Nat Fyfe, who finished with 20 possessions plus nine clearances and a goal before being subbed off, played a starring role as coach Ross Lyon’s 2013 runners-up overpowered Collingwood 17.14 (116) to a record-low 5.16 (46) in front of a crowd of 37,571 at the Eithad Stadium.
Freo coach Lyon said the Dockers took control of the game after raising their intensity.
“I thought our clearance work and ball work early was poor in two areas, but when we did get it, we looked really dangerous and our ability to score was quite strong,” he said.
“It was really important to get some momentum by getting a win on the board early.”
It was a poor start to 2014 for the Pies, who missed the injured Jesse White.
“We played the Grand Finalists from last year and got pantsed in the last three quarters,” coach Nathan Buckley said.
“We played a quarter of our footy and at quarter-time I wouldn’t have thought we would have seen what we did in the last three, so it was disappointing.
“We had some chances and our ball-handling was woeful after quarter-time.
“All the numbers in contested possessions and clearances were even, but we just weren’t able to hold the tide back.”
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