Ross Lyon could be the man to lead Fremantle to finals as St Kilda continue late season surge

Fremantle’s finals fate is out of their hands after another tight loss at the weekend but a path still exists to September and it could be their former mentor who can open the way.

After cross-town rivals West Coast failed to give the Dockers a break as they returned to old ways in a 65-point smashing against Carlton, Fremantle are now outside the eight and can no longer make finals all on their own.

Their season could be over by the time they run out to face Port Adelaide if Carlton, Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn all pick up wins in their earlier fixtures.

Realistically with the Hawks taking on the lowly Kangaroos, the equation lies with the Bulldogs losing to the Giants or if Ross Lyon’s St Kilda can continue their late-season surge to down the Blues.

After being largely aimless for much of the season the Saints have won five from their last seven including downing the minor premiers Sydney in round 17 and their come-from-the-clouds victory over Geelong on Saturday.

Trailing by 33 points at halftime, the Saints scored seven goals to one in the third quarter to stun the Cats with coach Chris Scott comparing them to the Harlem Globetrotters.

“They just blew us out of the water early (in the second half) and had the momentum. It was really hard for us to stop,” he said.

“They played some scintillating footy, It was kind of Harlem Globetrotters there at one stage.”

While the Saints have been out of finals contention for months Lyon insists there’s still plenty to play for in the final round with several players fighting for their future.

“Everything counts, Jimmy (Webster) has signed. Everything counts, every time you roll up, we all get judged, right? That’s why I laugh when everyone says ‘there’s not much to play for’,” he said after the win.

“We’ve got a huge responsibility to our members, our fans, our sponsors, to be a serious footy club and improve.

“I’m not really here to talk about list management, but every moment counts, we all get judged all the time.”

Lyon is not the only former Docker who could help out his former club with Brad Hill winding back the clock in his 13th season.

He was subbed out with some stiffness against Geelong but has been averaging just a tick under 20 disposals and a career-high 5.2 marks per game with his seven goals his best return since 2017.

However, Carlton could be boosted by the return of Harry McKay, Charlie Curnow and Adam Saad should the Blues choose to rush them back with their season on the line.

Another ex-Docker who could now decide the fate of his former club is Jesse Hogan who kicked six goals at the weekend to knock Fremantle out of the eight.

GWS face the Bulldogs at Mars Stadium in Ballarat and are currently $2.86 outsiders to get the job done.

The Bulldogs have a strong record at Mars having won eight of their 12 clashes at the venue most recently downing Gold Coast by 48 points in round 2.

But the Giants are no strangers to the venue being one of just two sides to defeat the Bulldogs in Ballart this decade in a five-point triumph in round 20 last season.

On that day Toby Greene fired up the Giants with five goals as Hogan missed the clash through injury.

Hogan has a good individual record against the Bulldogs having kicked 28 goals in 11 games and averaging more than 15 disposals well above his career average.

Worryingly, however, despite his best efforts Hogan has never been part of a GWS win over the Bulldogs having lost four straight encounters since moving to the Giants.

The Bulldogs’ midfield of Adam Treloar, Tom Liberatore and Marcus Bontempelli enjoy the Giants all averaging more than 26 disposals each in their past five encounters and will be fired up to keep their season alive having missed finals on percentage last season.

While the Dockers still have a huge task to defeat Port Adelaide they may be sending a few words of encouragement to their former teammates and coach to make sure they still have something to play for when they run out at Optus.