AFLW: Dana East’s Fremantle Dockers battling for top-two spot with clash against Melbourne as finals near

The Fremantle Dockers are nearing another AFLW finals series and will play this weekend in a bid to reclaim a top-two spot. The Dockers lost at home to Adelaide at the weekend, but Manjimup’s Dana East continued her important role in midfield. Trailing at three-quarter time, the Crows ran over the top of East’s Dockers at Fremantle Oval, winning 3.7 (25) to 2.4 (16) in a low-scoring defensive slog. Now the Manjimup live-wire gets her first chance in purple on WA footy’s biggest stage — likely to hold her spot in the side for the first game of an Optus Stadium double-header against Melbourne. The Dockers will play just one game at the 60,000 seat stadium this year, before returning to Fremantle Oval for a final round clash with the Gold Coast. The Adelaide defeat means they slip to third on the ladder, but a win over Daisy Pearce’s Melbourne could see them bounce straight back into the top two. East had six disposals, two marks and three tackles in the loss. In February, the 19-year-old told the South Western Times she was learning from “the best players in the comp” in a Fremantle midfield led by Kara Antonio, Hayley Miller and Kiara Bowers. But the midfield copped criticism from coach Trent Cooper — recording just four inside 50s after half-time against the Crows. “It’s a concern obviously in that game, I wouldn’t like to think it’s a trend for us,” he said. “That’s something that obviously needs to be addressed because we’re not going to threaten or get anywhere near the good sides if we’re only getting that many inside 50s.”