A Luke Jackson masterclass has helped Fremantle enhance its status as premiership favourites in a nine-point victory over Geelong to extend the club’s record winning streak to 13 games.
Jackson (28 disposals, 15 contested, nine tackles, 25 hit-outs, three goals, nine score involvements) starred in one of the most dominant performances from any player this season to lead his side to the 14.15 (99) to 14.6 (90) win.
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Round 15
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“If you haven’t got a ruckman that can compete with Luke Jackson in this sort of form, you ain’t winning it in 2026,” Kangaroos great David King said on Fox Footy post-match.
“This guy’s impact on football has been frightening.
“It’s taken a little while to get there for him personally. But once he’s arrived, he’s taken his game to the absolute stratosphere.”
Trailing by 28 points earlier in the night, the Dockers shook off a slow start and stormed back into Thursday night’s Optus Stadium contest with eight goals to the Cats’ five in the second half.
It extended the 13-1 Freo’s lead at the top of the ladder on a night the club celebrated skipper Alex Pearce’s 150th game milestone in style including an epic Shai Bolton Mark of the Year contender.
A lower leg injury scare to Freo star Hayden Young threatened to be a dampener on the result. But Young, who’s struggled with repeated setbacks this season, returned later in the game in a major sigh of relief.
And so the Dockers’ Round 1 loss to Geelong remains their only defeat this season.
The third-placed Cats fell to 9-6 overall.
The 3-2-1 (via Catherine Healey)…
3. ‘NOT PAYING HIM ENOUGH!’ JACKSON EXPLODES IN MASTERCLASS
Tom Hawkins called it pre-game: “The old unicorn vs the new unicorn”.
And while we didn’t get the direct Mark Blicavs vs Luke Jackson match up, it was the “new unicorn” Jackson who delivered a masterclass.
He created Fremantle history to become the first Dockers ruckman to rack up 28 disposals (15 contested), nine tackles, 25 hit-outs, three goals and nine score involvements
“I don’t care what they’re paying Luke Jackson… it’s not enough,” David King said.
“He’s destroying this game.”
Hawkins agreed with that assessment.
“He just has so many different avenues to try and effect the game,” he said.
“I just think it’s such a modern way of playing football. If you can stay involved in the game by adding different avenues, he can clear the ball himself, he wins the hitouts to advantage, he gets after the football – it must be such a luxury for Freo to have at their disposal.
“I can’t help but think five years ago when he came across to the Freo Football Club, a lot of the footy world talked about the price tag and is he worth the money?
“Absolutely he’s worth the money.
“Seeing him here in the flesh, he is one of the stars of the competition.”
Stats show Jackson is having a career-best year for disposals, contested possessions, clearances and score involvements – leaving him the number three ranked ruckman in the AFL behind Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy.
“He’s a smart player. He’s mercurial at times, he’s the unicorn right?” Will Schofield said.
“What I’ve been impressed with is his work rate. His work from contest to contest, he’s effectively playing on two or three ruckmen tonight and he’s been able to outwork a lot of them.
“He runs, and he takes it on.
“What he does, it’s unique. You don’t see many players doing what he does.”
2. CATS CASH IN … BUT CAN’T SUSTAIN IT AS CAMERON QUESTIONS LINGER
Fremantle were their own worst enemy in the first half at Optus Stadium – and Geelong made them pay dearly.
The Cats kicked back to back goals from smothering Freo’s handball in the centre of the ground, and managed five goals from just eight inside 50s against what David King described as “an impenetrable Fremantle defence”.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen a team punish turnover like we’re seeing tonight,” he praised.
“Geelong are just pure.
“The Cats are onto them – they are stalking their handball game.
“These loopy handballs from Fremantle are getting them into trouble.”
“This is a bit of their DNA. We see it so often at GMHBA… when they can win that midfield turnover battle, they zone and they come forward… they are highly efficient and they are hard to stop,” Leigh Montagna added.
“When it was coming forward by hand to get that little deflection in a couple of times, it gave them really good looks. You catch a Fremantle defence that’s out of position. And you’re able to capitalise.”
Hawthorn great Jason Dunstall said Fremantle had “no one to blame but themselves” for the turnovers.
“They didn’t take enough care with it… then when they turned it over they got hurt the other way,” he said.
Not helping Freo’s cause was their woeful accuracy in front of goal – where 10 straight shots ended in nine behinds and one that didn’t even score.
“The number of shots that they’ve had, seriously Jye Amiss couldn’t have deliberately kicked the ball any worse!” Dunstall lamented.
“Hasn’t looked like it!
“(Josh) Treacy, until he kicked his last one, was having a horror. But it spread right throughout the whole team.
“They just kept missing easy shots for goal.
“It becomes contagious after a while.”
But once Fremantle got the radar working, it was Geelong who couldn’t contain the Dockers – as they scored 10 of the next 12 goals.
It was during that patch that serious questions were asked of Geelong star Jeremy Cameron who was struggling to have an impact.
A big contest from Pat Voss left Cameron on the Optus Stadium turf, clearly protecting the arm he broke in last year’s grand final.
“At the moment, Cameron does not look like he wants to fly at all,” Jack Riewoldt said.
“He looks very sore,” Mark Howard said.
“He’s not right Jeremy,” King added.
“He’s out there and you judge them as a healthy player when they cross that white line.
“He’s been deep forward for most of the night – unsighted.
“He looks incredibly reluctant to put himself in harm’s way right now.”
Cameron’s night finished with the equal lowest disposals of just six despite spending 93% of time on ground – but did kick two goals.
1. ‘AIR BOLTON’ HANGER SETS SIGHTS ON AFL HISTORY
No player has ever won the AFL’s Mark of the Year twice.
But on Thursday night Docker Shai Bolton took a big leap at creating history.
Bolton, the Mark of the Year winner in 2021, put forward a near-identical effort against the Cats, climbing up onto Jake Kolodjashnij and teammate Pat Voss in the second term.
“Welcome to Air Bolton!” Matt Hill said on Fox Footy’s commentary.
“Your emergency exits are here and here! What a mark!”
“That’s an unbelievable mark!” dual premiership Roo David King said.
“Have a look at this!” Jack Riewoldt added.
“He’s standing on his head and just the one duke! Thank you very much!
“He’s won mark of the year before and I reckon that’s the clubhouse leader in 2026.
“What a grab.”
Jason Dunstall described Bolton’s efforts as “extraordinary”.
“He climbed on top of the pack, put his boot int the face of teammate Patty Voss – that was spectacular!” he praised.
Bolton already has a Mark of the Year contender from Round 11 this season.
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