Fremantle Dockers v Carlton Blues
AFL Aussie Rules : Australia : AFL Premiership
Venue : Subiaco Oval, Perth
Friday, 27th August 2010 - Start 20:40 AEST

---

This is my only AFL preview of the week as we see round 22 begin on Friday night in Perth. This is basically the only match that really matters in terms of both teams playing for something.

The Dockers caused a stir when they rested 8 top liners last week with anticipation for this game and the Blues felt the wrath of Geelong on Friday night at the G.

So it will be an interesting match with both teams wanting a home final but I feel the Perth side could have the edge.

Fremantle Dockers
6th, 12-9 W/L, Form : LWLLL

The Dockers love Subiaco and know they need to play at home to do anything in the finals. They will play their hearts out in order to win a home final berth and Carlton will be doing the same so they can avoid coming back to Perth next week. The Dockers with a few rested players should come out on top in this one.

The backline for Freo has some queries over it because of injuries and other problems but it should be fine for Friday night. The likes of Roger Hayden coming off half back are invaluable when it comes to experience, and when you pair Hayden with someone like Luke McPharlin you know you have a solid defence.

The midfield will see players like Rhys Palmer and Anthony Morabito try to establish themselves as star centre men. Their support will come in the form of David Mundy and Paul Hasleby. Hasleby is a 10 year veteran at the Dockers and he has announced his retirement this week. His teammates are sure to rally behind him in order to ensure he plays a final at home in Perth. Mundy is probably the best midfielder for Freo at the current time and his finesse will be needed to add the class to a hard working Docker midfield.

Matthew Pavlich is the spearhead for the Docker forward line. Pav is an elite player who can lift in big games and turn them in the favour of his side. I think you can expect him to do something similar on Friday. Hayden Ballantyne will attempt to add to the goal scoring with his unique brand of football and Michael Johnson will offer a different tall target which could prove tough for Carlton. Not to mention big ruckman Aaron Sandilands who can push forward at time and make things tricky for his smaller opponents.

Carlton Blues
8th, 11-10 W/L, Form : WLWWL

The Blues were not embarrassed last week against the Cats but they way they played suggested they will find it very tough to mix it with the top 2-3 sides in the September finals. They will find things tough when they travel to Perth and have to beat a rested Freo side.

The backline has Michael Jamison in charge and he is supported by Paul Bower. A big query will be how these two stack up against Pavlich because Pav is experienced and strong not to mention super fit, so you can expect him to run his opponent around a fair bit. Dennis Armfield will be called on to supply some transition ball as the Blues look to attack.

The midfield is led by Chris Judd. Judd has been ordinary in the last few weeks, particularly last week where he continually missed targets by foot. It was very uncharacteristic of him and I question whether he is in the best form for this time of year.

Marc Murphy and Bryce Gibbs are the two who will need to step up if Judd is below his best and I am not sure if they are ready to turn it on at will just yet in their careers. So that leaves me with a couple of doubts over the Blues’ midfield and that could be important.

The forward line is one of the positive areas for Carlton at this time of year. Big target Lachie Henderson is starting to fire and with the small indigenous forwards in some form things could get tough for the Freo defence.

Eddie Betts and Jeff Garlett are doing things easily in the forward 50 and they are pretty close to the top of the goal kicking chart for the Blues this year.

Head to Head

Last time these two sides met : Round 13, 2010 at the Etihad Stadium
Fremantle 14.12 (96) beat Carlton 12.15 (87)

The Pick :

Fremantle Dockers to win

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Fremantle to win at 1.72 at Centrebet
(High Stakes–Bet of the Week)