Fremantle’s Dominant Win Over West Coast
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has praised Jye Amiss after the forward delivered a standout performance in a 56-point victory over West Coast. Amiss kicked a career-high five goals, leading his team to a resounding 14.13 (97) to 5.11 (41) win in front of 54,232 fans.
The match started with a surprise lead from the Eagles in the second quarter, but Fremantle quickly regained control and secured a decisive win. This victory marked the ninth win for Fremantle in the last 10 derbies, although West Coast still holds an overall lead of 33-29.
Fremantle’s fifth consecutive win kept them in second place on the ladder with a 5-1 record, just behind Sydney on percentage. All-Australian defender Jordan Clark was named best afield, recording 27 disposals, one goal, 622 meters gained, and 11 score involvements.
However, it was Amiss who truly shone in attack. He set a club record with nine marks inside 50 meters, surpassing the previous high of eight held by Matthew Pavlich. Amiss had previously kicked four goals on nine occasions, but he broke through this barrier in the final quarter with a 50m set shot.
The 22-year-old also contributed 13 disposals, one goal assist, and 5.4 as West Coast struggled to cover Fremantle’s tall forward line, which included Patrick Voss (three goals), Josh Treacy, and Luke Jackson.
Earlier in the season, there were calls for Amiss to be dropped after kicking just one goal in the first two rounds. However, his recent form has silenced critics, with 13 goals in the past four matches, including a crucial long-range goal against Collingwood.
“Throughout all the challenges he’s had, he’s always been positive,” Longmuir said. “He’s always kept working on his game. He’s got his feedback internally, and it’s good to see him getting some of the rewards.”
“Jye’s actually stood up for us a lot under pressure, whether it be kicking goals when we need in the last quarter, which is the obvious part. But also throughout last year, there were a lot of times when we just needed a contest from him on the wing, when the opposition were coming at us, or he was two-v-one against, and he was just able to get it done.”
Andrew Brayshaw suffered an early injury and finished with 15 disposals and three clearances, while former Collingwood ruckman Mason Cox made his debut for Fremantle with four disposals and 13 hit-outs.
Jake Waterman was lively for West Coast with 11 marks but was wasteful in front of goal, managing only 1.4. Harley Reid recorded 20 disposals and three clearances, while Reuben Ginbey did well to limit Josh Treacy to just one goal.
West Coast started strongly in the second term, kicking two goals to challenge Fremantle. However, the Dockers soon took control, with Amiss and Jackson scoring, followed by a controversial 50m penalty given to Harley Reid for tackling Jordan Clark.
Patrick Voss celebrated after Clark scored, and Fremantle entered halftime with a 22-point lead and strong momentum. Despite West Coast having a slight edge in inside 50s and contested possessions, their inefficiency in forward entries prevented them from closing the gap.
“Funnily enough, I know the scoreboard doesn’t reflect it, but I was reasonably pleased with the way we played today,” Eagles coach Andrew McQualter said. “We were able to beat Fremantle in entries, beat them in contest, big focus areas for us going in. But we were just clearly really inefficient going forward.”