Training 2023 pre-season

[bedford]

Fit Fyfe and Jackson are huge

They will make a huge impact

Look out for freo

And Taberner

 

[bedford]

Wheres the fox and clarke at injury wise, chances for round 1? Return dates ect

Obviously for your supercoach !

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Fit Fyfe and Jackson are huge

They will make a huge impact

Look out for freo

Losing Mundy will hurt Freo.

True, their front half looks more dangerous - but Walters is in decline & I don’t think O’Meara adds much.

I reckon there’s a few other teams (Melbourne in particular) that are more worrying than poor ol’ Freo.

 

[Donza]

No preview thread?

Weather looking mint on the GC for the match.

No rain and only slight Dew.

 

[RUNVS]

No preview thread?

Weather looking mint on the GC for the match.

No rain and only slight Dew.

To be honest I am expecting a lot of Dew at the game.

 

[Bloods86]

Losing Mundy will hurt Freo.

True, their front half looks more dangerous - but Walters is in decline & I don’t think O’Meara adds much.

I reckon there’s a few other teams (Melbourne in particular) that are more worrying than poor ol’ Freo.

They've lost more than they've gained all over the park. Losing their no.1 goalkicker, they'd want to hope Jackson contributes more than he does, or that Fyfe and Taberner can do more than they've been able to. I don't think Jackson and O'Meara outweigh Lobb, Mundy, Acres, Logue, especially when Darcy's a better ruck, and Jackson isn't a noted goalkicker.

 

[Kiama Chris]

No preview thread?

Weather looking mint on the GC for the match.

No rain and only slight Dew.

I thought the Dew would be fairly heavy.

 

[Punts]

They've lost more than they've gained all over the park. Losing their no.1 goalkicker, they'd want to hope Jackson contributes more than he does, or that Fyfe and Taberner can do more than they've been able to. I don't think Jackson and O'Meara outweigh Lobb, Mundy, Acres, Logue, especially when Darcy's a better ruck, and Jackson isn't a noted goalkicker.

Acres and lobb wont be missed

Jackson will be a much better player

Taberner amd Fyfe just need a good run at it like Reid did last year and look at the impact

 

[Punts]

Acres is garbage

 

[caesar88]

To be fair, I didn't say Freo would be the 2nd-best side this year. Just that they'll finish 2nd.

The ladder is just about wins, and you can win a game without being overly formidable. Freo are going to win a lot of games purely because their defence is elite and will prevent them from losing games. I don't think there's a better defensive group in the comp, besides maybe Melbourne and Geelong.

Their midfield should only get better (Brayshaw, Brodie, Serong all under 25) which should only give them more opportunities in attack. I do wonder who is going to be their next seriously impactful player, as that was Mundy even last year, and he's now gone. Just that smart, clever player who can get them out of jail.

I'd be trying to get Switkowski into the midfield. He is class and his footy IQ is great. He can do more damage with 15-20 touches than Brayshaw, Brodie etc can with 30. Along with Hayden Young

26

Hayden Young

Age

23

Ht

189cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.0

3star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.4

3star

M

3.2

3star

T

1.4

3star

MG

160.0

3star

D

10.0

3star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.4

2star

M

3.2

3star

T

1.4

2star

MG

160.0

3star

D

10.0

3star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.4

3star

M

3.2

4star

T

1.4

4star

MG

160.0

3star

, I can see Switkowski being an AA smokey this year.

My other query is their forward line. I think it will be more potent than last year, but still not potent enough to win the required 3 or 4 finals against the best sides. I think the Jackson/Taberner/Treacy dynamic could be a good one, but I don't expect it to click fully this year.

As for Fyfe, he is not a sustainable option as a forward. Everyone who regularly watches Freo knows this. He's just not in their best midfield anymore and they're too scared to give him the tap on the shoulder (as I suspect we were with JPK once he reached a similar stage, though injuries let nature take its course there.)

I think they're underrated as a side, but they are really young. Only we are younger and then you start getting into the rebuilding bottom four sides, so Freo are right up there for a red hot tilt in the future. Just think they might be missing a few key pieces for that to happen this year.

 

[Bloods86]

Acres and lobb wont be missed

Jackson will be a much better player

Taberner amd Fyfe just need a good run at it like Reid did last year and look at the impact

Lobb was their highest goalkicker, Jackson kicked 11 in 22 games, down from 2021. Jackson also won't be their no.1 ruck.

Acres was a best 22 lock.

But sure, won't be missed.

Jackson just wasn't the type of player they needed to go big on.

 

[Donza]

Lobb was their highest goalkicker, Jackson kicked 11 in 22 games, down from 2021. Jackson also won't be their no.1 ruck.

Acres was a best 22 lock.

But sure, won't be missed.

Jackson just wasn't the type of player they needed to go big on.

Jackson hasn't been the same player since we both ate the same toastie at the same table.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Lobb was their highest goalkicker, Jackson kicked 11 in 22 games, down from 2021. Jackson also won't be their no.1 ruck.

Acres was a best 22 lock.

But sure, won't be missed.

Jackson just wasn't the type of player they needed to go big on.

I watched season 2 of “Show me the Money” a little while ago.

It featured Lobb and Logue’s trades. Neither of them were impressed with their treatment by Freo once it became apparent they were going all-in on Jackson.

And I’m sure they have mates in the playing group who weren’t too happy about it either.

