After The Game With Snaps Truly - Rd 22 2025 V Port Adelaide

A forensic psychiatrist would have no difficulty tracing my descent into despair. I left ample written evidence.

The notes began neatly enough with “Bolton escapes the pack and snaps on his right for Freo’s first.”

Followed by, “Darcy manages to hang on to a big tackle and Shai leaps in to score his second.”

Just four pages later the words were flecked with bile and dripping with blood.

“These umpires are KILLING us!” and, “That was Vossy’s mark, you BASTARDS!” and then under the feverish headline “THINGS TO DO LATER ON” …the words “Firebomb Dwayne Russell’s house.”

I did not, apparently, have the capacity, at the time, to write what happened next.

Which should have been – “The magnificent Alex Pearce has just taken a towering last minute mark and kicked the goal that lifts Fremantle into the Top Four. The Dockers 6-point winners over Port.”

So today I will watch it again and quietly reassess.

And might I add, in no way do I condone the firebombing of Dwayne Russell’s house, although I would still quite like to force feed him his book of “dodged a bullet” cliches.

What a torturous game.

As you will remember, Fremantle started brightly. So brightly Karl Warner might have – but didn’t – kick his first and second goals for the club within minutes, such was our early domination.

24-point leaders at the first break and Port without a goal.

In the second quarter – later described by Justin Longmuir with his famous understatement as – “unacceptable”- Port kicked eight goals. Georgiades was particularly dangerous and the precocious Lukosius, suitably so.

Only a magnificent Serong intercept and goal slowed Ports progress, which was aided – and would be all night – by a series of umpiring decisions that heavily favoured the home team.

Not since the horror-filled opening round against Geelong had Fremantle conceded so many points in one quarter. When Aliir Aliir chipped in to kick the first goal of his long career with Port, the soon to be dispatched Kenny Hinkley was grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

They didn’t let up.

Joe Berry kicked the first of the third quarter and Port had managed nine of the last twelve. Their lead was out to 15 points and Zac Butters was hand feeding their forwards with his brilliant first use out of the middle.

It took two solo efforts from Murphy Reid to right the ship or at least stop it from capsizing entirely. The second of which, an irresistible dribble from the boundary line on the run.

Late in the term, Freo began to take back some of the stoppages and clearances and special mention should go to a player about whom I never specially mention.

Neil Erasmus worked his guts out trying to win the ball defensively and his hard efforts helped the Dockers lift their intensity. They remained within striking distance at the last.

Much to play for? Win this and go Top Four. Lose and potentially miss finals.

Dwayne told me that.

Again.

And again.

All to play for, and The Champ came off the bench and immediately added grunt and toughness to the midfield. He won some important clearances and his wobbly delivery to Pat Voss resulted in his second goal. Freo just two points down.

Moments later Voss took an incredible mark which … I’m sorry even a day later, I simply can’t talk about without spitting angry memory into the world.

Anyway, moments later he goaled and then grinned at the Port crowd and – without any concern for his or his teammates safety afterwards – waved them goodbye.

Magnificent.

Emphatic.

Team lifting.

With a couple of minutes to play, a draw seemed possible, but Port kicked another and reclaimed the lead. It was then that Alex – who probably isn’t Jesus, but actually might be – went forward in the hope of taking the big last minute, match-winning clunker.

And he bloody well did.

Alex goaled.

Freo ran down the clock and won.

Fyfe and Trav Boak graciously exchanged jumpers.

And some semblance of calm returned.

On Freo social media the fans summed it up nicely.

Michelle: “Can us members please have defibrillators included in our membership packs?”

Catherine says she was “screaming so much, my dog wondered what he had done wrong.”

And Graham said his family kept yelling at him to please just stop yelling.

It was that kind of game.

Me?

Good as gold thanks.

I’ve just finished washing the words Red Rum off the lounge room walls.

No idea how they got there.

Brisbane next week.

Is this really happening? It might be.

Yours Truly,

Snaps Truly

* By our multi-talented and amazingly insightful footy scribe, SNAPS TRULY. Snaps has seen and done it all. He may or may not have been a fringe player at Fremantle. Don’t miss Snaps’ report after each Freo Dockers match here on the Shipping News throughout the 2025 season.

~ You’ll find more Snaps Truly right here.

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