Walyalup (Fremantle) has produced a huge seven-point upset win over Narrm (Melbourne) at the MCG to climb into the top eight, 12.7 (79) to 10.12 (72). After losing Sean Darcy to a hamstring injury in the second quarter, Luke Jackson stepped up in a huge performance against his old side, racking up 19 disposals, six tackles, 16 hit-outs and a career-high eight clearances. The Dockers surged ahead in the contest with a five-goal third quarter before holding off Melbourne in the final stanza to pick up their fourth-straight win and sixth of the season. Watch every match of every round of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now > Narrm meanwhile dropped its second-straight game to fall to 7-4 and suddenly be vulnerable of dropping out of the top four. There were no late changes for either side, with James Jordon (Demons) and Sam Sturt (Dockers) named the starting subs. In an early highlight, Kysaiah Pickett kicked an exciting three-bounce dribble goal on the boundary line as Demons fans erupted at the MCG. “This is one of the best bounces I’ve seen,” Brownlow medalist Gerard Healy said on Fox Footy. “The third bounce pop has created one of the goals of the year.” Western Bulldogs great Brad Johnson added: “What I loved about it was he kept the dribble straight … he knew exactly what he was doing.” Narrm had the control of the play for most of the first term behind strong starts from Christian Petracca and Max Gawn. Fremantle bounced back though with the next two goals through Bailey Banfield and Jye Amiss to take the lead. Healy noted Petracca was “becoming a problem” for Fremantle amid the Demons star’s damaging kicks inside 50s. Petracca and Caleb Serong were in the centre of a heated scuffle later in the term, leaving the latter’s jumper half ripped off. James Aish kicked an important goal for the Dockers from a tight angle at the start of the second quarter to kick his side back within a point. Narrm squandered a golden opportunity to respond, with Bayley Fritsch and Charlie Spargo colliding into each other in a marking contest inside 50 before the former missed the snap shot at goal. In a huge blow to the Dockers, Sean Darcy was subbed off with a hamstring injury midway through the second term in a huge blow. The Dockers got off to the ideal start to the second half with a goal to Amiss to take the lead, but Jack Viney responded at the other end of the ground with a nice finish from just inside the 50m arc. Michael Frederick kicked big goal from distance to give Walyalup the lead, but such was the theme of the game, Brodie Grundy came right back for Narrm. With less than four minutes remaining in the third quarter, Luke Jackson, who’d had a career-high eight clearances, grabbed the ball out of the ruck and kicked a big goal against his old side — giving Walyalup a 10-ppoint lead — before celebrating as he he mobbed by teammates. Serong landed another blow onto the Demons with a crafty crumbing goal to suddenly make it a 15-point Dockers lead. “That is big … they’ve put a nice little gap in this game,” Johnson said of the Dockers. After Fritsch kicked the first goal of the final term, Lachlan Schultz later took a big mark in Freo’s goalsquare and converted as the visitors could sniff the win. But Melbourne hit back with the next two goals via Jacob van Rooyen and Tom Sparrow to cut their deficit to three points. Amiss stepped up at the other end though with a big goal to regain some breathing space for the Dockers. Pickett snapped a clutch goal to get the Demons back within a kick as it was game on, however Bailey Banfield responded for Fremantle. Angus Brayshaw had an opportunity to keep his team alive, but missed a set shot with around a minute left that ultimately proved costly as the Dockers held on for a big win.
