Preview 1st Preliminary Final, Fremantle v Hawthorn, 25 September 2015, 8.20pm AEST @ Subiaco

[Off The Couch]

Hawthorn wearing the home jumper - thank god for that

 

[Brishawk]

Suckling

Won't happen. Played very well last week and it is clear we need his accuracy and length in kicking to fracture the WC defence.

 

[RIOLIUSTAR]

Won't happen. Played very well last week and it is clear we need his accuracy and length in kicking to fracture the WC defence.

One week at a time Brishawk

 

[cryptor]

I think one of the keys to the game will be our ability to point at the man encroaching the mark from side on. WC covered the inside of the mark (aka the protected area) religiously on the narrow Subiaco turf. That is exactly how they slowed our ball movement. The only time they got pinged for it was when Kennedy got sucked in looking for a cheap tackle inside 50m. We need to make sure the umpires know exactly what is happening when they get too close, as this has been how sides have taken it up to us in recent times and there has been no effort on our behalf to rectify it. I'd go further and go to the umpires department before the game, to ensure it is on the agenda.

Port combatted us using that technique by "bending" the mark. As they went back they'd do so a little laterally towards the man on the side of the mark. Just enough so it looks like the defender has moved in too far.

Our forwards already are pros at this inside 50 when trying to improve the angle slightly.

 

[Argy]

We're wearing our home jumper on Friday

Yay!

 

[Furn2]

Interesting Stat, we have won 5 out of the past 6 vs Freo.

The 1 we lost was also the only time we've played at Subiaco in that time.

In all our wins, 1 common theme is Freo's score (or lack of) at 1/4 time; in general they have either been held goalless or been kept to just 1 goal. And have not kicked more than 11 goals in either of those losses.

In Freo's only win, they kicked 3.0 in the 1st Qtr and they ended up kicking 17.8 for the night.

We've won 7 of the last 8 v Freo and 10 of the last 12.

 

[Ram-Man]

We're wearing our home jumper on Friday

 

[Brishawk]

One week at a time Brishawk

Ah I meant freo!

 

[Teamwork Talks]

NO CHANGE

I don't think we should risk Gunstan and I think Schoey deserves to stay.
Hale was only subbed on Friday night to get him through (like Bailey was in 2013) so he should stay. He pays well against Sandilands.
My only query is Hartung. If in he should be sub. We could include Langford for Hartung as sub to give some midfield grunt later in the game.

 

[harliquin]

This is a departure from Clarko's mantra of sticking to routines. I don't like it and wouldn't be surprised if it contributed to the poor performance in Perth last weekend.

Some senior players came across early in the R19 win, too.

 

[Disco Inferno]

They are definitely considering Ceglar - Late withdrawel with "illness"... He had an early Sunday morning ruck training session at Waverley with Monkey and then a decent amount of running with fitness coach. Did not look "ill"...

 

[CD Xbow]

We're wearing our home jumper on Friday

Victory is assured! No one could win a tough match in the 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert" outfits.

 

[Bumpswithagrin]

They are definitely considering Ceglar - Late withdrawel with "illness"... He had an early Sunday morning ruck training session at Waverley with Monkey and then a decent amount of running with fitness coach. Did not look "ill"...

Well that seems odd to me. For someone who has not had many matches over the last few weeks I would have thought another match under his belt would have been more useful than a training session. Makes me think his back is still troubling him maybe.

 

[Dinsdale]

Well that seems odd to me. For someone who has not had many matches over the last few weeks I would have thought another match under his belt would have been more useful than a training session. Makes me think his back is still troubling him maybe.

agreed, I think he'll play for Box Hill this week in their grannie.

 

[hawksalltheway]

i think Billy looks set to be a star...i love the buzz in the crowd when he gets near the ball....but....he came on when the game was over and with very little pressure...and i thought his disposal was pretty ordinary....
watched LAngford for Box Hill the following day and cant help but think he offers a lot more....has finals experience and proved he can lift for the big games...

also loved Jedi's attack on the footy....please sign him up now - what is going on there???

