Mega Thread 2024 Media & Miscellaneous Thread

[Purple dynamite]

Anyone know what's with the Bont training at West Coast???

I live in Lathlain, and there has been plenty of AFL listed players training on the community oval. Main reason I'd say is because all players are currently on break.

 

[s_wd6]

Pic is from 2021.

Nah it’s from now. Bunch of WA doggies are here, Bont here with them. Think his gf is from here or was living here when they met.

 

[Taylor]

Is he still a free agent?

 

[DQ 4EVER]

Bont to Freo in 2026.
Assistant coach & player, minimum player, but well looked after as coach.
I reckon we could squeeze him into the 22.
Rotating with Young at half forward.

 

[Piggy Smalls]

I'm not acknowledging that our footy was 'fairly unattractive'. There was a bit to like about the way we tried to play and a lot to like when we got it right. We lost a lot of close games which says to me that we weren't that far off.

I don't care about Friday games to be honest. Its been way to hard to get down to optus on a Friday night. Now the train line is open it might be easier.

All I'm saying is that every team had a highlight from 2024. Hawks weren't the be all and end with their catchphrase footy.

I reckon Treacy barging two Suns players over in quick succession was one of the highlights of the year.

 

[Dockeroo]

Good to see the fair distribution of air time for each club in the new AFL ad. Hawks get a minute of highlights while Freo get .01 seconds...Nice. It's not like we didn't have any highlights for the year.

This is normal enough. You can’t compare freo to hawthorn in terms of overall profile and stature in the AFL, especially in the heartland of the competition (which is Victoria) whether we like it or not. Yes it’s unfair but what can we do about it? Win more, that’s all.

Any dockers fans that live in Vic will be very familiar with that weird quizzical look you get whenever you tell someone you are a Fremantle fan, usually followed up by something in response like “oh wow, that’s different. How on earth did you end up being a freo fan? I’m not sure I’ve ever met one before”

Used to annoy me but now I don’t care. The only way to start popping up consistently on the radar of the casual footy fan in Melbourne is by winning lots of games and following it up by going deep in September. Ideally we would need to be involved in some games that go down as long term classics too when we do make the finals. I’ve really noticed that teams that play in epic finals that are spoken about for many years by neutrals after the games, they really embed themselves into the consciousness of the casual sports fan. For example the Sydney v WCE rivalry in the mid 2000s when they played off in consecutive classic GFs really Seems to have a lasting affect on how those two clubs are regarded since then by casual fans.

I met a Carlton fan the other day. Diehard, long term Blues member, goes to nearly every Carlton game. I mentioned about hayden Young recently signing on for 9 years, he was like “yeah I read that. Interesting, I’d actually not heard of him before. Is he one of your main players?”
The same guy would name every player on Carlton’s list from 1-44 no problems.

That exchange just summed up the typical Melbourne sports fans attitude to freo. Indifference. They just don't care.

Also agree with freo1997

The more under the radar and less talked about we stay the better in my book. This offseason so far has a lot of similarities to 2023 when we came 5th and brought in Jackson but slumped dramatically when expectation was high. For what ever reason this team seems to play its best football when totally written off and trashed and ridiculed in the media. Everyone had is bottom 4 this time last year and we played more than well enough to make the top 6, and it was poor execution and coaching that we missed out on finals in the end. However it was a much better season overall than 2023 when everyone tipped us to be top 4.

 

[Dump Truck]

This is normal enough. You can’t compare freo to hawthorn in terms of overall profile and stature in the AFL, especially in the heartland of the competition (which is Victoria) whether we like it or not. Yes it’s unfair but what can we do about it? Win more, that’s all.

Any dockers fans that live in Vic will be very familiar with that weird quizzical look you get whenever you tell someone you are a Fremantle fan, usually followed up by something in response like “oh wow, that’s different. How on earth did you end up being a freo fan? I’m not sure I’ve ever met one before”

Used to annoy me but now I don’t care. The only way to start popping up consistently on the radar of the casual footy fan in Melbourne is by winning lots of games and following it up by going deep in September. Ideally we would need to be involved in some games that go down as long term classics too when we do make the finals. I’ve really noticed that teams that play in epic finals that are spoken about for many years by neutrals after the games, they really embed themselves into the consciousness of the casual sports fan. For example the Sydney v WCE rivalry in the mid 2000s when they played off in consecutive classic GFs really Seems to have a lasting affect on how those two clubs are regarded since then by casual fans.

