Arabic version: فريمانتل يواجه جيلونغ في نصف نهائي حاسم بدوري كرة القدم الأسترالية

According to The Guardian, Fremantle enter Friday’s AFL semi-final against Geelong seeking to avoid a straight-sets finals exit after a club-record 19 wins in the home-and-away season. The Dockers were beaten by Hawthorn in their qualifying final and now need to overcome the experienced Cats to reach a preliminary final against Sydney.

Fremantle have lost three of their past four matches and managed only five goals against the Hawks despite recording 57 inside 50s. Their slow ball movement returned in that defeat, while they scored just 17 points from turnovers. The Dockers will need to capitalise more effectively on Geelong mistakes and revive the back-half rebound that supported their regular-season form.

Geelong arrive on a seven-match winning streak, with victories by an average of 35 points. The Cats have scored 100 points or more six times during that run and conceded triple figures only once. They pushed Fremantle closely at Optus Stadium in round 15 despite Bailey Smith and Tom Stewart missing that match, while their senior players also have finals experience at the venue from 2021.

Luke Jackson could be pivotal for Fremantle after cementing his role as the side’s first-choice ruck. The first-time All Australian has career highs of 25 goals, 18.5 disposals, 4.9 clearances and 25.3 hitouts a game. Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield led the Cats’ elimination-final win over Carlton with five goals, 10 score involvements and 21 disposals, though the club will be monitoring whether the 36-year-old can reproduce that impact.

Geelong are aiming for a fifth grand final under coach Chris Scott, whose side has played in 10 preliminary finals since its 2011 premiership season. Fremantle are pursuing their first preliminary final since 2015 and will look to turn a record-breaking home-and-away campaign into a deeper finals run.