00:00Well, G'day, I'm Mark Stephens. I'm at Zero Hanger HQ and this is another episode of The Outer Winger,
00:05brought to you by Tab Touch. Real punters play here. As usual, I'll be joined by Digby Beecham,
00:11the legendary Hall of Fame journo in WA. Let's get on with it.
00:17Could a mullet with tightly tapered sides reduce wind resistance, allowing for faster acceleration off the mark?
00:23Now that's something to think about.
00:29What are you really gambling with?
00:32Well, Diggers, great to have you on board again. Gee, the Dockers, they just keep rolling beautifully.
00:38They do, Steve. A very good morning to you. Great to chat again on The Outer Wing.
00:42Look, they were terrific, I thought. They were challenged on the weekend by St Kilda,
00:45but they found a way, as they invariably do and have done throughout 2026.
00:50They sit atop the AFL ladder by themselves, ahead of a pretty testing assignment.
00:55It must be said this week against Brisbane, but they're doing a lot of things right.
00:59Now, Tab Touch have them premiership favourites. Are we all in on the purple?
01:03Surely, Frio, they're almost a chance. They have to be.
01:07Yeah, exactly right, Steve. And you know my thoughts with Freeman.
01:10I've been all in on them all season. Before the season started,
01:14I think they're around that $12, $13 mark with Tab Touch to win the flag.
01:18I said seven days ago they deserve to be outright premiership favourites.
01:22Now, does that guarantee them victory up there at the Gabba on the weekend upcoming?
01:26No, it does not. But for mine, they are, right here, right now, the best side in the competition.
01:31Now, I'm looking at this, Diggers, the way I tip footy, I think, mentally,
01:35bounce-back games, teams under the pump.
01:38Yeah.
01:38I reckon, looking at this as a long-time journo, this is the worst possible time to play the Brisbane
01:45Lions.
01:46And this game up at the Gabba, obviously, this is going to be a tough one.
01:51Yeah, no doubt. Absolutely no doubt, Stephen.
01:54I certainly understand exactly where you're coming from.
01:57We've seen this movie before and we know how it ends.
02:00But I will say this.
02:02If Brisbane, and they have their injury concerns,
02:05we know that Zorko's still going to be missing, is Jared Berry at 100% fit?
02:09They are going to get one hell of an order by Fremantle this weekend.
02:15It's all well and good to say, yep, we're back home.
02:17We'll be, you know, invigorated by our crowd.
02:20That's all well and good.
02:21But this Fremantle side, they haven't put a foot wrong
02:24since their first round match down there in Geelong.
02:27And they did a lot of things right on that occasion.
02:30They will ask some serious questions of Brisbane.
02:33If Brisbane can answer them, well, they'll get the victory
02:35and hopefully that can kickstart their premiership defence.
02:38If not, it might be, say, an R of the Lions.
02:41Yeah, it could be.
02:42And I'm just sort of backing in Chris Fagan to get the Lions up.
02:45I think you'll see a totally different mindset.
02:47You'll know early in the game.
02:49You'll know by quarter time where this one's headed.
02:53So deep down, if I'm having a tip, I'm going for Brisbane in this game.
02:56I think their value, obviously, free are on a roll.
02:58They have to lose one.
02:59At some stage, they're not superhuman.
03:02And so this, looking at the betting, I think good value, Brisbane.
03:06A real danger game for free.
03:08I think it's going to come undone, Diggers.
03:10Yeah, well, look, it may well do, Steve-O.
03:12And to be fair, if you'd said to Justin Longmuir and the players
03:16that, you know, they're approaching the halfway mark
03:18just the week or two before the bye, that they would be, you know, 10-2,
03:24they'd take that, clearly.
03:25They've given themselves a wonderful platform from which to launch.
03:29They should be finishing top two.
03:31You'd think they will be finishing top two.
03:33Other sides in and around them on the ladder have stumbled
03:35over the past three or four weeks.
03:37They have it.
03:38They've got some clear air.
03:39And what they have given themselves is a little bit of space
03:42should they make a misstep or two along the way
03:45or certainly on the way home.
03:46But, look, Brisbane, for me, I'm with you.
03:49I think they can win this game of football.
03:51But, as I said, Fremantle will be very, very tough to toss.
03:55Yeah, and they can afford to drop one.
