It was only fitting that Fremantle’s greatest AFL win was inspired by their greatest-ever player.
Far too often in his 13 years in purple, skipper Matthew Pavlich has been required to play a lone hand in a team which struggled for victories and credibility.
Six best and fairest awards and half a dozen All Australian guernseys are testament to his quality.
But even though at the age of 31 Pavlich remains their most important player, Fremantle circa 2012 are far from a one-man band.
There were Freo heroes everywhere in the 16-point win over a strangely flat Geelong in the elimination final at the MCG on Saturday night.
Nathan Fyfe, David Mundy and Michael Barlow were tremendous in a Dockers midfield given first use of the ball by ruckman Aaron Sandilands.
Hayden Ballantyne was equally effective in the middle and up forward, where he kicked three important goals.
And oft-maligned duo Adam McPhee and Zac Dawson played key roles in defence.
Dawson – a favourite of coach Ross Lyon in his time at St Kilda and Fremantle – kept big Cat Tom Hawkins goalless.
But it was Pavlich who set the tone early on Saturday night for a club which had won only two previous finals in their history – and none away from the comforts of home.
Pavlich monstered Geelong fullback Tom Lonergan in the opening term, booting three goals as the Dockers took a scarcely believable 36-point lead into the first change.
The proud Cats – winners of three of the last five premierships – were always going to make a run at Fremantle at some stage.
They got within three-and-a-half goals twice during the third term – only for Pavlich to respond on both occasions with team-lifting majors.
His fifth was a classic, with Pavlich slipping the clutches of Harry Taylor near the boundary line and then hitting the target on the run from a tight angle.
And when Geelong’s Josh Hunt kicked two successive goals to cut the margin to 17 points late in the final quarter, Pavlich was on hand to calm Fremantle nerves, baulking around the hapless Lonergan to kick his sixth.
The win was also a triumph for Lyon – and the board which made the tough call last year to sack Mark Harvey with a year remaining on his contract once it became clear that Lyon was prepared to leave the Saints.
Lyon’s mantra has been to make Fremantle a team who can win “anywhere, anytime”.
Which is exactly what happened on Saturday night as the giant-killing Dockers were victorious 14.12 (96) to 11.14 (80), setting up a cut-throat semi-final against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on Friday night.