West Coast’s decision to sell the farm for Tim Kelly backfired spectacularly.

Freo would want to hope that Jackson lives up to the hype.

 

[Bloods86]

I

I watched season 2 of “Show me the Money” a little while ago.

It featured Lobb and Logue’s trades. Neither of them were impressed with their treatment by Freo once it became apparent they were going all-in on Jackson.

And I’m sure they have mates in the playing group who weren’t too happy about it either.

West Coast’s decision to sell the farm for Tim Kelly backfired spectacularly.

Freo would want to hope that Jackson lives up to the hype.

To me it just seems that they've been sucked into the local, young gun hype and felt like they couldn't afford to miss out. I think it sets them back. Feel like there's some ignoring the players that have left (Logue finished 6th in a tight B&F showing that his role was highly valued), and the fact that Jackson doesn't solve any problems they had.

 

[rustycrate]

To be honest I am expecting a lot of Dew at the game.

Has he put on more weight/?

 

[Dubsforsam1]

To be honest I don't care where in the 8 we finish as long as we enter it with a fit list and players not running on fumes. In fact not playing at the SCG might even be beneficial.

 

[caesar88]

Also anyone doubting Freo should check out their fixture. Every chance they're 6-0 to start the season.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Also anyone doubting Freo should check out their fixture. Every chance they're 6-0 to start the season.

checks fixture

Yep, it’s a soft draw.

But ….. it’s Freo.

 

[Bloods86]

Also anyone doubting Freo should check out their fixture. Every chance they're 6-0 to start the season.

And I'd still say they could well be 13-10, 12-11 from that point.

 

[bedford]

And I'd still say they could well be 13-10, 12-11 from that point.

But how do we know

 

[Callipygian]

To be fair, I didn't say Freo would be the 2nd-best side this year. Just that they'll finish 2nd.

The ladder is just about wins, and you can win a game without being overly formidable. Freo are going to win a lot of games purely because their defence is elite and will prevent them from losing games. I don't think there's a better defensive group in the comp, besides maybe Melbourne and Geelong.

Their midfield should only get better (Brayshaw, Brodie, Serong all under 25) which should only give them more opportunities in attack. I do wonder who is going to be their next seriously impactful player, as that was Mundy even last year, and he's now gone. Just that smart, clever player who can get them out of jail.

I'd be trying to get Switkowski into the midfield. He is class and his footy IQ is great. He can do more damage with 15-20 touches than Brayshaw, Brodie etc can with 30. Along with Hayden Young, I can see Switkowski being an AA smokey this year.

My other query is their forward line. I think it will be more potent than last year, but still not potent enough to win the required 3 or 4 finals against the best sides. I think the Jackson/Taberner/Treacy dynamic could be a good one, but I don't expect it to click fully this year.

As for Fyfe, he is not a sustainable option as a forward. Everyone who regularly watches Freo knows this. He's just not in their best midfield anymore and they're too scared to give him the tap on the shoulder (as I suspect we were with JPK once he reached a similar stage, though injuries let nature take its course there.)

I think they're underrated as a side, but they are really young. Only we are younger and then you start getting into the rebuilding bottom four sides, so Freo are right up there for a red hot tilt in the future. Just think they might be missing a few key pieces for that to happen this year.

I was bullish for Freo but you've actually succeeded in dampening my expectations. You did it best at the beginning where you said they may not be the second best team but they'll finish 2nd because they have the 3rd best defence.

Their midfield isn't as good as ours. Their forwards certainly aren't as good as ours. You yourself have poured shade on their forwards, especially Fyfe. And you seem to be placing a lot of your hope on some guy called Switkowski who I've barely heard of. No doubt I will hear of him given what you ahve written but I still think it's a lot of weight to be placing on his shoulders.

I still am inclined to tip Freo to scrape into the 8 but give the competition they may well miss finals altogether.

 

[Jewelsbon]

checks fixture

Yep, it’s a soft draw.

But ….. it’s Freo.

Can't agree. They have an easy start but their double ups are tough

 

[caesar88]

I was bullish for Freo but you've actually succeeded in dampening my expectations. You did it best at the beginning where you said they may not be the second best team but they'll finish 2nd because they have the 3rd best defence.

Their midfield isn't as good as ours. Their forwards certainly aren't as good as ours. You yourself have poured shade on their forwards, especially Fyfe. And you seem to be placing a lot of your hope on some guy called Switkowski who I've barely heard of. No doubt I will hear of him given what you ahve written but I still think it's a lot of weight to be placing on his shoulders.

I still am inclined to tip Freo to scrape into the 8 but give the competition they may well miss finals altogether.

I guess I was stating the reasons I think they will finish so high (defence, improvement from their midfield), while simultaneously stating the reasons I think they'll still fall short of a flag (lack of forward potency, lack of a special kind of player.)

I also think the start to a season is important as it can put you in a good position to challenge for a top 2/4/8 spot, even if you might not be good enough to actually sit there. If Freo are 6-0 by round 6, they're likely top of the ladder, which all of a sudden gives them a belief.

 

[caesar88]

Callipygian just so you don't think I'm a complete nutter for the Switkowski call! I promise he's a good player

 

[BloodySwan]

Callipygian just so you don't think I'm a complete nutter for the Switkowski call! I promise he's a good player

How has Weitering not made the list?