03:57That's the beauty of it.
03:58Their fourth quarters have been strong, haven't they?
04:00So they'll have faith.
04:01Even if they can stay within two to three goals,
04:03the Lions, who aren't really running out games too well.
04:06And, in fact, are witch's hats in the third quarter last week.
04:08Yeah.
04:09Yeah, they were.
04:10And we've seen it on more than one occasion.
04:11I'm not saying that Fremantle are a dominant fourth quarter side.
04:15But what we have seen on many occasions this season, Steve,
04:19is when they have been challenged
04:20and have, in fact, been headed at key stages
04:23in the second half of matches.
04:24You talk the Collingwood game.
04:26You talk the Western Bulldogs.
04:28You know, Hawthorne had them on the ropes.
04:30They've found a way.
04:31They've dug deep.
04:32They've trusted the system.
04:33And what they have done, they've powered to the line.
04:35And they were really strong against Hawthorne to get that victory.
04:38And we saw what they did against St Kilda.
04:41Now, are St Kilda a top six side?
04:42No, they're not.
04:43They're in the mix for that wildcard round.
04:45But what Fremantle are doing is they're finishing the games
04:48really, really strongly,
04:49which is probably a sign of the maturity within that group.
04:52And to be fair, Steve,
04:54I thought they were very good against St Kilda
04:56because they didn't have Pearce.
04:57They didn't have Young.
04:58They didn't have Sarong.
05:00Yet they still were, you know, really, really strong
05:03over the last 25, 30 minutes of that match.
05:06Shea Bolton was outstanding,
05:08continues to be an elite performer.
05:10And Murphy Reid, well, you know my thoughts, re him.
05:13Yeah, I might have changed my thoughts on Murphy Reid, actually.
05:16Just that game turned me.
05:17I thought, yeah, we've seen glimpses.
05:20He's silky and whatever.
05:21But every time he got the footy,
05:23he's the guy that broke that game wide open.
05:25Every time he got it, particularly by hand,
05:27the way he just flips it out.
05:28And it's so creative.
05:30And the long bomb that he kicked,
05:32just so silky on the run.
05:34Yeah, he's a burster, isn't he?
05:36Like, he hasn't missed a game since he's been here
05:37in Western Australia.
05:39And you're right, his vision, his touch,
05:42his deft touch, either by hand and or by foot.
05:44Like, yes, he can finish from range.
05:46We saw that against St Kilda.
05:48But for mine, he weights his kicks
05:50to his fellow forwards and teammates particularly well.
05:54And you can't teach football smarts.
05:56And he's got them in spades.
05:58And Jai Amis, I haven't been a huge fan of his.
06:00He goes missing in games at times.
06:02Just can't touch it.
06:03But our friends at Tab Touch, the stats gurus there,
06:06eight more goals than any time or any other season
06:09at this time of year.
06:10So he's doing something right as well.
06:13And these players like a miss just keep creeping up.
06:15Yeah, exactly.
06:17Like, Jai's been really good this year.
06:18We spoke about him earlier in the season, didn't we?
06:20And we're thinking, gee whiz, you need to do more, young man.
06:23But what he has been able to do over the past six to eight weeks
06:26is slip himself and find another gear and kick goals,
06:30impact the scoreboard.
06:31And no doubt he's the beneficiary of Josh Tracy
06:33being that imposing forward figure that he is.
06:36And Patrick Voss has been solid.
06:37The last two to three weeks of Patrick
06:39has been very, very sound as well.
06:41So you've got those three big boppers down there.
06:44And then at their feet, it's Dudley, it's Frederick, it's Bolton.
06:48And yeah, as you know, Steve-O, I'm all in.
06:52And I think the football world is starting to have the same view.
06:55Well, give us a tip and a margin then, Diggis,
06:57for the Dockers this week.
06:59Look, I think it's tight.
07:01It really is tight.
07:02I'll lean towards Brisbane just because, like you,
07:05I'm expecting a response.
07:07Brisbane by one to two goals,
07:09but it wouldn't be a complete and utter shock to me
07:12if Fremont will get over the top of Brisbane.
07:14Yeah, I'm with you.
07:15I think that will be a cracking game.
07:21You win some, you lose more.
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07:25call the number on the screen or visit the website.
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