Fremantle Dockers face another wet weather test against Collingwood after Optus Stadium soaked by deluge

A heavy afternoon downpour in Perth has made for dismal conditions for Fremantle’s clash with Collingwood at Optus Stadium.

The stadium’s turf took a beating early in the contest, with massive puddles emerging on the wing in front of the interchange gates and inside 50 at either end of the ground.

It creates a significant test for the Dockers, who lost just their second game for the season against the Gold Coast last week after being outclassed in slippery Queensland conditions.

It raised questions about their ability to adapt to the conditions, but the Dockers and the Pies were level at 2.2 (14) each at the first break.

Bargain buy midfielder Will Brodie took to it like a duck to water in the first quarter though, dominating the midfield battle with 10 disposals and a remarkable six clearances, while defender Jordan Clark also showed a clean pair of hands in the wet.

Clark had eight disposals, including eight kicks, and was important in some tense defensive moments.

Despite the weather, two of the four goals for the quarter were kicked by rucks, with Rory Lobb and Collingwood’s Darcy Cameron both hitting the scoreboard.

Three deliberate out-of-bounds decisions were paid in the opening term as players struggled to navigate the scrap.

But a steadfast Hayden Young told The West Australian after the Gold Coast defeat the club was confident its style could stand up, even in the wet weather.

“Our game plan should stand up in any conditions. We just struggled to execute basic skills which don’t enable our game plan to come to life,” he said last week.

A decent crowd has still come out for the game, in spite of the weather and a Freeway crash causing afternoon traffic chaos.