Western derby 55: Fremantle’s Sean Darcy the new ruck king as Dockers see off dogged West Coast Eagles

Sean Darcy’s ascension to the throne as the premier ruckman in WA was confirmed at Optus Stadium with a monstrous performance in Western Derby 55 to steer his team a hard-fought win over the Eagles.

Pitted against Nic Naitanui, the man who has had at least one hand on the crown for much of the past decade, Darcy’s presence around stoppages led the way as the Dockers had to first overcome a fierce West Coast opening, then a brilliant Eagles defence, then their own inaccuracy to grind out a 9.17 (71) to 7.5 (47) win.

Darcy was the unanimous pick as the Glendinning-Allan medallist for steering Freo to a win that keeps their top-four hopes alive and guarantees a top-six spot with one round of the home-and-away season remaining.

He won 57 hit-outs, four clearances, took five marks and had 16 disposals as well as getting forward to kick an important goal in the opening term after the Eagles had started brightly.

The ruckman’s dominance , Blake Acres’ relentless run on a wing and the eventual engine-room superiority of Will Brodie, Caleb Serong and honoured veteran David Mundy helped the Dockers to a 46-34 advantage at clearances, a 57-44 edge in the inside-50 count and enough chances to win.

The Eagles were fierce at first and persistent well into the game. Jackson Nelson went to Andrew Brayshaw and rattled him for a quarter. Tom Barrass (20 disposals with 12 marks) was superb all day and had support alongside him in defence, with Shannon Hurn and Liam Duggan both playing stellar games.

Mundy was his usual composed self in his 373rd game and his 31st western derby. He now has 17 wins and 14 losses in those derbies over his stellar 18-year career.

Tempers flare early

The Eagles set the tone for an aggro derby match-up with a fierce first term. They sent Nelson to Brayshaw and got in his face where possible. They also got early scoreboard pressure on the Dockers with the game’s opening goal to Zac Langdon.

Fremantle had the better of the going from there on in but they didn’t help themselves. Serong conceded a double 50m penalty to gift a goal to Jack Redden. Redden then returned the favour with a 50 of his own which enabled Brayshaw into the game with a goal. Then Heath Chapman got mowed down in the goalsquare by Xavier O’Neill and the Eagles took a slender lead to the first break. There were several melees but the Eagles would have hit the first change feeling like they had made an impact on the game and tilted the Dockers a little off balance.

Six-six-six anybody?

West Coast got a lot right before half time in this game. Their tackling pressure was enormous, they finished their work well inside attacking 50 and they kept the Dockers on the hop.

But what was going on with their set up at centre bounces? They made a meal of it three times, getting one warning then conceding two centre-square free kicks to the Dockers.

One of them almost worked to their advantage, with Darcy kicking the ball into the man on the mark, but, perhaps because of Nelson’s tag on Brayshaw, they kept on forgetting who was supposed to be in there.

It allowed the Dockers to work to a 22-16 advantage at clearances and gave them a clean look at their attacking 50. But if the Dockers were going into attack more, the Eagles were certainly better at finishing their work better when they got there.

Jack Darling’s set shot from outside 50 in the greasy conditions exemplified the kicking for goal and it meant that Fremantle’s first half of 11 shots to seven still added up to only a four-point lead at half time.

Eagles fight against the tide

The Dockers led by 17 points at three-quarter time and had taken control of the game, but they did not have total control on the scoreboard thanks to West Coast’s brilliant defence and Fremantle’s poor finishing.

They had kicked 7.14 by the final change with Lachie Schultz, Griffin Logue and Acres all missing shots that probably should have been kicked, even in the greasy conditions.

The Eagles defence held firm superbly. Barrass easily had the better of Rory Lobb in their duel and it didn’t help Lobb that he got crunched and aggravated a sore shoulder. Hurn’s positioning was smart and his ball use steady . But the Dockers midfield had gotten well on top with Darcy dominant, Brodie, James Aish and Serong strong in the quarter and Brayshaw starting to shake off the Nelson tag.