Just when the Dockers looked in grave danger of an embarrassing straight-sets exit and the Cats appeared headed for another preliminary final, up stepped Jackson with an almost single-handed determination to flip the script.<\/p>\n
On the day that American football took over Melbourne with a brilliant package, the AFL responded spectacularly with a high-class display in one of the best high-octane finals of recent years.<\/p>\n
Freo is off to Sydney for a preliminary final showdown with the Swans after securing a stirring 14-point victory, while Geelong\u2019s season is over but only after a brave, gutsy effort to run down the Dockers.<\/p>\n
This was a game of momentum that had everything \u2013 heroes, a few villains, huge momentum swings, the return of \u2018Wharfie Time\u2019 and a breakneck speed that even had the packed Perth Stadium and those watching on television heaving for breath.<\/p>\n
There was even a hint of controversy when Ollie Dempsey was denied a possible goal when his scissor-kick shot from midair in the goalsquare was deemed to have come off Matt Johnson\u2019s arm after the goal umpire had deemed it was touched.<\/p>\n
If the margin had been closer, this could have been a far bigger issue.<\/p>\n
![\"Goal](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/052f0e72ccb179efb51a5cebfdee6fde.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Freo kicked the first two goals of the game within two minutes and even before the Cats had had a possession.<\/p>\n
Given they had only kicked five goals in the qualifying final against Hawthorn resembling rabbits in the spotlight, this time the Dockers started with the look of cold-blooded assassins looking for a kill.<\/p>\n
They twice led by 31 points in the first half but failed to capitalise on it. In doing so, they left the door ajar and the Cats barged through it early in the third term to grab the lead for the first time in the match, pushing out to a 10-point lead.<\/p>\n
All the old scars from Fremantle\u2019s three-decade past started to look like open wounds before the hulking frame of Jackson intervened with purpose and power.<\/p>\n
He kicked two majors from free-kicks deep into red time of the third term, the bookends of a four-goal period that resurrected the hopes of the packed Perth Stadium crowd.<\/p>\n
In between he \u2018sharked\u2019 the ruck duel over young Cats big man Mitch Edwards and gifted it off to Patrick Voss who nailed a goal that was so desperately needed.<\/p>\n
Jackson had seized control of this game in a third quarter just as he had five years ago when he took over the ruck mantle from Max Gawn and helped lift the Demons to a flag with a powerhouse second half.<\/p>\n
His dominance over 21-year-old Edwards and Mark Blicavs shows why the Cats are keen on chasing an experienced ruckman in the trade period. That\u2019s why they chased St Kilda\u2019s Rowan Marshall last off-season and will likely do the same next month.<\/p>\n
It pushed the Dockers out to 15-point lead at the last change but this intense clash went right down to the wire as Geelong fought back in the final term.<\/p>\n
When the unlikely figure of Tom Stewart nailed a late goal with only 75 seconds to spare, the difference was only eight points \u2013 and the Cats knew they still had a sniff. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s when \u2018Wharfie Time\u2019 was finally enacted, and it made for a roar around the ground that was like no other. It also lifted the players who stormed the ball forward and Voss kicked the match-sealer, his fourth of the game.<\/p>\n
The Dockers\u2019 two premiership players, Jackson and Bolton, were outstanding when it mattered. Bolton nailed the two goals early, and had 10 scoring involvements, while Jackson did it with two goals and 12 score involvements.<\/p>\n
He also took an important mark in the dying seconds when his team needed him most.<\/p>\n
Geelong were magnificent, with Ollie Henry kicking a career-best five goals, Patrick Dangerfield leaving nothing left in the locker, Bailey Smith had a game-high 29 disposals, Jeremy Cameron kicked his first two goals since round 15, and the rest of the Cats never gave in.<\/p>\n
But in the end, the power of Jackson, and the pressure of the Dockers, prevailed and their dream of winning a maiden premiership is only two wins away.<\/p>\n
DOCKERS HIT WHARFIE TIME TO BOOK PRELIM FINAL DATE<\/p>\n
\u2014 Brad Elborough<\/p>\n
Fremantle will head into a preliminary final against Sydney with its feared forward line firing again.<\/p>\n
The Dockers overcame a fierce Geelong fightback to win a thrilling Semi-Final at Optus Stadium on Friday night by 14 points.<\/p>\n
