“We’re obviously disappointed so it’s easy to sit there from an immediate point of view and see the things that have gone wrong,but we want to have a really good look at it and get an understanding of why things aren’t working,” Hardwick said.
“We’re just not getting the ease of goals we certainly think we deserve. We’ve got some work to do in that part of the game.”
Despite the 7.13 (55) to 6.15 (51) scoreline in favour of the home side,the enthralling clash was full of highlights and underlined whythis year’s grand final must be played in front of a crowd,be it at the MCG or elsewhere.
The nailbiter included both a mark- and a goal-of-the-year contender, two lead changes in the final quarter and a contested brand of footy worthy of an elimination final.
Despite the match being played at the start of August,not the end,an elimination final is effectively what it was. The eight-point game left Fremantle well and truly in the finals hunt while the Tigers were made to rue their chances.
If the Dockers were wasteful in the first term,spraying an ugly 2.6 to 1.1 in the opening stanza,the accuracy certainly didn’t improve in a goalless second quarter,with both sides combining for 11 behinds.
But milestone Docker Matt Taberner,in his 100th match,made goal kicking look a breeze when he started the third term with a goal-of-the-year submission,ending any yips his side might have had.