went through, they waved it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s tough!<\/p>\n
\u201cThe umpire there is saying it\u2019s coming back and then the other umpire says \u2018advantage\u2019 so he goes \u2018OK, wave it on\u2019. That\u2019s really stiff for the Saints.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDudley was saying he didn\u2019t want to play on and then saw the bounce and thought how good is that!,\u201d Adam Papalia added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey pinch a goal there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dunstall described it as a \u201cstolen\u201d goal while Will Schofield questioned the call.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if the umpiring has been amazing tonight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGets called back by the umpire on the spot, waits for the bounce – everyone stops!<\/p>\n
\u201cThen it goes through the goals and they say no worries!<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t know if that\u2019s a part of the game we want to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoesn\u2019t look great from an umpiring perspective,\u201d Dunstall then replied.<\/p>\n
Re-live Fremantle vs St Kilda in our blog below!<\/p>\n
If you can\u2019t see the blog, tap here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fremantle have claimed a record 10th straight win as a final quarter burst saw the Dockers overrun St…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":687538,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,689,55,639,9203,10124,25051,681,329024,10991,647,36169,677,329030,331171,85,1122,26889,16690,660],"class_list":["post-687537","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-catherine-healey","tag-fremantle-dockers","tag-jack-higgins","tag-jon-ralph","tag-josh-barnett","tag-josh-treacy","tag-melbourne","tag-nine-game-winning-streak","tag-oceania","tag-recruitment-plans","tag-second-ever-win","tag-sports","tag-st-kilda","tag-st-kilda-saints","tag-top-spot","tag-victoria"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687537","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=687537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/687538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=687537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=687537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=687537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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