I met a Carlton fan the other day. Diehard, long term Blues member, goes to nearly every Carlton game. I mentioned about hayden Young recently signing on for 9 years, he was like “yeah I read that. Interesting, I’d actually not heard of him before. Is he one of your main players?”
The same guy would name every player on Carlton’s list from 1-44 no problems.

That exchange just summed up the typical Melbourne sports fans attitude to freo. Indifference. They just don't care.

Also agree with freo1997

The more under the radar and less talked about we stay the better in my book. This offseason so far has a lot of similarities to 2023 when we came 5th and brought in Jackson but slumped dramatically when expectation was high. For what ever reason this team seems to play its best football when totally written off and trashed and ridiculed in the media. Everyone had is bottom 4 this time last year and we played more than well enough to make the top 6, and it was poor execution and coaching that we missed out on finals in the end. However it was a much better season overall than 2023 when everyone tipped us to be top 4.

I worked with a bloke who was originally from Vic and a massive AFL nuffy. He once told me "gee, lots of WC and Freo fans in this state".

He was genuinely surprised we would just naturally choose Vic teams even though we're not from there

 

[Bigger]

My old man used to maintain that most people are campaigners and “99% of them are ****ing stupid campaigners.”

Looks like your Victorian mate is just supporting the data.

 

[freo84]

This is normal enough. You can’t compare freo to hawthorn in terms of overall profile and stature in the AFL, especially in the heartland of the competition (which is Victoria) whether we like it or not. Yes it’s unfair but what can we do about it? Win more, that’s all.

Any dockers fans that live in Vic will be very familiar with that weird quizzical look you get whenever you tell someone you are a Fremantle fan, usually followed up by something in response like “oh wow, that’s different. How on earth did you end up being a freo fan? I’m not sure I’ve ever met one before”

Used to annoy me but now I don’t care. The only way to start popping up consistently on the radar of the casual footy fan in Melbourne is by winning lots of games and following it up by going deep in September. Ideally we would need to be involved in some games that go down as long term classics too when we do make the finals. I’ve really noticed that teams that play in epic finals that are spoken about for many years by neutrals after the games, they really embed themselves into the consciousness of the casual sports fan. For example the Sydney v WCE rivalry in the mid 2000s when they played off in consecutive classic GFs really Seems to have a lasting affect on how those two clubs are regarded since then by casual fans.

I met a Carlton fan the other day. Diehard, long term Blues member, goes to nearly every Carlton game. I mentioned about hayden Young recently signing on for 9 years, he was like “yeah I read that. Interesting, I’d actually not heard of him before. Is he one of your main players?”
The same guy would name every player on Carlton’s list from 1-44 no problems.

That exchange just summed up the typical Melbourne sports fans attitude to freo. Indifference. They just don't care.

Also agree with freo1997

The more under the radar and less talked about we stay the better in my book. This offseason so far has a lot of similarities to 2023 when we came 5th and brought in Jackson but slumped dramatically when expectation was high. For what ever reason this team seems to play its best football when totally written off and trashed and ridiculed in the media. Everyone had is bottom 4 this time last year and we played more than well enough to make the top 6, and it was poor execution and coaching that we missed out on finals in the end. However it was a much better season overall than 2023 when everyone tipped us to be top 4.

You're making my point for me.

I'm saying every club deserves a fair amount of publicity and highlights for an ad promoting the game. It's the AFL not the some big Vic clubs have more supporters than others so they get more promotion despite not needing it..

 

[Jezzitizle]

My old man used to maintain that most people are campaigners and “99% of them are ****ing stupid campaigners.”

Looks like your Victorian mate is just supporting the data.

That sort of wisdom needs to go on a Dalai Lama meme

 

[Dockeroo]

You're making my point for me.

I'm saying every club deserves a fair amount of publicity and highlights for an ad promoting the game. It's the AFL not the some big Vic clubs have more supporters than others so they get more promotion despite not needing it..

Sadly that’s not how it works.
AFL house will have said to its media department - make us an advert that gets as many social media impressions and likes and shares as possible. Just ensure you put at least a glimpse of all 18 teams in the ad so that no fanbase accuses us of leaving them out.

That means big Melbourne sides get 10 to 15 times the exposure we do on any promotional ads. We’ll get a token glimpse on these promotions so their asses are covered and Thats it. Money talks at the end of the day.

Its also doesn’t help that we don’t really have a true superstar of the game at present that has major cut-though with casual fans like Nat Fyfe did in his prime.

