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The pressure on Gold Coast is set to go into overdrive after the Suns produced a horror show on the way to a 51-point loss to Fremantle at Optus Stadium.<\/p>\n
![\"Luke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5224bbc09d3dd9423c23e7ca63b35eda1ab2441ba5a09eb9bce4d417071e69ab.jpeg\")
Luke Jackson of the Dockers celebrates a goal during the round 16 AFL match between Fremantle Dockers and Gold Coast Suns at Optus Stadium.Getty Images<\/p>\n
Murphy Reid (28 disposals) produced a midfield masterclass and Michael Frederick kicked an equal career-high four goals as Fremantle notched their 14th win on the trot with a 11.14 (80) to 3.11 (29) triumph in front of 50,602 fans in Perth.<\/p>\n
The win catapulted Fremantle (14-1) two wins clear of second-placed Sydney and three and a half wins clear of third-placed Hawthorn, with a top-two finish well and truly theirs for the taking.<\/p>\n
Gold Coast (7-8) started the year as one of the premiership favourites, but are now on a five-match losing run and face a big battle to turn their season around.<\/p>\n
The Suns only had two majors to their name against Fremantle until Jed Walter ran into an open goal in the dying minutes of the match.<\/p>\n
Some of Gold Coast\u2019s errors were so bad it left coach Damien Hardwick with his hands on his head in frustration in the box.<\/p>\n
Although Gold Coast won the clearance battle 36-24, they failed to capitalise because of some horrendous decision-making and poor skill execution.<\/p>\n
Damningly, Gold Coast lost the tackle count 66-44 despite having 64 fewer disposals for the match.<\/p>\n
Noah Anderson (32 disposals, eight clearances) battled hard, but fellow midfield star Christian Petracca (17 disposals, five clearances) was quiet while spending large periods in attack.<\/p>\n
Forward Bailey Humphrey (no score from six disposals) endured another lean outing, while out-of-contract spearhead Ben King was restricted to 1.2 from seven disposals.<\/p>\n
Fremantle had winners all over the field.<\/p>\n
And Dockers ruckman Sean Darcy made a welcome return, tallying six disposals, 20 hit-outs and one goal in his first AFL match since round five.<\/p>\n
The Suns beat Fremantle by one point in last year\u2019s elimination final in Perth, and the Dockers came out like a team possessed early in Sunday\u2019s rematch.<\/p>\n
The Dockers\u2019 intense pressure proved too much for the Suns, with Frederick cashing in with three quick goals, and Luke Jackson adding another from a contested mark to give Fremantle a 28-2 edge by quarter-time.<\/p>\n
The damage would have been even greater if not for two misses from Dockers spearhead Jye Amiss and a poster from Patrick Voss.<\/p>\n
Fremantle dominated the inside-50 battle 15-7 in the second quarter, but their reward was a meagre three behinds in what was their lowest-scoring term of the season.<\/p>\n
King kicked the only goal of the term to bring the margin back to 20 points.<\/p>\n
But Jackson broke the game open early in the third quarter, nailing his 50m set shot before delivering an assist to Voss for another.<\/p>\n
And when Frederick bobbed up for his fourth goal, the margin was 40 points and it was game over.<\/p>\n
AAP<\/p>\n
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