Danielle Laidley: Walyalup (Fremantle) Dockers can’t afford to be sucked away from their own controlled style

With only nine rounds gone, not enough games have been played to clearly see a team’s “DNA” — how they play and what stats stand out when a team wins or loses. But it’s obvious Walyalup (Fremantle) like control and structure over chaos — they have been hard to score against, ranked second only behind Narrm (Melbourne) after round eight. But what happens when the control and structure are taken away from them? Last Friday, on a very emotional night, Sydney were very professional in the dismantling of Walyalup’s DNA. That groundswell of emotion in the wake of Cam McCarthy’s tragic death meant we didn’t see the Dockers at their best. But look at the Dockers’ past three matches and there’s some interesting statistics that stand out. In the round seven win against the Western Bulldogs, they won the clearances 47-30, and contest battle 136-124. In the round eight thrashing of Richmond, they won the clearances 36-16 and contested battle 111-98. This leads to quality inside 50s to score directly or lock ball in the forward line to score from turnover, the structure part of their game. And if the opposition win the ball at clearance the Dockers have been very good at intercepting through Luke Ryan and Alex Pearce. Then the half-backs Jordan Clark and James Aish and others spread for uncontested marks. Against the Bulldogs this was 82 marks and against the Tigers 124 marks, chipping the ball up the ground before entering forward 50. This is the control part of their game. These two components alone give Walyalup massive advantage for time in possession throughout a game and you’re taking away from the opposition the time they get to hit the scoreboard. For those two games, the Dockers allowed their opponents only 38 per cent and 36 per cent of the game to kick a winning score. When they get the game on their terms it works well. But when control is lost and chaos ensues, it is a different scenario. The Swans came in with a plan — minimise the amount of stoppages for the game, play a basketball ‘up and back’ style of game. They evened the clearances at 28-27, a much lower number than in the Dockers’ previous two wins, diminishing structure and control. Sydney needed to beat them in the contest, and they did 115-110. The Swans’ ferocious tackle pressure forced the Dockers’ midfield to over handball instead of kicking at clearances, which added to the chaos. When the Swans went inside forward 50, the strategy was to make Ryan defend and stop the intercept marks, so it was groundball chaos. No kick, mark and controlling time in possession from defence for the Dockers. The Swans also sat on Clark who only had one kick in the first half. Sydney also edged Walyalup in time in possession for the game, taking 120 uncontested marks themselves. The Swans are white hot at present — premiership favourites for mine. But for the Dockers to play finals they need to keep beating sides around them first, which they have done, and they need a few big scalps, where they have fallen short against Carlton, Port Adelaide and Sydney. How to compete against these teams perhaps comes down to situational football and sometimes taking what the opposition give you. Use the control, which is strong and sound, but when it’s not available, take the space, run and carry, overlap and use the stand rule to gain space for territory. I’m sure coach Justin Longmuir and the team can’t wait to get back on the horse this weekend, in a must-win game against the Saints.