Fremantle Dockers no match for Carlton Blues as hunger and motivation swamp a team with an eye on September

Fremantle didn’t need to beat Carlton at Marvel Stadium on Saturday and played accordingly.

The Blues had plenty of reasons to win, which included the possibility of avoiding an interstate Wildcard final, and their motivation was clear.

When one team is desperate to win, and the other has bigger fish to fry, games can follow a predictable script, and that’s what happened as the Blues won 18.11 (119) to 12.10 (82)

Fremantle set the tone on Thursday when they rested Jye Amiss, Sam Switkowski and Heath Chapman. If the game really mattered, they would definitely have played.

Murphy Reid was also given another week to recover from a blow to the groin, which was smart. Why take any risks?

But those moves meant Oscar McDonald was selected as a forward despite being in superb form as a defender.

Tobyn Murray made his AFL debut, and Bailey Banfield played his first game of the season. This wasn’t a normal-looking Fremantle team.

The players still entered the game wanting to prove a point. They were keen to avoid a defeat. But it wasn’t Fremantle’s priority. And it became even less of a priority when Brennan Cox injured his calf late in the first quarter.