 

[mikeder]

NO CHANGE

I don't think we should risk Gunstan and I think Schoey deserves to stay.
Hale was only subbed on Friday night to get him through (like Bailey was in 2013) so he should stay. He pays well against Sandilands.
My only query is Hartung. If in he should be sub. We could include Langford for Hartung as sub to give some midfield grunt later in the game.

Ye agree "TT".

 

[Hawk_francais]

Did anyone watch the Freo vs Sydney game? I think it's what Clarkson will be looking to more than our game in Tassie. It was a horrible game to watch, characterised by the closest thing I've seen to Rugby played on an AFL field. Freo seemed to block Sydney bodies rather than the ball, with the Swans massively over-possessing the ball in their back-half. The rhythm of the game, the endless centre-wing stoppages, allowed Josh Kennedy to have about 15 quite precise disposals in one quarter for little reward. The Swans found that their very skilful hand-ball chains were more often losing them ground due to their running players like Hannebury and Jetta being effectively blocked and corralled. Turnovers seemed to come from indecision for both sides as the switch of play, the release to a runner in space was never on.

This gets to the heart of why Freo are the only team I ever dread playing against. I dislike the Geelong team, the Sydney team through rivalry, but I anticipate those games with a sense of something coming that I know will bring ups and downs - they are theatrical in their narratives. Playing Freo is like going to the dentist - a dull ache as you watch the Fremantle side collectively anaesthetise the opposition, then perform a kind of tactical root canal. The Lyon philosophy in essence is one of economy, consistency and responsibility. The Lyon philosophy in practise is one of grinding away at the creativity and space of the opposing team to the point where it is likely that they will play poorly enough for you to consistently win.

That said, they have always struggled to stop Hawthorn scoring and the only times they have worried us is when they have used the offensive midfield talent which they do actually possess particularly in Mundy, Neale and Fyfe to consistently win the ball ahead of blocked and tired Hawthorn players. If it is a game played at our tempo, with enough space to carry the ball through the midfield, then we will score heavily against a defensive team which actually struggles deep in defence against mobile forwards. The luxury of time and space was not provided by West Coast on the same ground, though, and I see no reason to expect it here.

What I expect is, of course, Hawthorn's normal game plan pitted against Fremantle's. I don't think we will see Crowley, and I don't think we will see alterations in the number of tall players selected by Clarkson. As someone said here earlier: it's most likely Shoenmakers/Gunston and Langford/Hartung. We will face similar challenges here to those we faced against West Coast and Fremantle every time we have played on this ground; we will struggle to find room for creativity and to beat our opponents with skill. We will be hungry for the ball, space and scores against an opposition who will mostly be hungry for stoppages.

I expect we will win, in the end, not because Hodge and Breust are better than Fyfe and Walters - but because Shiels and Duryea are better than Suban and Spurr.

 

[Gene Simmons]

They are definitely considering Ceglar - Late withdrawel with "illness"... He had an early Sunday morning ruck training session at Waverley with Monkey and then a decent amount of running with fitness coach. Did not look "ill"...

I think Ceglar needs a big performance in the VFL GF.. And his only chance of a senior recall is in the Grand Final if we make it.

 

[In2theWild]

The theme for this and next week from the original beserker himself Mr. Zakk Wylde..............................

Simply.
GIFD.

 

[walhawk]

I think Ceglar needs a big performance in the VFL GF.. And his only chance of a senior recall is in the Grand Final if we make it.

Hale is finished. 4 touches + 4 hitouts is horrible.
Ceglar needs to play in GF.

 

[Wundo]

Block 345 for four of us, Woohoo!

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Hopefully we learned a bit from the WCE game on that ground.

 

[PottSie2]

In : Gunston (if fit), Celgar
Out : Shoey (Harsh call, played well, but a fit Gunston trumps Shoey), Hale

 

[Wundo]

Hawthorn wearing the home jumper - thank god for that

Not sure god had much to do with it... but if I'm wrong, props the girl upstairs.

 

[Gralin]

Hale is finished. 4 touches + 4 hitouts is horrible.
Ceglar needs to play in GF.

Hale was decent on friday night without much on the stat sheet to show for it, I expect we will play him against Sandi the real test will be if we make the GF and Cegs plays well at BH whether we want to try a more mobile ruck against WC or even go with only one ruck