After The Game With Snaps Truly - Rd 6 2026 v West Coast Eagles

A notable cultural artefact

I was worried. The way older people worry they have forgotten their passports and can be seen in departure lounges repeatedly and frantically patting at their shirt or trouser pockets, just in case their ticket to the future has been lost or mislaid or left at home.

I was worried that even after winning eight of the last nine derbies, Freo might …

Well, you know.

Mrs Snaps and the Junior Snaps sought to remind me that whatever might happen in Derby 62 would unfold independently of my weird anxiety and could I just shut up, watch the game, and stop acting so strangely.

Because, they argued, Freo is a good and improving team and the Harley Reids are still a rubbish team.

And they were right of course.

Freo was celebrating the 100^th game of the mercurial and mischievous Jordan Clark, who chose the occasion to strut his stuff across the Optus turf to win extraordinary yardage, kick a fine goal and later wear the Allan-Glendinning Medal for best afield. What a wonderful character he is and such a driver of Freo’s confidence.

We salute him as he likes to salute us.

The Dockers also unleashed Mason Cox for the first time. Long, languid, and looking like he should be in lane four of the 1500 metre freestyle final rather than running around on dry land. He too proved more than a handful and at one point bashed the ball forward by hand, rather further than he might have been able to kick it. He will be a curious wild card whenever he gets another opportunity.

In front of more than fifty thousand frankly still rather deluded and perpetually booing Harley Reid fans, Josh Treacy opened the scoring with a strong mark and goal. A beautiful piece of transition footy gave Voss Freo’s second and Luke Ryan very nearly kicked his first goal in seven years, but didn’t.

The Eagles – for that apparently is their name – had plenty of it, but when Jamie ’Does he still play’ Cripps missed from a centimetre out, the writing was on the wall.

Freo led by ten at the quarter.

For about a minute and a half after the resumption the Eagles took control. Elliott Yeo snapped cleverly and then Lindsay followed with another to give them a three-point lead.

Honestly, their fans should have gone home then.

Treacy kicked long to Amiss who reclaimed the advantage and then a free kick to Jackson extended it. Erasmus found Amiss again and when Jordy Clark goaled, Freo had kicked four on the trot.

Worth noting – in the battle of the Reids – Murphy kept stitching together exquisite patterns of goal scoring opportunity, while the other bloke just gave away another 50-metre penalty.

The margin twenty-two points at half time.

When Jake Waterman scored from the first clearance of the second half, Eagles fans dared to dream they might be spared another humiliation.

But the glorious nightmare returned. A terrific Treacy mark, found Amiss, Switta and then Voss. Lovely connections.

Two more Amiss goals stretched the lead to thirty-eight points at the final change.

Having had two weeks of heart stopping footy in the Adelaide rain, Freo seemed content to just roll over the Eagles. Reid again delivered beautifully to Amiss who kicked his fifth and then he again unselfishly handballed to Voss for his third.

When Shai Bolton took the ball off the pack to goal, the game was all but over.

It all fizzled out a bit at the end, but Freo won by fifty-six points – and have now enjoyed five wins in a row and sit second on the ladder behind the Swans.

Next week they play Carlton at Optus on Anzac Day and should have little difficulty getting past the Blues, who will spend this week explaining why they allowed a fragile young man to have something of an emotional meltdown in front of eighty thousand people the other night.

Footy is failing in its duty of care to the kids they so quickly elevate to the thin air of fame. And it’s about time they realised it and protected the vulnerable.

As for the Eagles – and I am well aware of the correspondent to the Fremantle Shipping News who is disappointed at my lack of coverage of them – well I can acknowledge this much.

They are and will always be a tremendously notable cultural artifact – along with West Coast Cooler, the Liberal party, and The West Australian newspaper.

But none of them are worth watching, drinking, voting for or reading these days.

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 2026 season.

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