Fremantle have stormed to the top of the AFL premiership market, now installed as outright favourites by bookmakers following their club-record 10th consecutive victory. The Dockers have leapfrogged two-time reigning premiers Brisbane, who suffered a shock defeat to Greater Western Sydney on Sunday, conceding the biggest third-quarter score in VFL/AFL history.
Dockers on a roll
Justin Longmuir's side extended their winning streak to a record 10 games with a commanding 30-point win over Ross Lyon's St Kilda on Friday night. Major betting agencies now have Fremantle at $5 to $6 to claim their maiden premiership, with some sharing top billing alongside Geelong after the Cats' victory over Sydney.
Before the season, Fremantle were on the seventh line of betting, grouped with Western Bulldogs and trailing Brisbane, Gold Coast, Hawthorn, Geelong, Sydney, and Adelaide. But their remarkable run has seen them rocket to the top of the odds.
Biggest test awaits
The Dockers face their sternest challenge since their round one loss to Geelong when they travel to the Gabba on Saturday to face Brisbane. Fremantle have lost their last five meetings at the venue, making this a crucial litmus test for their premiership credentials.
AFL legend Matthew Lloyd believes a win over the Lions would cement Fremantle as genuine flag favourites. The Essendon champion highlighted the Dockers' fourth-quarter blitzes against St Kilda and Hawthorn in recent weeks, describing them as "destructive".
"It was brave from St Kilda — they lost all of their backline bar Cooper Sharman leading up to the game, so it was a pretty good fight from them, but I just love Fremantle's belief," Lloyd told the Sunday Footy Show. "They go to the Gabba this week — if they can go on and beat Brisbane at the Gabba this week, they should be, I think, genuinely premiership favourites."
Expert backing
Former Port Adelaide coach and Geelong premiership assistant Ken Hinkley dismissed the notion that a team needs deep September experience to be a contender. "If you're ready, you're ready, I think," Hinkley told SEN. "I do believe that your list has got to have great depth in it, and they've got great depth. They've got match-winners — if you've got match-winners on every line, you can win a flag. It's as simple as that for me."
West Coast's 2018 premiership-winning coach Adam Simpson agreed, noting the extra maturity in the Dockers' performances. "Their leaders — and they were missing a few — their on-field leadership and their ability to control a game and control momentum during quarters ... this team seems to work it out themselves on-field," Simpson said. "The last quarter, it really started to build and build and build, and all of a sudden, it was a flex, it really was."
Simpson added that if Fremantle finish in the top two and secure two home finals, it could be a different story from Adelaide's campaign last year.