One small upcoming thing that is a positive is the indigenous all stars game. We will get undivided attention from footy fans that day, across all of Australia’s AFL heartland as people will be hungry for some action after a long summer and most clubs will have a player playing that their fans will be keen to see in action.
I’m assuming the game will be broadcast on 7 across the country and for one night we will be under the national AFL spotlight which will be a nice change.

 

[pK75]

Sadly that’s not how it works.
AFL house will have said to its media department - make us an advert that gets as many social media impressions and likes and shares as possible. Just ensure you put at least a glimpse of all 18 teams in the ad so that no fanbase accuses us of leaving them out.

That means big Melbourne sides get 10 to 15 times the exposure we do on any promotional ads. We’ll get a token glimpse on these promotions so their asses are covered and Thats it. Money talks at the end of the day.

Its also doesn’t help that we don’t really have a true superstar of the game at present that has major cut-though with casual fans like Nat Fyfe did in his prime.

One small upcoming thing that is a positive is the indigenous all stars game. We will get undivided attention from footy fans that day, across all of Australia’s AFL heartland as people will be hungry for some action after a long summer and most clubs will have a player playing that their fans will be keen to see in action.
I’m assuming the game will be broadcast on 7 across the country and for one night we will be under the national AFL spotlight which will be a nice change.

Especially as there aren’t 4 points on the line so we can’t shit the bed to a national audience

 

[Purpleheart_56]

Especially as there aren’t 4 points on the line so we can’t shit the bed to a national audience

I wouldn't be underestimating Our bedshitting capabilites...

 

[freo84]

Sadly that’s not how it works.
AFL house will have said to its media department - make us an advert that gets as many social media impressions and likes and shares as possible. Just ensure you put at least a glimpse of all 18 teams in the ad so that no fanbase accuses us of leaving them out.

That means big Melbourne sides get 10 to 15 times the exposure we do on any promotional ads. We’ll get a token glimpse on these promotions so their asses are covered and Thats it. Money talks at the end of the day.

Its also doesn’t help that we don’t really have a true superstar of the game at present that has major cut-though with casual fans like Nat Fyfe did in his prime.

One small upcoming thing that is a positive is the indigenous all stars game. We will get undivided attention from footy fans that day, across all of Australia’s AFL heartland as people will be hungry for some action after a long summer and most clubs will have a player playing that their fans will be keen to see in action.
I’m assuming the game will be broadcast on 7 across the country and for one night we will be under the national AFL spotlight which will be a nice change.

You're missing my point.

I understand why the AFL promote the way they do and I'm calling it out. There are all these ineffective equalisation measures in place that clearly don't work. Advertising in promos needs to be better. Grow the game and show all 18 clubs in some capacity.

The new ad sucks and anyone looking for a club to support will most likely pick one of the big 4 over a club that gets no media attention. I know plenty of Brits, NZers, and Indians that picked Collingwood due to media exposure despite living in WA where the Eagles and Dockers should reign supreme.

I'm sure everyone is sick of this discussion so I'm happy to agree to disagree.

 

[BettercallSaul]

The AFL would prefer us to play the “Washington Generals” role in the indigenous game me thinks.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

This is normal enough. You can’t compare freo to hawthorn in terms of overall profile and stature in the AFL, especially in the heartland of the competition (which is Victoria) whether we like it or not. Yes it’s unfair but what can we do about it? Win more, that’s all.

Any dockers fans that live in Vic will be very familiar with that weird quizzical look you get whenever you tell someone you are a Fremantle fan, usually followed up by something in response like “oh wow, that’s different. How on earth did you end up being a freo fan? I’m not sure I’ve ever met one before”

Used to annoy me but now I don’t care. The only way to start popping up consistently on the radar of the casual footy fan in Melbourne is by winning lots of games and following it up by going deep in September. Ideally we would need to be involved in some games that go down as long term classics too when we do make the finals. I’ve really noticed that teams that play in epic finals that are spoken about for many years by neutrals after the games, they really embed themselves into the consciousness of the casual sports fan. For example the Sydney v WCE rivalry in the mid 2000s when they played off in consecutive classic GFs really Seems to have a lasting affect on how those two clubs are regarded since then by casual fans.

I met a Carlton fan the other day. Diehard, long term Blues member, goes to nearly every Carlton game. I mentioned about hayden Young recently signing on for 9 years, he was like “yeah I read that. Interesting, I’d actually not heard of him before. Is he one of your main players?”
The same guy would name every player on Carlton’s list from 1-44 no problems.