The Dockers side that managed just five goals in their Qualifying Final loss to Hawthorn a week earlier, rediscovered their attacking spark against the Cats, booting six goals in a blistering opening quarter and had 10.5 on the board by halftime.<\/p>\n
Shai Bolton set the tone for the 18.12 (120) to 16.10 (106) victory and all the big names hit the scoreboard.<\/p>\n
After managing just four possessions in the first half against Hawthorn, Bolton had his first goal inside the opening minute on Friday night.<\/p>\n
He had two goals on the board before a Geelong player had even touched the ball.<\/p>\n
Bolton\u2019s teammates went with him and the Dockers led by 31 points in that first term before holding off the inevitable fightback the Cats would mount.<\/p>\n
CHANCES LEFT HANGING \u2026<\/p>\n
A finals-hardened Geelong side was never going to surrender meekly. This Cats side played on six of past seven preliminary final weekends.<\/p>\n
They entered the Semi-Final on a seven-game winning streak, averaging 114 points a game during that run, and they gradually worked their way back into the contest.<\/p>\n
Oliver Henry was at the forefront of the fightback, kicking five goals as Geelong began to claw back Fremantle\u2019s lead.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s been massive over the past two months. His return in the past eight games is 22 goals, hitting the scoreboard in every outing.<\/p>\n
Henry\u2019s goal early in the third term signalled the momentum was shifting.<\/p>\n
Geelong dominated the early stages of the second half but failed to make Fremantle pay, managing just 1.6 during one sustained period of pressure.<\/p>\n
Patrick Dangerfield missed a set shot less than a minute into the quarter, while Ollie Dempsey\u2019s spectacular flying soccer kick produced another agonising moment after umpires could not determine whether Matt Johnson had touched the ball before it crossed the goal line.<\/p>\n
It was somehow called a behind.<\/p>\n
Then Jeremy Cameron kicked his second goal with about four minutes remaining in the third term.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, the Cats had kicked five of the previous six goals and led by eight points.<\/p>\n
\u2026 BUT FREO HAS A UNICORN<\/p>\n
Fremantle needed something special.<\/p>\n
It had Luke Jackson.<\/p>\n
The Dockers\u2019 ruckman took control when the game was at its most precarious, kicking two goals in the final four minutes of the third term and helping create another for Patrick Voss as Fremantle slammed four goals onto the board to wrestle back momentum.<\/p>\n
His return was enormous. Jackson finished with 25 touches and 25 hit outs to go with eight clearances.<\/p>\n
His work in the middle of the ground was why Fremantle led well early.<\/p>\n
WORK DONE EARLY<\/p>\n
The Dockers had desperately needed a fast start after a recent decline in their first-half scoring.<\/p>\n
Across their opening 13 games, Fremantle averaged 52 points by halftime and lost only once.<\/p>\n
But over their previous 11 games, that average had fallen to just 35 points, with the Dockers losing four times.<\/p>\n
Against Geelong, they were back to their explosive best.<\/p>\n
They had 10.5 on the board at halftime and never trailed during the opening two quarters, giving themselves enough of a buffer to withstand Geelong\u2019s second-half surge.<\/p>\n
Most importantly, the players who had struggled against Hawthorn were back in the game.<\/p>\n
SCOREBOARD<\/p>\n
FREMANTLE 6.2 10.5 15.6 18.12 120<\/p>\n
GEELONG 2.1 7.2 12.8 16.10 106<\/p>\n
BEST <\/p>\n
Dockers: Jackson, Bolton, Young, Treacy, Brayshaw, Reid.<\/p>\n
Cats: Smith, O Henry, Dangerfield, Dempsey, Humphries, Mullin,<\/p>\n
GOALS<\/p>\n
Dockers: Voss 4, Jackson 2, Bolton 2, Dudley 2, Frederick 2, Amiss 2, Treacy, Cox, Young, Serong.<\/p>\n
Cats: O Henry 5, Neale 3, Cameron 2, Dangerfield 2, Mannagh 2, Wiltshire, Stewart.<\/p>\n
INJURIES<\/p>\n
Dockers: Nil. Cats: Edwards (finger).<\/p>\n
