Naughton misses early chance
The Pies won’t be happy to see Ed Richards run the ball out of the middle and find Aaron Naughton on the lead.
Luckily for Collingwood, Naughton missed his shot but that is a warning that they can’t let the Dogs stream into attack if they want a chance to win tonight.
Dogs 1, Pies 0 with 18 mins to go in Q1.
Full-time stats for Lions v Dockers
Daicos will swing forward tonight
Magpies coach Craig McRae has given Nick Daicos the licence to go forward whenever he likes as the team looks for ways to cover for the loss of small forward Jamie Elliott.
“With Jamie Elliott out now, we will play a few different players through there,” McRae told Kayo Sports.
“Nick loves going down there, he wants to play 100 per cent game time so when he is on the ground, we will give him the licence to take the old full forward spot.
“We’ve given him the licence to do that.”
Magpies mull tagging option to keep top Dog on leash
How do you solve a problem like Marcus Bontempelli?
Out to kick their season into top gear, Collingwood must somehow contain an in-form Bontempelli when they face the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.
Both sides – in contention for a finals wildcard spot – are struggling for consistency, with the Bulldogs (6-5) holding a slight edge to sit ninth above the 10th-placed Magpies (5-5-1).
Collingwood fought off a spirited West Coast challenge to mark Scott Pendlebury’s record-breaking AFL match with victory, but coach Craig McRae has been forced to make at least three changes to his side.
Pearce praises free playing Dockers
Fremantle captain Alex Pearce has praised his side’s determination after their 11th straight win.
Pearce had a knee issue late in the game but he returned to the game and said he was just looking for an early rest.
He also praised his side’s ability to have a lot of contributors in this game.
“I’m really proud of the performance, we knew the Lions would be fired up, so the way we jumped into the game with our pressure and having multiple guys step up – we really played our brand of footy,” Pearce told Kayo Sports.
“When we play against good sides we want to really let ourselves go, play with freedom and express ourselves and I think we did that.”
FT: Fremantle 15.13 (103) d Brisbane 10.18 (78)
The Dockers made it hard on themselves at the finish but they’ve locked in their club record 11th straight win with a victory over the Lions in Brisbane.
After the Lions cut the lead to 18 points, Josh Treacy has marked and goaled for the Dockers to make sure of the win.
The Lions showed some fire at the finish but Treacy stood tall, this Dockers side has so many weapons and they’ve won this match with Caleb Serong still on the sidelines.
celebrates after kicking a goal.Getty Images
Draper roosts a goal
The Lions need three goals for the draw in two and a half minutes after Sam Draper booted a goal from 55m out.
The Lions are firing and the Dockers are stuck in the mud.
Freo 96, Lions 78 with two mins to go.
Fletcher cuts lead to 25 points
Surely the Lions can’t do it can they?
They’ve kicked five of the last six goals with Jaspa Fletcher booting a goal to make it 25 points the difference.
Freo 95, Lions 70 with five mins to go.
Lions fighting it out
As you would expect, Will Ashcroft and the Lions are fighting on despite the margin.
Will Ashcroft has kicked his second goal, grabbing the ball from a ball up and kicking it home.
Meanwhile, Alex Pearce has come back on with his knee strapped up. Gee, that feels like a big risk in a game that is done and dusted in all areas bar the clock.
Freo 95, Lions 64 with seven mins to go.
Cameron kicks his second goal
Charlie Cameron is battling on for the Lions and he’s booted his second goal.
It would have been great for this to be a more competitive match with a close last term.
Also, Alex Pearce has just limped off for the Dockers with a sore right knee.
The Dockers can’t afford to risk losing him for a long period.
Dockers 95, Lions 56 with 12 mins to go.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