That exchange just summed up the typical Melbourne sports fans attitude to freo. Indifference. They just don't care.

Also agree with freo1997

The more under the radar and less talked about we stay the better in my book. This offseason so far has a lot of similarities to 2023 when we came 5th and brought in Jackson but slumped dramatically when expectation was high. For what ever reason this team seems to play its best football when totally written off and trashed and ridiculed in the media. Everyone had is bottom 4 this time last year and we played more than well enough to make the top 6, and it was poor execution and coaching that we missed out on finals in the end. However it was a much better season overall than 2023 when everyone tipped us to be top 4.

To be perfectly honest that sounds like a statistical anomaly. There is no reason not to have heard of Hayden Young, you'd have to be borderline deliberately ignorant. Historically fantasy relevant, just made AA squad.

There's probably the odd Freo supporter who doesnt know much about Tom De Koning for example

 

[Taylor]

There will be lifelong WC supporters asking who this Elijah Hewett is and what they traded for him end of last year.

 

[Dockeroo]

You're missing my point.

I understand why the AFL promote the way they do and I'm calling it out. There are all these ineffective equalisation measures in place that clearly don't work. Advertising in promos needs to be better. Grow the game and show all 18 clubs in some capacity.

The new ad sucks and anyone looking for a club to support will most likely pick one of the big 4 over a club that gets no media attention. I know plenty of Brits, NZers, and Indians that picked Collingwood due to media exposure despite living in WA where the Eagles and Dockers should reign supreme.

I'm sure everyone is sick of this discussion so I'm happy to agree to disagree.

I’m not disagreeing with you!

I’m just saying it won’t be changing anytime soon. For all the reasons we have both agreed on. Is it fair? Of course not, but that’s life.

I’d also argue that not getting equal coverage in an ad is pretty small fry compared to some of the other inequalities in the system.
You are absolutely correct about big teams hoovering up new fans to the sport more easily via increased media exposure.

An obvious major issue for me is that we rarely ever get a Friday night game on national prime time tv.
If the comp were truly equal every team would get 4 Friday night games a season. Marquee games would not be the exclusive preserve of teams like Collingwood Essendon and co.
The problem is the major sponsors like channel 7 who pay millions of dollars for rights want to show Collingwood v Carlton, not freo v gold coast on Friday night footy.
It’s like a chicken and egg thing for minnow clubs.
We can’t get big without sustained media exposure in marquee slots. But the powerful people who pay the afl sponsorship and rights money want to see the biggest clubs with the largest audiences on the main games, and so block the smaller clubs with lower interest levels from general fans from ever taking too many of those precious slots.
The only solution I see for freo is to win, bigly, as Donald trump might say.
Win enough games and they can’t keep us off the primetime TV slots.

One of my pet hates is when I hear people say “we are better off on kayo away from Friday nights on channel 7 nationally”
No we are ****ing not. That’s a true minnow loser mentality right there. I’d love to see us aspire to play every weekend on Friday night becomes we are so big and successful they literally can’t ignore us.

 

[oldgoat]

I’m not disagreeing with you!

I’m just saying it won’t be changing anytime soon. For all the reasons we have both agreed on. Is it fair? Of course not, but that’s life.

I’d also argue that not getting equal coverage in an ad is pretty small fry compared to some of the other inequalities in the system.
You are absolutely correct about big teams hoovering up new fans to the sport more easily via increased media exposure.

An obvious major issue for me is that we rarely ever get a Friday night game on national prime time tv.
If the comp were truly equal every team would get 4 Friday night games a season. Marquee games would not be the exclusive preserve of teams like Collingwood Essendon and co.
The problem is the major sponsors like channel 7 who pay millions of dollars for rights want to show Collingwood v Carlton, not freo v gold coast on Friday night footy.
It’s like a chicken and egg thing for minnow clubs.
We can’t get big without sustained media exposure in marquee slots. But the powerful people who pay the afl sponsorship and rights money want to see the biggest clubs with the largest audiences on the main games, and so block the smaller clubs with lower interest levels from general fans from ever taking too many of those precious slots.
The only solution I see for freo is to win, bigly, as Donald trump might say.
Win enough games and they can’t keep us off the primetime TV slots.

One of my pet hates is when I hear people say “we are better off on kayo away from Friday nights on channel 7 nationally”
No we are ****ing not. That’s a true minnow loser mentality right there. I’d love to see us aspire to play every weekend on Friday night becomes we are so big and successful they literally can’t ignore us.

