Roy WardUpdated June 18, 2026 — 7:24pm,first published 7:05pm7.24pmAFL ‘catching on’ as Dockers captain reaches milestoneBy Alex Pearce is Fremantle’s captain courageous, and Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir is glad the rest of the AFL is finally catching up to how good a leader the 31-year-old is.Pearce will notch his 150-game milestone when he lines up in Thursday night’s heavyweight blockbuster against Geelong at Optus Stadium.Cam Rayner of the Lions is tackled by Alex Pearce.AFL PhotosThe path has been an arduous one for Pearce, who suffered a series of career-threatening leg and ankle fractures earlier in his career.Pearce has also been open and honest about the anxiety battles he has faced throughout his career, both in regards to injuries and his personal performance.7.11pm‘We are up for the fight’: Scott backs undermanned CatsBy Roy WardCats coach Chris Scott says Bailey Smith’s absence from this match was an easy call as he wasn’t healthy enough to get on the flight to Perth.The third-placed Cats will face the first-placed Dockers tonight without star midfielder Smith and veteran defender Tom Stewart, who is out due to concussion.Cats coach Chris Scott.AFL Photos via Getty Images“I’m not sure how he is feeling [right now]. He’s been ill, so he wasn’t good enough to get on the plane yesterday [Wednesday], so that made our decision easier,” Scott told Kayo Sports.“We are talking about this more and more. Maybe 20 years you would just play if you felt sick but now we have no appetite to play guys who are less than what I would consider good enough to play.“It will be a good test to play without Bailey and Tom [Stewart] against the best team in the comp right now but we will be up for the fight.”7.05pmCats stars ruled out as Dockers receive triple boostBy Geelong have suffered a huge double blow heading into Thursday night’s AFL blockbuster against Fremantle after Bailey Smith and Tom Stewart were ruled out of the crunch clash.Smith has been struck down by illness, while Stewart hasn’t been cleared to return from the concussion he suffered in the round-13 loss to Adelaide.Bailey Smith of the Cats celebrates with fans.AFL Photos via Getty ImagesStar Cats forward Jeremy Cameron has been named despite battling a hip issue, but it is the absence of Smith and Stewart that dominated talk when Geelong released their team on Wednesday night.Jack Bowes, who was a late withdrawal from last week’s win against Gold Coast, replaces Smith in the side.7.03pmInteractive: Follow your teams path through this seasonBy 7.00pmGood eveningBy G’day everyone and welcome to our AFL live blog as we begin round 15 with a potential grand final clash between Fremantle and Geelong from Perth.First bounce is set for 8.10pm AEST and we will be following this match and all the reactions and comments post game.Please enjoy the hours to come.1 of 1