A rusted on, beanie wearing, Freo die-hard, stumbles home from the Sail and Anchor, fresh from a night arguing if Anthony Morabito or Josh Simpson was the greater ‘what if’ Docker.

He stops to water the Norfolk Pines of the esplanade, and spots something shiny in the bushes.

A lamp — faded and antiquey — with a faint purple hue.

He gives it a rub and out pops a genie, offering just one wish.

He tries fixing the past. A new set of knees for Mora, straight kicking in the 2013 grand final and safer hands for Tom Sheridan. Alas, history cannot be rewritten.

This particular genie is more of an in-season list manager type of genie — a blue, cartooned David Walls, if you will.

What would our lubricated wharfie add to this team? It was obvious.

A big bodied, elite-kicking midfielder — a left-footer ideally — who can go inside our out, depending on need and matchups.

One you can be flexible with. Could they play forward and hit the scoreboard? Could they swing down back if needed?

Hard, skilful, a little different to what you already have, maybe with long, luscious locks that could be cast in a Pantene Pro-V commercial.

Wish, granted.

Hayden Young ticks every box. Young’s hamstring surgery and subsequent recovery is done. He’ll return tomorrow against the Pies, likely on managed minutes, but still, he’s back.

The other eight finals contenders would kill for a looming inclusion such as Young’s.

A few do have one: Hawthorn have Will Day in the wings, the Pies have Jordan De Goey and GWS Sam Taylor. The calibre of player who can swing a final.

Young’s absence this season has been somewhat ignored by many. Don’t forget this guy was last season’s big improver, third in the Doig Medal and an All-Australian squad member. Young has the ability to be Freo’s version of Jordan Dawson, given seasoning.

His presence could not arrive at a better time.

The Dockers face Collingwood at the MCG and as heavy underdogs, it’s become somewhat of a free hit at the premiership favourites.

Beat the Pies and, forget finals, the Dockers would be looking an outside chance for top four, or at worst a firm shot at hosting a home elimination final in week one. Lose, and no one should bat an eyelid.

Either way, the noise can’t become overpowering.

Forget Flagmantle, grand statements, outside noise — the Dockers don’t need to be anything in particular this next six weeks.

They don’t always need to be the next big thing, or a rabble, overachieving or underachieving. Every loss doesn’t need to bring a spotlight on the coach, and every win come with declarations of inevitable shiny cups.

They just need to be.

We saw a stat this week emerge; Fremantle are an AFL-leading 5-2 against the league’s top nine teams. The losses came against the Cats in round one and the Pies in round nine.

The Crows and Hawks are both 3-5 against the AFL’s best, while the Western Bulldogs were 1-7 before this weekend.

Against the bottom nine teams, Freo are 6-4 (two of those losses came against the 10th placed Sydney), while Collingwood, the Bulldogs and Crows are an astonishing 9-0. The Hawks are 8-1.

Translation: the Dockers are well equipped to take on the AFL’s best teams, while the Crows, Hawks and Dogs are feasting on the carcasses of the weak.

The Pies don’t count, they’re good at everything.

Fremantle have had two disgraceful performances this season; that round one embarrassment against the Cats in Geelong, and the ‘Marvel Massacre’ — a round eight shellacking from the Saints — which was an abomination and possibly an aberration.

Their other four losses are by a combined 38 points.

We’re about to see one of the all-time races to for finals spots. Thanks to a horde of rebuilding teams piling up losses, and a mid-table mess of mediocrity stumbling home, the AFL’s better half are piling up the victories.

The team which finishes ninth this year will likely be one of the unluckiest in footy history.

We’ve never seen a team miss the eight with 14 wins. That’s in play in 2025.

In fact, in the 30 years of the top eight system, no team has missed with 13 wins and only five times has 12 wins not been enough. One of those were the Dockers last season.

The next six weekends will be a wild roller-coaster for a bunch of supporters, of a bunch of clubs. Freo are no different to the others.

Having Hayden Young along for the ride, will mean the Dockers add a wildcard wish, a weapon unfired in 2025 and it might just be enough to get them to September.