Canberra will host a final-round match next month which could have a big bearing on the AFL's top eight.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Fremantle may need to beat the GWS Giants at Manuka Oval on Saturday, August 20, to snare a top-four berth or a home final.
The early-afternoon match will be the Dockers' third in Canberra in four years, with the Giants winning by 31 points in 2018 and Fremantle prevailing by 24 points in 2019.
The AFL released the fixture of the final round on Tuesday, with Giants chief executive Dave Matthews expecting another big crowd in the nation's capital.
"We're pleased to close out our AFL season with a Saturday afternoon blockbuster (1.45pm) against a top-four side in Fremantle at Manuka Oval," he said.
"This game will cap our biggest season in Canberra yet which has seen sell-out crowds, a blockbuster Anzac round game, a marquee Friday night game and a compelling array of opponents.
"The Saturday afternoon slot is a great time for families to come and enjoy AFL football which is why we're expecting another big crowd for our fourth Canberra game of the year.
"We're then looking forward to kicking off our AFLW season at Manuka Oval just a few weeks later on September 4 to complete a huge year in Canberra."
The Dockers, currently fifth on the ladder, beat the 15th-placed Giants by 34 points when the sides met in Perth earlier this year.
Meanwhile, GWS co-captain Toby Greene admits the idea he's known more for controversial moments than his footballing skill frustrates him, although he concedes he's only got himself to blame.
A circumspect Greene, who had been suspended for 14 matches and fined $29,350 across his career to the end of the 2021 season, said he burned watching his teammates play the first five rounds of this campaign while serving a ban for his most infamous moment.
That incident saw him bump an umpire against Sydney in last year's finals, with an initial three-week ban handed down by the tribunal increased to six weeks on appeal.
Regarding his perhaps-negative reputation, Greene hoped the footballing world would move on.
"At the time, it probably frustrates me and certainly what happened in the finals series last year burned for a couple of weeks, no doubt about that," he told Fox Sports.
"But I move on pretty quick, I think the footy world moves on pretty quick as well.
"It's just part of it, and I've got myself in some controversial incidents in high-profile games. I don't try to do it, but it just seems to happen."
Of his umpire bump, Greene admitted there was no excuse for his actions.
"Obviously it got talked about quite heavily ... and rightfully so, it was the wrong thing to do," he said.
"Three weeks was probably a fair whack and then when they said we're going back (to an appeal) there was no point rocking up, I was getting six (weeks). I certainly learned my lesson, it burned not playing the first five games of this year."
Greene insisted the Giants don't need a complete rebuild despite a 5-13 campaign highlighted by the sacking of coach Leon Cameron.
"We as players haven't performed up to our level this year, Leon probably copped it unfairly ... but we certainly think we should be better than what we are," he said.
