Heading into our round 23 clash with Richmond, our focus was to ensure we played good football and secured a top-two finish. We knew going into the game against the Tigers that if we won or had a close finish that we’d be able to hold onto the spot of the ladder and secure two home finals. Even though we lost the match and started poorly, we did manage to get ourselves back into the game and probably had a chance to win it, and importantly we got the result that secured us top spot and two home finals.

We’re now at the business end of the season, and we face Fremantle at ANZ Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Fremantle are a very good side who are well-coached by Ross Lyon. In recent weeks, they have really been moving the ball well into their forward line and with Michael Walters now back in the team and with Hayden Ballantyne, Matthew Pavlich and Chris Mayne, they’ve got a really potent forward line. While we always expect a Ross Lyon-coached side to be strong defensively, Fremantle’s attacking game is something they have added over the last month and throughout the season. We know they are very well-drilled in the defensive side of the game, but what they’ve added and definitely improved over the last month has been their offence. The way they’ve moved the ball and the way they’ve scored against opposition has really gone to the next level, and is going to play a big part in the game this weekend.

When preparing for the Dockers this week, we look first and foremost at their most recent matches. We can take some things from the last time we played them back in round five, but it was such a long time ago, and the teams have changed since that point. We look closely at their current form to see the way that they’re playing and try to work around that.

It was terrific to see two of our defenders named in the All Australian extended squad this week in Nick Smith and Nick Malceski. Both players have had terrific seasons and will play important roles in Saturday’s match. It was really exciting for Nick Smith as it’s his first nomination in an All Australian squad, and I think it was a good recognition for the work he’s done this season. Smith will likely get a job on one of the Dockers’ best small forwards on Saturday afternoon, as he does every week, which could include Ballantyne, Walters or even Stephen Hill or Danyle Pearce, just to name a few. There’s no doubt Nick will be on those guys at different points throughout the match, and the role he plays will be of great importance to us.

It is a real advantage to be able to host a home qualifying final and hopefully we can have really good support behind us on Saturday afternoon. When we travelled over to Perth in last year’s finals series we were met by thousands of Dockers fans, in what was a very hostile environment. They got off to an incredible start last September and played as well as I’ve seen them play, so we expect them to bring that sort of intensity. Hopefully, with our home crowd and the way we’ve been playing, we’ll be able to get on top this time around.