Mainly...we have to kick more goals!
Winning teams hoover up the new members.

 

[DQ 4EVER]

There will be lifelong WC supporters asking who this Elijah Hewett is and what they traded for him end of last year.

using that group of moronic "supporters" is hardly representative of normal fans

 

[Dockeroo]

To be perfectly honest that sounds like a statistical anomaly. There is no reason not to have heard of Hayden Young, you'd have to be borderline deliberately ignorant. Historically fantasy relevant, just made AA squad.

There's probably the odd Freo supporter who doesnt know much about Tom De Koning for example

Could be a statistical anomaly true. To be fair this guy was in his 60s. So I doubt fantasy football is a thing in his world.
One of those guys that could tell you every VFL/Afl premier since 1955, old school type.

I’m surprised people are surprised at these kind of stories to be honest.
I can still remember Caroline Wilson on footy classified referring to Adam Cerra as “Adam Serra” near the end of his 4th season in AFL footy just before he left freo in 2021.
This was a former top 5 pick, and she had honestly never heard of him until he was linked with a trade to Victoria late in the 2021 season.
Caro’s a paid footy journo in her 60s. It’s literally her job and she still didn’t know one of our highest profile young players 4 years into his career.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Could be a statistical anomaly true. To be fair this guy was in his 60s. So I doubt fantasy football is a thing in his world.
One of those guys that could tell you every VFL/Afl premier since 1955, old school type.

I’m surprised people are surprised at these kind of stories to be honest.
I can still remember Caroline Wilson on footy classified referring to Adam Cerra as “Adam Serra” near the end of his 4th season in AFL footy just before he left freo in 2021.
This was a former top 5 pick, and she had honestly never heard of him until he was linked with a trade to Victoria late in the 2021 season.
Caro’s a paid footy journo in her 60s. It’s literally her job and she still didn’t know one of our highest profile young players 4 years into his career.

Ah yeah, sorry to all the informed experienced peeps on here but honestly, those types support their team and couldn't give two shits about anyone outside their own bubble. Live and breath their club and ask everyone around them who the bloke in purple wearing number 7 is as "he's killing us".

Don't have to get me on my footy media rant again haha

 

[Bigger]

I’m not disagreeing with you!

I’m just saying it won’t be changing anytime soon. For all the reasons we have both agreed on. Is it fair? Of course not, but that’s life.

I’d also argue that not getting equal coverage in an ad is pretty small fry compared to some of the other inequalities in the system.
You are absolutely correct about big teams hoovering up new fans to the sport more easily via increased media exposure.

An obvious major issue for me is that we rarely ever get a Friday night game on national prime time tv.
If the comp were truly equal every team would get 4 Friday night games a season. Marquee games would not be the exclusive preserve of teams like Collingwood Essendon and co.
The problem is the major sponsors like channel 7 who pay millions of dollars for rights want to show Collingwood v Carlton, not freo v gold coast on Friday night footy.
It’s like a chicken and egg thing for minnow clubs.
We can’t get big without sustained media exposure in marquee slots. But the powerful people who pay the afl sponsorship and rights money want to see the biggest clubs with the largest audiences on the main games, and so block the smaller clubs with lower interest levels from general fans from ever taking too many of those precious slots.
The only solution I see for freo is to win, bigly, as Donald trump might say.
Win enough games and they can’t keep us off the primetime TV slots.

One of my pet hates is when I hear people say “we are better off on kayo away from Friday nights on channel 7 nationally”
No we are ****ing not. That’s a true minnow loser mentality right there. I’d love to see us aspire to play every weekend on Friday night becomes we are so big and successful they literally can’t ignore us.

Agree but let’s begin with not shitting the bed when expectations are raised.

Speaking of which, I am always amazed we didn't win the flag in 2020. Playing with noone watching is ideal Fremantle conditions.

Imagine. You miss a target and there isn’t a groan 40,000-strong.

 

[Dirty_banchez]

The AFL would prefer us to play the “Washington Generals” role in the indigenous game me thinks.

The Generals accidentally beat the Globetrotters one day though causing children to cry. If the team is to become more ruthless...they know what they need to do.

 

[Sully90]

The Generals accidentally beat the Globetrotters one day though causing children to cry. If the team is to become more ruthless...they know what they need to do.

I'll swim laps of an olympic size swimming pool of kids tears if it means we win the premiership.