Fremantle Dockers are new flag favourites with bookies, but flight prices to Sydney for preliminary final soar

Fremantle have been re-installed as premiership favourites by bookmakers after their stunning semi final victory over Geelong on Friday night set up a preliminary final against Sydney at the SCG.

And airlines have been quick to dramatically increase prices for flights from Perth to Sydney as passionate Fremantle fans look for ways to follow their team around the country.

The Dockers’ premiership hopes were in serious jeopardy after they lost to Hawthorn last week but the 18.12 (120) to 16.10 (106) victory over Geelong at Optus Stadium has turned the season on its head.

TAB Touch slashed Fremantle’s premiership price to a $3.20 favourite, compared to Hawthorn at $3.40, despite the Dockers being at $5.50 last Friday.

Sydney will be missing six of their best 23 players after Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordan and Riley Bice were suspended by the club for the rest of the season after their off-field scandal in round 24. Then they lost captain Callum Mills to a knee injury in the qualifying final.

The Dockers are $1.62 favourites to beat Sydney. The Swans are paying $2.30.

But Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir was refusing to get caught up in the narrative that Sydney are a weaker team because of the players who won’t be available.

“I watched what they did against Brisbane. Clearly, they didn’t seem like they missed any of those players. They played a fantastic, selfless brand of footy,” he said.

“We’ll go over there as underdogs, and they’ll be really confident after their win against Brisbane. They’ll be heavy favourites on their home deck, but we’ll go over and give it our best.”

The optimism for Fremantle has also seen direct flights to Sydney increased to crazy prices. The average cost of a direct flight from Perth to Sydney with Virgin Australia on Thursday is $1264. The same flights cost an average of $473 on Wednesday.

The average cost to fly with Qantas on Thursday is $1216 compared to $693 on Wednesday.

Geelong coach Chris Scott admitted he felt the winner of Friday night’s game would be well placed to win the premiership, and his belief in Fremantle has now increased.

“I had a feeling going into the game that the winner of this game would have a really good chance. And I’m probably more confident of that now,” he said.

But Longmuir won’t allow his players to get carried away with Fremantle playing in the club’s first preliminary final since 2015. The Dockers finished the home and away season on top of the ladder and are attempting to win a historic first premiership.

Longmuir remains far from satisfied.

“The job’s not done,” he said.

“We spoke about it last week. We were in similar position to what we were on Thursday before the Hawthorn game. We were one win away from a prelim because we gave ourselves the second chance.

“It feels great. We played a really good brand of footy and should get a lot of confidence out of that. But the job’s not done. So we have to go 1-0 again.”

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