Not many would have tipped that the Fremantle v Gold Coast clash at Norwood Oval would hold any kind of significance, but for both sides, it looms as a must-win clash.
With the Dockers sitting 14th and the Suns 17th – both with one win to their name – the loser will be significantly behind the eight-ball with a 1-4 record after five rounds.
Given both sides had genuine finals aspirations at the start of the season, SEN’s David King was asked whether it would be season over for the loser of the game in terms of their September dreams.
“Probably, yep, for their finals aspirations,” King replied on SEN The Picks.
“Then the discussions start, don’t they? Inevitably they come back to the coaching.
“You either can’t motivate your troops, you can’t get the buy in or you’re playing the one plan.
“At the end, it always comes back to the one person, the senior coach at the club.”
King believes it’s such a huge game for both coaches as a loss here would signify the losing team as more likely than not failing to meet expectations for the season.
“The fallout for the loser is always going to be significant because they both came in with such high hopes to challenge for the eight,” King said.
“It would be seen as a step backwards for Fremantle, and I think that’s all on method.
“It would be seen as a step backward for Stuart Dew because nothing has changed and we’re into year six now.
“It’s a challenge confronting a new chair because (Tony) Cochrane isn’t there anymore.
“You just start to get a bit nervous when these sorts of results are coming.
“It’s a huge game for Stuart Dew as it is Justin Longmuir.”
While King is lacking confidence in both sides, he’s giving the edge to Gold Coast in his tips with Suns forward Ben King his “wildcard” in the game.
“I’m going with the Suns with absolutely no confidence,” King said.
“How can you have confidence? I think (Caleb) Serong and (Andrew) Brayshaw versus (Touk) Miller, (Matt) Rowell and (Noah) Anderson is the game. Who holds sway out of the guts.
“I’d like to see Ben King complete some marks, he’s dropped about eight marks in two weeks, he’s the x-factor in this game, he’s the wildcard in this game.
“There’s so many players that have so much scope for improvement.”
The bounce at Norwood Oval is set for 5:10pm (AEST) on Friday with the Richmond v Sydney clash at the Adelaide Oval set for 8:10pm later that night as Gather Round continues.