59,725 at Optus Stadium<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was the extraordinary moment of leadership that set the tone for Fremantle\u2019s finals turnaround. On the canvas,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":888573,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[458164,391195,454023,458178,403473,457424,458183,20172,458182,458168,134436,458180,458220,458202,458219,458173,382125,458193,458167,433488,387234,395287,376730,458211,458185,458229,458177,458186,458174,457361,458217,458232,638,458166,417921,458191,394708,64,63,55,639,458188,76140,458210,458207,207148,68077,438,130316,458198,379391,36646,458200,458204,401898,61783,596,426822,458218,458196,458209,10992,5588,13658,421547,458175,458227,6854,458184,418930,379545,382519,394589,458233,384369,377197,458169,36873,12141,65407,458214,447627,13307,458194,20722,1871,384307,458225,458176,62561,439559,457378,16949,35062,432780,189318,458222,388980,455589,46,1655,458190,458203,458231,1294,71141,458216,131590,458201,85,51303,458187,458199,458206,409145,458172,23275,400304,112480,391004,418629,458170,56574,458221,387902,435006,458192,74713,458224,34326,458215,9254,399241,378571,408196,458189,458223,458179,77470,381310,458230,383260,426825,458165,424065,414113,443600,423348,387947,458212,214758,98734,458205,378969,444845,380912,438283,458195,199184,458181,458171,458213,12113,76526,458208,428491,458228,458226,133829,62603,88751,458197,8935],"class_list":["post-888572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-s-finals-turnaround","tag-s-hopes","tag-s-revival","tag-s-turnaround","tag-s-way","tag-matchidafl20262701","tag-157-more-metres","tag-2-5","tag-20-disposals","tag-26-disposals","tag-50s","tag-50s-the-dockers-bent","tag-50s-you","tag-541-metres","tag-a-clean-one-handed-gather","tag-a-crushing-loss","tag-a-final","tag-a-four-goal-burst","tag-a-golden-rule","tag-a-handful","tag-a-leader","tag-a-leaf","tag-a-lot","tag-a-massive-dent","tag-a-pit","tag-a-playing-group","tag-a-september-shifting-sermon-afl-in-article-head","tag-a-significant-chunk","tag-a-stadium-shaking-set-shot","tag-a-straight-sets-exit","tag-a-way-when","tag-a-weight","tag-afl","tag-all-the-leaders","tag-amends","tag-an-eight-point-lead","tag-an-influence","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-best-players-and-leaders","tag-caleb-serong","tag-capicaleb","tag-channel-7-post-game","tag-co-captain","tag-code-sports","tag-company","tag-courage","tag-defender-corey-wagner","tag-each-other","tag-emphatic-fashion","tag-even-three","tag-every-single-member","tag-everyone-else","tag-finals-footy","tag-football","tag-four-goals","tag-four-intercept-possessions","tag-four-and","tag-freedom-and-belief","tag-fremantle","tag-front","tag-geelong","tag-geelong-tagger-oisin-mullin","tag-goals-in","tag-goals-patrick-voss","tag-hawthorn","tag-his-12-month-long-september-nightmare","tag-his-book","tag-his-career","tag-his-head","tag-his-own","tag-his-own-it","tag-his-second","tag-his-teammates","tag-his-teammates-and-coaches","tag-james-sicily","tag-jeremy-cameron","tag-jt","tag-justin-longmuir-shai-bolton","tag-jye-amiss","tag-last-week","tag-last-week-this-week","tag-leaders","tag-leadership","tag-less-pressure","tag-less-than-a-minute","tag-longmuir","tag-momentum","tag-more-enjoyment","tag-mullin","tag-nerves","tag-night","tag-one-goal","tag-optus-stadium","tag-our-arms","tag-our-leaders","tag-packs","tag-perth","tag-pressure","tag-red-time","tag-reputations","tag-respond-josh-treacy","tag-risk","tag-sam-switkowski","tag-seasons-enter-co-vice-captain-caleb-serong-early","tag-serong","tag-six-clearances","tag-sports","tag-stewart","tag-switta","tag-that-openness-and-vulnerability","tag-the-23","tag-the-25-year-old","tag-the-big-boys","tag-the-boys","tag-the-canvas","tag-the-cats","tag-the-cusp","tag-the-dockers","tag-the-dream-start","tag-the-edge","tag-the-extraordinary-moment","tag-the-first-quarter","tag-the-four-walls","tag-the-fremantle-football-club-in","tag-the-game","tag-the-great-home","tag-the-hawks","tag-the-hawks-on-friday","tag-the-key","tag-the-last-quarter","tag-the-lead-up","tag-the-leaders","tag-the-leaders-but","tag-the-leadership-moment","tag-the-most-reliable-player","tag-the-one","tag-the-only-one","tag-the-opening-stanza","tag-the-result","tag-the-right-way","tag-the-rut","tag-the-scoreboard","tag-the-third","tag-the-third-term","tag-the-tone","tag-the-track","tag-the-very-first-centre-bounce-but","tag-the-way","tag-the-week","tag-the-worst-performances","tag-the-year","tag-the-young-boys","tag-their-belief","tag-their-opponents","tag-their-shoulders","tag-this-week","tag-those-boys","tag-those-feelings","tag-three-more-disposals","tag-tom-stewart","tag-tonight","tag-two-critical-goals","tag-two-goals","tag-two-massive-centre-clearances","tag-two-ways","tag-voss","tag-wagner","tag-week-one","tag-week-one-michael-frederick","tag-win"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888572","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=888572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/888573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=888572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=888572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=888572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}