Fremantle v Collingwood snippets
Turning Point: At the 16-minute mark of the second quarter, Collingwood was just 11 points behind when acting skipper Josh Fraser made one of those bloopers that make you wonder why you even woke up in the morning. Camped in the goal square and under slight pressure from Chris Mayne, Fraser let the ball slip through his buttery fingers, allowing Kepler Bradley to snap Fremantle's first goal of the quarter and extend the lead out to 17, with the Dockers controlling the contest from then on.
What a Mark: If you can't use your hands anymore, why not your feet, asked Luke McPharlin early in the second quarter. The former Hawk was third man up and used Leon Davis as a step ladder, planting his feet firmly into Davis' back and using it to take a nice vertical mark.
What a Goal: Neon Leon showed no ill effects, however, returning fire with a late Goal of the Year contender just nine minutes later. The wily forward-cum-midfielder realised Des Headland had strayed off his line as he attempted to take his kick and had the ability to pressure Headland into dropping the ball, although the free kick was not paid by the umpire. Headland and Davis, in a mile of space, contested heavily for the ball but it was Davis who won out, slipping the pill free, nicely picking it up, spinning out of trouble and burying a superbly laconic snapshot from 50 metres out, deep on the boundary of his non-preferred side.
Classic Bloopers: Kepler Bradley was at his stumbling, fumbling best at Subiaco as he couldn't avoid tripping over himself on numerous occasions. Almost every time the ball came near him, some mishap would see Kepler either trip, or slip or somehow flail his arms at the ball for no return. He even managed to get accidentally eye-gouged by Chris Bryan in a rucking contest during the third quarter. But, to his credit, Bradley never dropped his head and when Josh Fraser fumbled on the goal line, he had the presence of mind to fire in the goal that ultimately broke Collingwood's heart. Minutes later he was involved in a sensational build-up for Freo that ultimately resulted in a point when it deserved better. And, to cap it all off, Bradley fired in another two in the final quarter to be his team's equal highest goal kicker of the night alongside Jeff Farmer.